Mlle. Carlotta, when not injured, was not vindictive or unkindly; but she was as mischievous as a monkey. No doubt, having teased the girl to her satisfaction, she would have soon released her, but it happened that Eugenia turned her head, and for the first time the light shone full upon her face. Her gaoler started. She sprang towards her, seized her arm and dragged her across the room. Still holding her captive, she tore down a sheet and revealed the clay model of the statue which had made Gerald famous. She looked from the lifeless to the living face then burst into a peal of derisive laughter. Eugenia’s secret was discovered.
“Ha! ha! ha! The young miss that Geraldo loved. The one who threw him away for a rich lover! Yet, she wishes to see him again—so at night she comes. Ah, Mademoiselle, you have w-r-r-recked him, c-r-r-rushed him, r-r-ruined him, still would see him. Good; good! it is now his turn. My Gerald shall have revenge—revenge!”
Eugenia, thoroughly aroused, commanded her to let her go. Carlotta laughed in her face, was even ill-bred enough to snap her fingers and poke out her tongue at her prisoner. Eugenia humbled herself, and implored her by their common womanhood. Carlotta laughed the louder. Eugenia appealed to her venality, and tried to bribe her. Carlotta lowered her black eyebrows and scowled, but laughed louder than ever. “He will come very soon,” was all she said. “He will not stop long away from me—Carlotta.”
Miss Herbert was at her wit’s end. Yet, even through the shame of the situation, the anguish of her heart made itself felt. After having wrought herself up to make such a sacrifice, such an atonement, it was pitiable to find Gerald no better than the rest of his sex! She sat upon a chair longing for release, yet dreading to hear the step which would herald it.
Half an hour passed. Mlle. Carlotta whiled it away by emptying a glass of champagne, smoking a cigarette, and making comments upon Gerald’s prolonged absence. Presently she cried, “Ah, Mademoiselle, this is dull for you; see, I will dance to you,” and therewith she raised herself on her toes and went pirouetting round her captive, humming the while an air of Offenbach’s. Her dress was long, but she managed it with marvellous skill, and Eugenia, whilst loathing, could not help watching her with a sort of fascination. She was as agile as a panther; every attitude was full of grace, every gesture alluring.
Suddenly she stopped short. Her great eyes sparkled even more brightly. She glanced at her victim. “Hist!” she said. “I hear him. I know his step. He comes!”
A moment afterwards the door was tried. Eugenia covered her face with her hands. She knew not what the woman meant to do or say, but she felt that her crowning shame was at hand. Yet her heart beat at the thought of seeing Gerald once more, and a wild idea of forgiveness on either side passed through her.
Mlle. Carlotta turned down the gas, unlocked the door, and, as it opened, threw herself into the arms of the new-comer. Eugenia heard the sound of kisses given and returned, and her heart grew like stone.
“Geraldo, mon ami,” she heard the dancer say in passionate tones, “dis moi, que tu m’aimes—que tu m’aimes toujours!”
“Je t’adore ma belle—tu es ravissante!”