The woman at the piano turned about, a little startled at the
unexpectedness of the voice, and then rose quickly to her feet--and
David Carrigan found himself looking into the eyes of Carmin Fanchet!
Never had he seen her more beautiful than in this moment, like an angel
in her shimmering dress of white, her hair a radiant glory, her eyes
wide and glowing--and, as she looked at him, a smile coming to her red
lips. Yes, SHE WAS SMILING AT HIM--this woman whose brother he had
brought to the hangman, this woman who had stolen Black Roger from
another! She knew him--he was sure of that; she knew him as the man who
had believed her a criminal along with her brother, and who had fought
to the last against her freedom. Yet from her lips and her eyes and her
face the old hatred was gone. She was coming toward him slowly; she was
reaching out her hand, and half blindly his own went out, and he felt
the warmth of her fingers for a moment, and he heard her voice saying
softly,
"Welcome to Chateau Boulain, M'sieu Carrigan."
He bowed and mumbled something, and Black Roger gently pressed his arm,
drawing him back to the door. As he went he saw again that Carmin
Fanchet was very beautiful as she stood there, and that her lips were
very red--but her face was white, whiter than he had ever seen the face
of a woman before.
As they went up a winding stair to the second floor, Roger Audemard
said, "I am proud of my Carmin, M'sieu David. Would any other woman in
the world have given her hand like that to the man who had helped to
kill her brother?"
They stopped at another door. Black Roger opened it. There were lights
within, and David knew it was to be his room. Audemard did not follow
him inside, but there was a flashing humor in his eyes.
"I say, is there another woman like her in the world, m'sieu?"
"What have you done to Marie-Anne--your wife?" asked David.
It was hard for him to get the words out. A terrible thing was gripping
at his throat, and the clutch of it grew tighter as he saw the wild
light in Black Roger's eyes.
"Tomorrow you will know, m'sieu. But not to-night. You must wait until
tomorrow."
He nodded and stepped back, and the door closed--and in the same
instant came the harsh grating of a key in the lock.