Only the steel case—tubelike, as was the glass bottle of deadly vapor inside—was placed in a black leather bag, which snapped shut with a patent spring lock.
This bag the baroness put into another trunk with her own hands. She would not trust even Florine to do anything with the bottle in its steel case.
For two hours she sat in the darkness, peering out to sea, where the lights of the yacht could be seen blinking uncertainly.
She did not talk to her maid, although Florine was in the room, and, although quite quiet, was wide awake.
It seemed as if there must be something more than the ordinary relations of mistress and maid between them, for Florine made no complaint of the long vigil. Neither did the baroness take any notice of her, as she might have done if there had been no mutual understanding.
“Lock the door after me when I go out, Florine,� were the words with which the Baroness Latour at last broke the silence. “And be ready to let me in quickly when I return.�
“Very well.�
Florine made this response in a low, colorless voice.
There was no surprise at the baroness going secretly from her rooms at midnight, nor at her giving these orders about the door.
It seemed as if she knew what her employer had in hand, and was in thorough accord with the proceedings.