main room by a sort of Japanese
matting hanging from the ceiling. He resigned his stick and hat with a
sigh to one of the trim waitresses, and sat down opposite her.

"My dear Violet," he said, "this is an unexpected pleasure. I thought
that Wednesday was quite one of your busiest days."

"It is generally," she answered. "To tell you the truth," she added,
leaning across the table, "I was jolly glad to get away. I have a kind
of fear, Bertrand, that we are going to be a little too busy."

"What do you mean?" he asked sharply.

She nodded her head mysteriously.

"There have been one or two people in, in the last few days, asking
questions which I don't understand," she told him. "One of them, I am
pretty sure, was a detective. He didn't get much change out of me,"
she added, in a self-satisfied tone, "but there's someone got their
knife into us. You remember the trouble down in the Marylebone Road,
when you----"

"Don't!" he interrupted. "I hate to think of that time."

"Well, I tell you I believe there is something of the sort brewing
again," the woman said. "I'll tell you more about it later on."

The waitress brought their tea, which Violet carefully prepared.

"Two pieces of sugar," she said, "and no cream. You see I haven't
forgotten, although it is not often we have tea together now,
Bertrand. You are becoming too fashionable, I suppose," she added with
a little frown.

"You know it isn't that," he answered hastily. "It's my work, nothing
but my work. Go on with what you were telling me, Violet."

"You needn't look so scared," she said, glancing round to be sure that
they were not overheard. "The only thing is that Madame must be told
at once, and we shall all have to be careful for a little time. I shut
up shop for the day as soon as I tumbled to the thing."

"I wonder if this is Rochester's doings," he muttered.

"The husband of the lady?" Violet enquired.

Saton nodded.

"He is my enemy," he said. "Nothing would make him happier than to
have the power to strike a blow like this, and to identify us with the
place in any way."

"I don't see how they could do that," she said meditatively. "I should
be the poor sufferer, I suppose, and you may be sure I shouldn't be
like that other girl, who gave you away. You are not afraid of that,
are you, Bertrand? Things are different between us. We are engaged to
be married. You do not forget that, Bertrand?"

"Of course I do not," he answered.

"Well,"