"The bosom friend, so it would seem, of the Count Laval."
The color had left Tristan's face.
"You have met?"
"He appears to have taken a great liking to my lord. Almost daily does he call, and they seem to have some secret matter between them."
Tristan gripped Hellayne's hand so fiercely that she hardly suppressed an outcry.
"Have you surprised any utterance?"
"Only a name. They thought I was out of earshot."
"What name?"
"Theodora!"
She watched him narrowly as she spoke the word.