"He would have asked you to introduce him to your—family."
"Then he would have learned that I have no family."
"But you could not have refused to tell him what relation you bear to the lady at the castle."
"My answer would have been very brief had he asked the question," was the count's grim response.
"I know what men mean by a 'brief' answer; the result is usually fatal."
"And does your ladyship imagine that I fear such a result?"
"So far as courage is concerned, I should not give any one precedence to Count Vavel. A regular duel, however, requires more than courage. Colonel Barthelmy is a soldier by profession; you are a philosopher who lives amid his studies, and whose right hand is unable to hold a pen, let alone a sword or a pistol!"
Count Vavel was touched on the spot where men are most susceptible.
"Who can tell whether I have always been a studious hermit?" he demanded proudly. "Besides, might it not be that my hand is unable only when I don't want to use it?"
"That may be," retorted the lady. "But Barthelmy, who is perfectly insane on the subject of his wife's infamy, would have the advantage of you. He is suspicious of every stranger; and of all the gossip which environs you, the legend of that elopement is the mildest."