“What! I thought you had swallowed your tongue in your fright!” exclaimed the other, with a sneer.
“Look to it that yours is not wagging its last,” returned Marlowe, sternly.
The lights of the candelabrum on the table burned as steadily as those of a death-chamber. They threw the shadow of the Count against the red arras, behind which, in the alcove, stood the bed for the apartment; and more darkly projected the figure of his antagonist upon the white wall between the latticed windows. They showed the colorless face of the woman which, with its sad expression, was of such striking beauty, that in the momentary glimpse afforded at the point of non-action, one would have scarcely noted the grace of her carriage or the elegance of her attire.
“By what pretended infringement of any rights of thine do you force this duel?” asked Marlowe.
“Pretended!” sneered Frazer. “Is not your presence here a violation of all the sacred rights of a home?”
“What, are you this lady’s husband?” asked Marlowe, and with amazement he looked at the woman, who did not endeavor to return an answer.
“Your question is ill-timed,” exclaimed Frazer, advancing. “Defend yourself!”
He lunged forward, but Marlowe had thrown himself on guard, and the thrust was skillfully parried. The blades rang sharply, and it seemed that the candles blazed upward with a fiercer light. The Count assumed the aggressive from the first; but if his demeanor indicated his real feelings, it was that of an executioner rather than an avenger. He was cool and deliberate, showing neither passion nor fury. As contrasted with this, his opponent fought with the strength of despair. Whether it was that the woman read these expressions, or that the moves of the combatants interpreted to her the situation and its probable final issue, she felt that nothing but a miracle could avert the impending calamity. She saw, as in a glass darkly, the bleeding body of her lover, and with a cry she fell forward on her knees at Frazer’s feet.
“Spare him, Count,” she moaned.
She had clasped his knee; but never taking his eyes from those of the man before him, he rudely shook her off.