Page:In the name of a woman (1900).djvu/80

 "Of course, that is the reason. I had commissioned him to bring you straight to me, and you are late."

"I did not know that such an honour was depending on my arrival, or I would have been earlier," I said with a bow.

"I have been most anxious, and half feared you meant to disappoint us;" and in a light strain we chatted pleasantly. I soon perceived that my companion was bent upon creating a favourable impression, while on my side I was not less desirous of making a friend of one who was so close an intimate of the Princess. We danced the next waltz together, and at the close of it she asked me to lead her to one of the conservatories.

I observed that she was careful to select a quiet corner, where we could speak without fear of being overheard, and after a moment's pause she said earnestly:

"I have been really anxious to know you, Count."

"I am flattered," I answered.

"No, not that," she replied impulsively, with a slight shake of the head. "I mean more than that. Michel has told me all that has passed between you—especially this morning at your new house. Captain Zoiloff is a man to trust implicitly, you know that?"

"I formed that opinion strongly," I said, beginning to wonder what she was going to say.

"Michel tells me you are half English. Is that a secret?"

"No, certainly not. We English are not afraid to own our nationality, as the actions of many of us show too prominently sometimes, I fear."

"But Englishmen of wealth do not commonly choose Bulgaria as a place of residence—at least not without