Not but that in her secret heart she
was a good deal frightened, for something under her pink satin
corsage was going pit-a-pat at a wonderful rate; but she thought
that betraying such a feeling would not be the thing. Perhaps
the tall, dark figure saw it, and smiled behind her mask; but
outwardly she only leaned lightly against the back of the chair,
and glanced discreetly at the door.
"Are you sure we are quite alone?"
"Quite:"
"Because," said La Masque, in her low, silvery tones, "what I
have come to say is not for the ears of any third person living:"
"We are entirely alone, madame," replied Leoline, opening her
black eyes very wide. "Prudence is gone, and I do not know when
she will be back."
"Prudence will never come back," said La Masque, quietly.
"Madame!"
"My dear, do not look so shocked - it is not her fault. You know
she deserted you for fear of the plague."
"Yes, yes!"
"Well, that did not save her; nay, it even brought on what she
dreaded so much. Your nurse is plague-stricken, my dear, and
lies ill unto death in the pesthouse in Finsbury Fields."
"Oh, dreadful!" exclaimed Leoline, while every drop of blood fled
from her face.
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