"No."
"Then you trust me?"
"As I would trust any woman."
For a moment she seemed satisfied, and then she turned toward him.
"Is there a meaning underneath that? Do you trust no woman?"
"I have learnt my lessons in a hard school, Countess. I trust few, either men or women, and I have more knowledge of men than women." They followed Lord Cloverton across the rooms, and she noticed every one to whom he spoke. Presently he stood to watch the dancing for a moment, but he seemed to avoid any person who might detain him in conversation for any length of time.
"I think the Ambassador will leave early to-night," the Countess said. "May I beg another favor, Captain Ellerey? Will you see that my carriage is ready waiting for me?"
Ellerey went to do her bidding, wondering why she was watching the Ambassador so keenly. It took him some time to find her servants, and as he returned he met Lord Cloverton. With the slightest of recognitions the Ambassador got into his carriage.
"The Embassy, quickly," he said.
Countess Mavrodin came down the stairs as Lord Cloverton drove away.