"I suppose I must have been mistaken, but I thought I caught sight of your handsome German friend in the hall just now?" "German friend--who?" "Your _danseur_ at the Ardayre ball. I have forgotten his name." "And so have I." At that instant Marie appeared at the door and Fou-Chow came from under the chair where he was sheltering and pattered towards her with a glad tiny whine. The maid's eyes rounded with dislike as she looked at her mistress; she realised that the little creature had been roughly treated again. She picked him up and could hardly control her voice into a tone of respectfulness as she spoke: "Monsieur Insborg demands if he can see Madame in half an hour. He telephoned to Madame but received no reply." For a second Harietta's eyes betrayed her; they narrowed with alarm, and then she said suavely: "I suppose the receiver was off. No, say I am dining early for the theatre--but to-morrow at five." The maid inclined her head and left the room silently, carrying Fou-Chow, but as she did so her eyes met Verisschenzko's and their expression suggested to him several things: "Marie loves the dog--so she hates Harietta. Good--we shall see." Thus his thoughts ran, but aloud he asked what Harietta meant to do with her life in Paris, and who had been her lovers here? "You do say such frightful things to me, Stepan," and she tossed her head. "You think that because I took you, I take others! Pah!--and if I do--these Englishmen are peaches, just like little school boys--they'd not harm a fly. But I only love you, Darling Brute--even though we have had a row." "I know that, of course. I am not jealous, only you have not given me any proofs lately, so I am going to retire from the field. I came to say good-bye." He looked adorably attractive, Harietta thought--he made her blood run. Ferdinand Ardayre was but an instructed weakling, when one had come through his intricacies there was nothing in him. As a lover he was not worth the Russian's little finger, and the more Verisschenzko eluded her, the higher her passion for him grew; and here he was after months of absence and suggesting that he would leave her for ever! This was not to be borne! The enraging part was that she would not dare to try to keep him with Hans again upon the scene. She hated Hans once more as she had hated him at the Ardayre ball! Verisschenzko did not attempt to caress her; he sat perfectly still, nor did he speak.