"Of course."
"And which is it?" he asked in a whisper, leaning toward her.
"The same as monsieur's," she said.
Ellerey was baffled. He had expected to surprise her into a confession. He did not suppose he had subjugated this woman so completely that she would make her interests identical with his own, and he could only explain her answer by presuming that she was sufficiently in the Queen's confidence to know something of the mission to which he stood pledged.
"You seem very certain of me, Countess."
"Have I not said that I take great care in choosing my friends?"
"I cannot conceive any reason for your faith in me, unless—-"
"Well, you may question me."
"I had lately a strange adventure, Countess, in which a woman was concerned. She found me after midnight at the corner of the Altstrasse, and—-"
"Monsieur! monsieur!" she exclaimed, holding up her hand. "Do you imagine I should visit the Altstrasse for my politics, and after midnight, too?"