sort. She has no
business to come running after you like this. She must be taught
manners. Franklin, will you show the lady out here?"

She drew herself up to her full height of five feet nothing, thereby
demonstrating the obvious fact that she was mistress in her own house.

Presently Franklin reappeared.

"Mrs. Prescott," said he.

CHAPTER IV

That there should have been in the uncommon-tall young woman of buxom
stateliness and prepossessing features, attired (to the mere masculine
eye) in quite elegant black raiment--a thing called, I think, a picture
hat, broad-brimmed with a sweeping ostrich feather, tickled my especial
fancy, but was afterwards reviled by my wife as being entirely unsuited
to fresh widowhood--what there should have been in this remarkable
Junoesque young person who followed on the heels of Franklin to strike
terror into Jaffery's soul, I could not, for the life of me, imagine. In
the light of her personality I thought Barbara's _coup de theatre_
rather cruel. . . . Of course Barbara received her courteously. She,
too, was surprised at her outward aspect, having expected to behold a
fantastic personage of comic opera.

"I am very pleased to see you, Mrs. Prescott."

Liosha--I must call her that from the start, for she exists to me as
Liosha and as nothing else--shook hands with Barbara, making a queer
deep formal bow, and turned her calm, brown eyes on Jaffery. There was
just a little quarter-second of silence, during which we all wondered in
what kind of outlandish tongue she would address him. To our gasping
astonishment she said with an unmistakable American intonation: "Mr.
Chayne, will you have the kindness to introduce me to your friends?"

I broke into a nervous laugh and grasped her hand "Pray allow me. I am
Mr. Freeth, your much honoured host, and this is my wife, and . . .
Miss Jornicroft . . . and Mr. Boldero. Mr. Chayne has been deceiving us.
We thought you were an Albanian."

"I guess I am," said the lady, after having made four ceremonious bows,
"I am the daughter of Albanian patriots. They were murdered. One day I'm
going back to do a little murdering on my own account."

Barbara drew an audible short breath and Doria instinctively moved
within the protective area of Adrian's arm. Jaffery, with knitted brow,
leaned against one of the posts supporting the old wistaria arbour and
said nothing, leaving me to exploit the lady.

"But you speak perfect English," said I