ess and looked about the room.

"I have not seen Lady Featherstone this evening," said he.

"Have you not?" asked the Countess, easily.

"Not so much as her foot," replied Wogan.

The conviction came upon him suddenly. Her hurried journey to Bologna
and her presence at Ohlau were explained to him now by her absence from
the room. His own arrival at Bologna had not remained so secret as he
had imagined. The fragile and gossamer lady, too flowerlike for the
world's rough usage, was the woman who had spied in his room and who had
possessed the courage to stand silent and motionless behind the curtain
after her presence there had been discovered. Wogan had a picture before
his eyes of the dagger she had held. It was plain that she would stop at
nothing to hinder this marriage, to prevent the success of his design;
and somehow the contrast between her appearance and her actions had
something uncanny about it. Wogan was inclined to shiver as he sat
chatting with the Countess. He was not reassured when Lady Featherstone
boldly entered the room; she meant to face him out. He remarked,
however, with a trifle of satisfaction that for the first time she wore
rouge upon her cheeks.

CHAPTER V

Wogan, however, was not immediately benefited by his discovery. He knew
that if a single whisper of it reached the Prince's ear there would be
at once an end to his small chances. The old man would take alarm; he
might punish the offender, but he would none the less surely refuse his
consent to Wogan's project. Wogan must keep his lips quite closed and
let his antagonists do boldly what they would.

And that they were active he found a way to discover. The Countess from
this time plied him with kindness. He must play cards with her and
Prince Constantine in the evening; he must take his coffee in her
private apartments in the morning. So upon one of these occasions he
spoke of his departure from Ohlau.

"I shall go by way of Prague;" and he stopped in confusion and corrected
himself quickly. "At least, I am not sure. There are other ways into
Italy."

The Countess showed no more concern than she had shown over her
harp-string. She talked indifferently of other matters as though she had
barely heard his remark; but she fell into the trap. Wogan was aware
that the Governor of Prague was her kinsman; and that afternoon he left
the castle alone, and taking the road to Vienna, turned as soon as he
was out of sight and hurried ro