'I don't know you,' she said. 'What do you want
with me?'
Mrs. Ferrari tried to answer. Her first burst of courage had already
worn itself out. The bold words that she had determined to speak
were living words still in her mind, but they died on her lips.
There was a moment of silence. Lady Montbarry looked round
again at the speechless stranger. 'Are you deaf?' she asked.
There was another pause. Lady Montbarry quietly looked back again
at the screen, and put another question. 'Do you want money?'
'Money!' That one word roused the sinking spirit of the courier's wife.
She recovered her courage; she found her voice. 'Look at me, my lady,
if you please,' she said, with a sudden outbreak of audacity.
Lady Montbarry looked round for the third time. The fatal words
passed Mrs. Ferrari's lips.
'I come, my lady, to acknowledge the receipt of the money sent
to Ferrari's widow.'
Lady Montbarry's glittering black eyes rested with steady
attention on the woman who had addressed her in those terms.
Not the faintest expression of confusion or alarm, not even a momentary
flutter of interest stirred the deadly stillness of her face.
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