other. I instantly recognised the
light-haired foreigner with the scar on his cheek, and I thought he
recognised me. He said nothing, and instead of stopping at the house,
as I did, he slowly walked on. Was he in the Forest Road by accident?
Or had he followed the Count home from the Opera?

I did not pursue those questions. After waiting a little till the
foreigner had slowly passed out of sight, I rang the gate bell. It was
then twenty minutes past eleven--late enough to make it quite easy for
the Count to get rid of me by the excuse that he was in bed.

The only way of providing against this contingency was to send in my
name without asking any preliminary questions, and to let him know, at
the same time, that I had a serious motive for wishing to see him at
that late hour. Accordingly, while I was waiting, I took out my card
and wrote under my name "On important business." The maid-servant
answered the door while I was writing the last word in pencil, and
asked me distrustfully what I "pleased to want."

"Be so good as to take that to your master," I replied, giving her the
card.

I saw, by the girl's hesitation of manner, that if I had asked for the
Count in the first instance she would only have followed her
instructions by telling me he was not at home. She was staggered by
the confidence with which I gave her the card. After staring at me, in
great perturbation, she went back into the house with my message,
closing the door, and leaving me to wait in the garden.

In a minute or so she reappeared. "Her master's compliments, and would
I be so obliging as to say what my business was?" "Take my compliments
back," I replied, "and say that the business cannot be mentioned to any
one but your master." She left me again, again returned, and this time
asked me to walk in.

I followed her at once. In another moment I was inside the Count's
house.

VII

There was no lamp in the hall, but by the dim light of the kitchen
candle, which the girl had brought upstairs with her, I saw an elderly
lady steal noiselessly out of a back room on the ground floor. She
cast one viperish look at me as I entered the hall, but said nothing,
and went slowly upstairs without returning my bow. My familiarity with
Marian's journal sufficiently assured me that the elderly lady was
Madame Fosco.

The servant led me to the room which the Countess had just left. I
entered it, and found myself face to face with the Count.