“I would kill myself before she discovers me,” my wife declared.
“But you might not have time,” he suggested. “To die willingly demands considerable resolution. Women’s nerve usually fails them at the extreme moment.”
“Mine will not, you may rest assured of that,” she answered.
“You don’t seem capable of listening to reason to-night,” he protested.
“I am capable of listening to reason, but not to conspiracy,” she replied with some hauteur. “I know well what is passing in your mind. You would plot to take her life—to murder La Gioia!”
He laughed outright, as though there was something humorous in her words.
“No, no, my dear,” he answered quickly. “You quite misunderstood my intention.”
“I misunderstood your intention on a previous occasion,” she said meaningly.
“But in this affair our interests are entirely mutual,” he pointed out. “You must assist me.”
“I shall not.”