She understood.

Then I told her without the least reservation all that had happened to me, and especially my experiences of the previous night. When I had finished she looked at me with her large sombre eyes, which were full of pity, but not of hope. I waited for her words.

“Now, listen,” she said. “You shall hear. I was with Lord Clarenceux when he died.”

“You!” I exclaimed. “In Vienna! But even Rosa was not with him. How — ”

“Patience! And do not interrupt me with questions. I am giving away a secret which carries with it my — my reputation. Long before my marriage I had known Lord Clarenceux. He knew many women; I was one of them. That affair ended. I married Sullivan.