Mrs. Alexander drew herself up a trifle, and hesitated a moment before replying; then she said, gravely:
“Partly upon business; partly for health.”
“Health!” scornfully repeated Lady Linton, with a quick upward glance into that beautiful, blooming face.
A musical laugh rippled over Mrs. Alexander’s lips, and she flushed an exquisite color; for both glance and emphasis, although not so intended, were a marked compliment to her appearance.
“You think I do not need to go anywhere in search of health,” she observed. “That is true, just now, although I was far from well when I left America.”
“What is your ‘business’ here?” demanded her companion, ignoring her reply.
“Really, Lady Linton,” Mrs. Alexander returned, coldly, “I do not know as I feel obliged to explain that to you just yet.”
“Just yet!” repeated the other, with a sudden heart-bound. “What am I to understand by that?”
“Just what you choose, Lady Linton.”
“Is your ‘business’ connected in any way with that threat which you made in my presence more than eight years ago?”