Although Audrey felt considerably annoyed at being described as hysterical, she nevertheless saw the necessity of some such explanation to satisfy the curiosity of the forewoman. Therefore she wisely said nothing, and followed Madame into the narrow back passage and up the stairs. On arriving in the still-room, the elder woman dismissed her assistants, and having looked behind the curtain to see that no one was hidden there likely to overhear the conversation, she closed the door. Audrey watched her as she sat down with her back to the window, and tried to steady her nerves, which naturally had sustained a shock. "Now, Miss Branwin," said Madame Coralie, in a quiet voice, "we can talk. But first, so that you may be certain of my identity, I shall lay this aside," and she flung the long veil of the yashmak over her shoulder. The girl examined that face carefully. Madame Coralie was certainly extremely like Lady Branwin. She had the same muddy complexion and large black eyes, and the same stout, shapeless figure. But the aggressive birthmark made all the difference, and after a single glimpse of it, much less this cautious and lengthy survey, there could be no question that the woman before her was not Lady Branwin. "But my mistake was natural," said Audrey, with a sigh. "Very natural," answered Madame Coralie, who had evidently followed her train of thought--no very difficult thing to do--"especially as you first saw my side face. The mark does not show when I look thus." She adapted her position to her words, and the resemblance became even more apparent. "Dora and I were twins," ended Madame, with a nod. "My father did not tell me that." "Oh! so your father told you about me, my dear. I thought he had long ago forgotten the existence of poor Flora Arkwright." "Far from forgetting you," Audrey assured her aunt, "he said that he wished he had married you instead of mother." The information did not seem to please Madame Coralie, for her thin lips tightened, and she gave vent to a short laugh. Then Audrey noted, as a further difference between the sisters, that the woman before her spoke in a hoarse and loud, domineering voice. Lady Branwin, on the other hand, had always talked softly, and possessed a musical utterance, which was one of the few poor charms she owned. "So Joseph remembers me in that way, does he, my dear?" said Madame Coralie, clasping her hands. "Ha! if I hadn't been a fool I should have married him." "Why didn't you?" asked Audrey, bluntly. "I have stated the reason," said Madame Coralie, drily. "I was a fool. But I am bound to say in my own defence that I never believed Joseph would become so wealthy. He never struck me as particularly clever." "Yet he must be, to have so much money."