Page:Edgar Wallace--The book of all-power.djvu/162

 expected any woman to be dressed in Moscow. A sable wrap was about her shoulders, a sable toque was on her head. He could not see the worn shoes nor the shabby dress beneath the costly furs; indeed, he saw nothing but the face—the face of his dreams—unchanged, unlined, more beautiful than he had remembered her. She stood stiffly in her pride, her little chin held up, her contemptuous eyes fixed upon the man at the table. Then loosing her wrap, she hung it upon a peg, and opening a cupboard, took out a broad broom.

"Sweep, Irene Yaroslav," said the man.

Malcolm winced at the word, and Malinkoff turned to him sharply.

"You know her?" he said. "Of course you do—I remember. Was that why Boolba kept us waiting?"

"He was butler in the Yaroslav household," said Malcolm in the same tone.

"That explains it," said Malinkoff. "All this is for the humiliation of the Grand Duchess." "Sweep well, little one," scoffed Boolba from his table. "Does it not do your heart good, Sophia Kensky? Oh, if I had only eyes to see! Does she go on her knees? Tell me, Sophia."

But the woman found no amusement in the sight, and she was not smiling. Her high forehead was