第19部分(第4/7 頁)

it　to　a　level…headed　gentleman　who　keeps　cool。

〃It　is　most　amiable　of　you；　Mademoiselle；　to　honour　my　poor　abode　thus。〃

〃We　have　mutual　friends　in　Paris；〃　said　Mirelle。　〃I　have　heard　of　you　from　them；　but　I　e　to　see　you　today　for　another　reason。　I　have　heard　of　you　since　I　came　to　Nice　…　in　a　different　way；　you　understand。〃

〃Ah？〃　said　the　te　softly。

〃I　will　be　brutal；〃　continued　the　dancer；　〃nevertheless；　believe　that　I　have　your　welfare　at　heart。　They　are　saying　in　Nice；　Monsieur　le　te；　that　you　are　the　murderer　of　the　English　lady；　Madame　Kettering。〃

〃I　…　the　murderer　of　Madame　Kettering？　Pah！　But　how　absurd！〃

He　spoke　more　languidly　than　indignantly；　knowing　that　he　would　thus　provoke　her　further。

〃But　yes；〃　she　insisted；　〃it　is　as　I　tell　you。〃

〃It　amuses　people　to　talk；〃　murmured　the　te　indifferently。　〃It　would　be　beneath　me　to　take　such　wild　accusations　seriously。〃

〃You　do　not　understand。〃　Mirelle　bent　forward；　her　dark　eyes　flashing。　〃It　is　not　the　idle　talk　of　those　in　the　streets。　It　is　the　police。〃

〃The　police　…　ah？〃

The　te　sat　up；　alert　once　more。

Mirelle　nodded　her　head　vigorously　several　times。

〃Yes；　yes。　You　prehend　me　…　I　have　friends　everywhere。　The　Prefect　himself　…〃

She　left　the　sentence　unfinished；　with　an　eloquent　shrug　of　the　shoulders。

〃Who　is　not　indiscreet　where　a　beautiful　woman　is　concerned？〃　murmured　the　Count　politely。

〃The　police　believe　that　you　killed　Mrs　Kettering。　But　they　are　wrong。〃

〃Certainly　they　are　wrong；〃　agreed　the　te　easily。

〃You　say　that；　but　you　do　not　know　the　truth。　I　do。〃

The　te　looked　at　her　curiously。

〃You　know　who　killed　Madame　Kettering？　Is　that　what　you　would　say；　Mademoiselle？〃