"Not until Ronald called upon you?" inquired Violet.
"Not until then," was the answer.
Then Violet said, with flushing cheeks and restless eyes:
"Tell me, Lina, if you had known it would you have come?"
"No, I would not have come," Jaquelina replied, firmly.
"But since you have come," said Violet, with a look of relief, "what do you intend to do about it?"
The singer looked up with a surprised face. Violet looked down uneasily before that wondering gaze.
"Miss Earle, what is there that I can do?" she inquired, in a clear, distinct voice.
"You could go away," Violet replied.
"I intend to do so the very day that my engagement is ended," Jaquelina answered. "It would be impossible to do so before. I am under the heaviest bonds to the manager to fulfill my contract. To evade it I should have to forfeit the greater part of my fortune."