“But you never saw her.”
“No. But the most beautiful woman is always the one I never saw.”
He was delightful, my D’Artagnan, with his amused acceptance of three duels, and now his interest in an unknown woman. But I held fast to my opinion, and after some further talk I went away to make my belated explanation to Count le Moyne.
VI
After dinner that evening Merton and I settled ourselves in my little salon with coffee, cognac, and cigars. Merton said:
“Are we safe here?”
“Yes. There are two doors, and the outer one I have locked. My last valet was a spy. The information he got for their Foreign Office must have been valuable. My present man—the fellow who waited on us just now—is also a spy,” and upon this I told the captain of my arrangement with Alphonse.
He was much amused. “Can you really trust him?” he said.