"
She looked at him thoughtfully.
"Have you inherited them?" she asked.
He declined the challenge of her eyes. After all, she belonged to the
Russia whose growing strength was the greatest menace to European peace,
and whose attitude towards England was entirely uncertain.
"My uncle and I were scarcely intimate," he said. "I was never really in
his confidence."
"Not so much so as Lady Maggie Trent? She would be your cousin?"
"It is not a relationship of blood," Nigel replied. "Lady Maggie was the
daughter of my uncle's second wife."
"She is very charming," Naida murmured.
"I find her delightful," Nigel agreed.
"She is not only charming, but she has intelligence," Naida continued.
"I think that Lord Dorminster was very fond of her, that he trusted her
with many of his secrets."
"Had he secrets?" Nigel asked.
She remained for a moment very thoughtful, smoking a thin cigarette
through a long holder and watching the little rings of smoke.
"You are right," she said at last. "I find your attitude the only
correct one. Did you know that Maggie was a friend of mine, Lord
Dorminster?"
"I can very well believe it," he answered, "but I have never heard her
speak of you."
"Ah! But she has been away for some months. You have not seen much of
her, perhaps, since her return?"
"Very little," he acquiesced. "She only arrived in London just before my
uncle's death, and since then I have had to spend some time at
Dorminster.
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