“Unless”—he hesitated—“unless she saw you at the Savoy when we fed together in honour of my birth, and was struck by your appearance—in fact, to put it plainly, unless she has fallen in love with you.”
“But why?” I demanded. “I’ve never met the woman before, to my knowledge.”
“But you’re a good-looking Johnnie, my dear Dick,” my friend declared, laughing; “and she’s certainly not the first woman who has fallen over head and ears in love with you.”
“You’re devilish complimentary, old chap,” I answered; “but if she is, as you think, really attracted towards me, then she’ll have a cruel awakening when she finds that I’m actually the husband of her cousin Feo.”
“That’s just what I’ve been thinking,” he replied, with a serious expression on his face. “Your position is an exceedingly difficult one, and the inquiries must be made with the utmost tact and care. At all hazards you must humour her ladyship, and retain her as your friend. Indeed if, as you say, your wife is not aware that you are actually her husband, then it might not be a bad plan to flatter her ladyship by making violent love to her.”
“I can’t, Bob,” I declared. “In this matter I must at least act straightforwardly. Feo has fallen a victim, just as I myself have—that’s evident.”
“You were entrapped, it’s true; but I take it that you really admire this mysterious Feo?”
“Admire her!” I cried with enthusiasm. “That’s the most curious feature of the whole affair. I freely confess to you, my dear fellow, that not only do I admire her, but I’m madly in love with her! She’s the most graceful and beautiful woman I’ve ever beheld.”
“Well, Dick,” he observed after a pause, during which time he puffed vigorously at his big briar, “you are about the last man I should have suspected of having a romance. Every detail of it is, however, bewildering. It’s a perfect maze of mystery—a mystery absolutely incredible!”