In order to do this, according to the doctor, it was necessary to force Mrs. Veilsturm to leave her victim alone, as she brought herself constantly to his mind, and exercised a malignant influence upon his whole nature highly detrimental to recovery. Eustace, therefore, agreed with the doctor, that the first thing to be done was to deal with Mrs. Veilsturm, and this he made up his mind to do without delay. As Guy could not be removed from the neighbourhood of Mrs. Veilsturm, the next best thing was to remove Mrs. Veilsturm from the neighbourhood of Guy, or, in plain words, to make her leave San Remo at once. It was a difficult task, and involved a disagreeable interview; still, desperate diseases require desperate remedies, so Eustace wasted no time in hesitation, but determined to call upon Mrs. Veilsturm that afternoon. As Mr. Gartney was nothing if not methodical, he proceeded very deliberately with his preparations, and, truth to tell, felt rather jubilant at the prospect of a tussle with Cleopatra, who was a foeman, or rather foewoman, worthy of anyone's steel. After a cold bath, which invigorated him considerably after his tiresome journey, he changed his travelling suit for one more in conformity with an afternoon visit, and then made an early luncheon, followed by a soothing cigar. His physical wants thus having been attended to, he ascertained from the "Liste d'Étrangers," that Mrs. Veilsturm was staying at the Villa Garcia, and departed on his errand of mercy. Cleopatra had certainly an aptitude for making herself comfortable, for the Villa Garcia was a charming little house, with white walls, vivid green shutters, and dusky, red-tiled roof. Embosomed among the grey olive trees and slender palms, it stood some distance back from the Corso Imperatrice, and from its broad terrace there could be seen the tideless blue of the Mediterranean Sea, the church of the Madonna della Guardia on Capo Verde, and sometimes a glimpse of far-off Corsica floating in a golden mist, or lying amid the rose-red clouds of dawn, like Brünnhilde within the magic circle of Wotan's fire. Happily for Eustace the lady he sought was at home, so on sending in his card, he was conducted to an artificially darkened drawing-room, where Mrs. Veilsturm was seated in a comfortable-looking chair, occupied with a French novel and a fan. No one was with her, as Major Griff had gone off with Thambits and Mr. Jiddy for a day's pleasure at Monte Carlo and, Errington not being obtainable, Mrs. Veilsturm was delighted to see Eustace, who was much more amusing than her own thoughts. She was arrayed in a loose dress of white Chinese silk, with great masses of scarlet geranium at her throat and waist, which suited her so well that Eustace, with a view to making everything pleasant, could not help congratulating her on her appearance.