"My lord knew of my home-coming, madam," he answered coldly.
"Do you imagine that I am in my lord's confidence? I say I learnt it from the Gazette."
There was no reply possible to her astonishing directness; her lately acquired manner of ease and presence but emphasised her graceless ignoring of the screen of words used by people of breed.
Marius looked at her; she was painted and powdered, beneath her gown showed her violet velvet shoe sparkling with a great diamond buckle; she leant forward a little, and gazed at him with eyes that were desperately unhappy; again she laughed.
"What were you playing?" she asked. "La! but I did not know that you were a player."
"'Twas Scarlatti, madam," he answered.
Their eyes met and she rose.
"I will play you something," she said, and pulled off her grey gloves. "I am credited with some skill, Captain Lyndwood."
He moved away from the spinet, mistrusting her, uneasy, the colour still in his fair face; he kept his eyes on her, noting how different she was, admitting her slender elegance and flaunting grace.