He also had the advantage of speaking French like a native, though

possibly with a very slight southern accent caught from his mother, who

originally came from Provence. As for his name, it was useless to

assume another, for Paris is full of Parisians of foreign descent,

whose names are English, German, Polish and Italian; and in a really

great city no one takes the least notice of a man unless he does

something to attract attention. Besides, Lushington had no idea of

disappearing from his own world, or of cutting himself off from his

regular correspondents.

He had not any fixed plan, for he was not sure what he wanted; he only

knew that he hated and distrusted Logotheti, and that while he could

not forgive Margaret for liking the Greek's society, he meant, in an

undetermined way, to save her from destruction. Probably, if he had

attempted to put his thoughts into words, he could have got no further

than Mrs. Rushmore, who suspected Logotheti of designs, and at the root

of his growing suspicion he would have found the fine old Anglo-Saxon

prejudice that a woman might as well trust herself to Don Juan, an

Italian Count, or Beelzebub, as to the offspring of Cadmus or Danaus.

Englishmen have indolent minds and active bodies, as a rule, but on the

other hand, when they are really roused, no people in the world are

capable of greater mental concentration and energy. They are therefore

not good detectives as a rule, but there are few better when they are

deeply and selfishly interested in the result.

Incidentally, Lushington meant to do his utmost to prevent Margaret

from going on the stage, and he would have been much surprised to learn

that in this respect he was Logotheti's ally, instead of his enemy,

against Margaret's fixed determination. If there was to be a struggle,

therefore, it was to be a three-cornered one, in which the two men

would be pitted against each other, and both together against the

resolution of the woman they both loved. Unfortunately for Lushington,

he had begun by withdrawing from Margaret's surroundings and had made

way for his adversary.

Meanwhile Logotheti made the running. He had offered Margaret his motor

car for coming in to her rehearsals, and a chauffeur appeared with it

in good time, masked, coated and gloved in the approved fashion.

Margaret supposed that Logotheti meant to ask her to luncheon again

with Madame De Rosa, and she made up her mind to refuse, for no

particular reason except that she did not wish to seem too willing to

do whatever he proposed. Mrs. Rushmore thought it bad enough that she

should accept the offer of the motor car, but was beginning to

understand that the machine had quite irresistible temptations for all

persons under fifty. She was even a little shocked that Margaret should

go alone to Paris under the sole protection of the chauffeur, though

she would have thought it infinitely worse if Logotheti himself had

appeared.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024