She did not want to stay long; and, in a minute or two, she rose and moved towards Bertha to say good-bye. Mrs. van Eilenburgh, however, was taking leave at the same instant; and Constance waited for a couple of seconds. And, in those two seconds, she noticed, very plainly, that Mrs. van Eilenburgh deliberately turned her back on her, as if to avoid her, saying good-bye to Bertha and giving Constance no opportunity of bowing. It was no more than a hardly perceptible movement and, in any other case, might have been a natural oversight; but, at this moment, Constance felt that it was done deliberately, with the intention of wounding. She gave an ironical smile, with a laugh in her eyes and tightened lips, and thought:
"She is De Staffelaer's niece. I shall meet plenty more of his nephews and nieces...."
She was now able to take leave of Bertha.
"Good-bye, Bertha."
"Good-bye, Constance, so nice of you...."
Constance, for a moment, looked Bertha straight in the eyes. She said nothing, she did nothing but that: merely looked into Bertha's eyes while still holding her hand. And, for a moment, they looked into each other's souls.
There were no more callers; the rest of the room was talking busily; and Bertha just had the opportunity to say something that forced its way to her lips:
"Constance, that article...."
"Yes?..."
"Van Naghel is very much upset by it."