“She cannot value it,” Catherine exclaimed.
I looked at her calmly. “He, mademoiselle,” I said quietly; “you confound the sex.”
She gazed at me a moment in amazement, and then a sudden intelligence illumined her eyes. She knew that Mademoiselle Zotof had given it to M. de Lambert.
“Tell him,” she said with emphasis, “to be loyal in his devotion, and happiness will crown it.”
“Mademoiselle,” I responded gallantly, “I know of no one who deserves it more than you, and I count myself fortunate to be your friend.”
She gave me a peculiar glance, and stood trying to devise some way to obtain her wish.
“Let me look at the ring once more, then,” she coaxed, changing from angry demands to a pretty persuasion that did not suit her passionate face so well.
I let her look at the ring, and then had much ado to keep it from her covetous fingers. She was eager enough to snatch it if I was but an instant off my guard, and she began, too, to be piqued at my obstinacy, so that I saw that I was in a delicate place and half regretted my manœuvre. Putting her off and arguing with her, I managed to evade her; but I found it expedient to withdraw as speedily as possible, foreseeing only endless contention, for she had the kind of persistence that achieves success.
I was glad enough to be in the open air again, and quickened my pace as I crossed the court. I had warned Catherine, and I did not doubt her activity. After all, she was much better suited to the czar’s temper than a woman like Najine Zotof. When mademoiselle would not understand him, and would shrink from his violent moods, this Livonian girl would be full of sympathy for his ambitions, and unrevolted by the coarser aspect of his nature. I could see that she had a feline temperament, full of passion and intrigue, and that she was not scrupulous as to the means by which she could further her ends. My mind was so full of these thoughts that I almost stumbled upon a man at the gate of the court. As I apologized, he recognized me.
“A word with you, monsieur,” he said, in bad French.