"Who are you, madam?"
"I was 'Statira,' ma'am," answered the actress, "but I am as free as you to come and look at him now."
She lifted her head defiantly; tears had stained the rouge and powder on her face, and her powdered hair was disarranged under her fantastic hat.
"Poor soul," said Miss Chressham. "I suppose you cared too. Do not look at me so fiercely," she added softly; "it does not hurt us that you have come."
The actress burst into fresh tears.
"God bless you for that; I had no right——"
She snatched Miss Chressham's cold hand, kissed it and hurried on down the stairs.
Selina did not seem to have seen her; she caught Miss Chressham by the arm and drew her gently across the threshold of the Earl's bedchamber.
There were two servants inside the door, standing quietly; the blinds were drawn and the room close with the perfume of flowers. The thing was decorously done, Susannah told herself in a passionate bitterness.
My lord's personal furniture, even his clothes, were still about the chamber, only the clock had been stopped and the mirrors were covered up; a couple of gentlemen and three ladies stood at the foot of the bed, whispering together.