"There are secrets which Silas Craig may wish to preserve; if so, he will do well to see Mlle. Corsi."
Like all base creatures, Silas was a coward. The card dropped from his trembling hand, and his bloated face grew ashy pale.
"Admit the lady," he said.
The slave left the room, and in a few minutes returned with Pauline Corsi.
During those few brief moments, Silas Craig had recovered from his first impulse of terror.
What could this woman know of his secrets?
Who was she but the paid dependent of Don Juan Moraquitos? He had nothing to fear, therefore.
All the native insolence of his nature returned, and when the governess entered the room, he neither rose from his seat nor offered her a chair.
The impertinence did not escape Pauline Corsi. With a smile of provoking assurance, she seated herself opposite to the lawyer, and threw back the dark veil that had shaded her face.
"We shall understand one another better, by-and-by, Mr. Craig," she said, quietly.