"Well, Italy is still the country of the knife," said Cliffe, lightly—"and I could still hire a bravo or two—in Venice—if I wanted them."
"Does the Ricci hire them?"
Cliffe shrugged his shoulders.
"She'd do it without winking, if it suited her." Then, after a pause—"Do you still wonder why I should have chosen her society?"
"Oh no," said Kitty, hastily. "You told me."
"As much as a friend cares to know?"
She nodded, flushing, and dropped the subject.
Cliffe's mouth still smiled, but his eyes studied her with a veiled and sinister intensity.
"I have not seen the lady for a week," he resumed. "She pesters me with notes. I promised to go and see her in a new play to-morrow night, but—"
"Oh, go!" said Kitty—"by all means go!"