She turned her beautiful eyes upon him. It seemed to Sir Wilfrid that he perceived in them a passing tremor of nervous defiance, as though she were in some way bracing herself against him. But her self-possession was complete.
"Lady Henry seems in better spirits," he said, bending towards her.
She did not reply for a moment. Her eyes dropped. Then she raised them again, and gently shook her head without a word. The melancholy energy of her expression gave him a moment's thrill.
"Is it as bad as ever?" he asked her, in a whisper.
"It's pretty bad. I've tried to appease her. I told her about the bazaar. She said she couldn't spare me, and, of course, I acquiesced. Then, yesterday, the Duchess--hush!"
"Mademoiselle!"
Lady Henry's voice rang imperiously through the room.
"Yes, Lady Henry."
Mademoiselle Le Breton stood up expectant.
"Find me, please, that number of the Revue des Deux Mondes which came in yesterday. I can prove it to you in two minutes," she said, turning triumphantly to Montresor on her right.