1Derek Kettering emerged from Van Aldin's suite so precipitantly that he collided with a lady passing across the corridor. He apologized, and she accepted his apologies with a smiling reassurance and passed on, leaving with him a pleasant impression of a soothing personality and rather fine grey eyes.

2For all his nonchalance, his interview with his father-in-law had shaken him more than he cared to show. He had a solitary lunch, and after it, frowning to himself a little, he went around to the sumptuous flat that housed the lady known as Mirelle. A trim Frenchwoman received him with smiles.

3"But enter then, Monsieur. Madame reposes herself."

4He was ushered into the long room with its Eastern setting which he knew so well. Mirelle was lying on the divan, supported by an incredible number of cushions, all in varying shades of amber, to harmonize with the yellow ochre of her complexion. The dancer was a beautifully made woman, and if her face, beneath its mask of yellow, was in truth somewhat haggard, it had a bizarre charm of its own, and her orange lips smiled invitingly at Derek Kettering.

5He kissed her, and flung himself into a chair.

6"What have you been doing with yourself? Just got up, I suppose?"

7The orange mouth widened into a long smile.

8"No," said the dancer. "I have been at work."

9She flung out a long, pale hand towards the piano, which was littered with untidy music scores.

10"Ambrose has been here. He has been playing me the new Opera."

11Kettering nodded without paying much attention. He was profoundly uninterested in Claud Ambrose and the latter's operatic setting of Ibsen's Peer Gynt. So was Mirelle, for that matter, regarding it merely as a unique opportunity for her own presentation as Anitra.

12"It is a marvellous dance," she murmured. "I shall put all the passion of the desert into it. I shall dance hung over with jewels—ah! and, by the way, mon ami, there is a pearl that I saw yesterday in Bond Street—a black pearl."

13She paused, looking at him invitingly.

14"My dear girl," said Kettering, "it's no use talking of black pearls to me. At the present minute, as far as I am concerned, the fat is in the fire."

15She was quick to respond to his tone. She sat up, her big black eyes widening.

16"What is that you say, Dereek? What has happened?"

17"My esteemed father-in-law," said Kettering, "is preparing to go off the deep-end."

18"Eh?"

19"In other words, he wants Ruth to divorce me."

20"How stupid!" said Mirelle. "Why should she want to divorce you?"

21Derek Kettering grinned.

22"Mainly because of you, chérie!" he said.

23Mirelle shrugged her shoulders.

24"That is foolish," she observed in a matter-of-fact voice.

25"Very foolish," agreed Derek.

26"What are you going to do about it?" demanded Mirelle.

27"My dear girl, what can I do? On the one side, the man with unlimited money; on the other side, the man with unlimited debts. There is no question as to who will come out on top."

28"They are extraordinary, these Americans," commented Mirelle. "It is not as though your wife were fond of you."

29"Well," said Derek, "what are we going to do about it?"

30She looked at him inquiringly. He came over and took both her hands in his.

31"Are you going to stick to me?"

32"What do you mean? After—"

33"Yes," said Kettering. "After, when the creditors come down like wolves on the fold. I am damned fond of you, Mirelle; are you going to let me down?"

34She pulled her hands away from him.

35"You know I adore you, Dereek."

36He caught the note of evasion in her voice.

37"So that's that, is it? The rats will leave the sinking ship."

38"Ah, Dereek!"

39"Out with it," he said violently. "You will fling me over; is that it?"

40She shrugged her shoulders.

41"I am fond of you, mon ami—indeed I am fond of you. You are very charming—un beau garçon, but ce n'est pas pratique."

42"You are a rich man's luxury, eh? Is that it?"

43"If you like to put it that way."

44She leaned back on the cushions, her head flung back.

45"All the same, I am fond of you, Dereek."

46He went over to the window and stood there some time looking out, with his back to her. Presently the dancer raised herself on her elbow and stared at him curiously.

47"What are you thinking of, mon ami?"

48He grinned at her over his shoulder, a curious grin, that made her vaguely uneasy.

49"As it happened, I was thinking of a woman, my dear."

50"A woman, eh?"

51Mirelle pounced on something that she could understand.

52"You are thinking of some other woman, is that it?"

53"Oh, you needn't worry; it is purely a fancy portrait. 'Portrait of a lady with grey eyes.'"

54Mirelle said sharply, "When did you meet her?"

55Derek Kettering laughed, and his laughter had a mocking, ironical sound.

56"I ran into the lady in the corridor of the Savoy Hotel."

57"Well! What did she say?"

58"As far as I can remember, I said, 'I beg your pardon,' and she said, 'It doesn't matter,' or words to that effect."

59"And then?" persisted the dancer.

60Kettering shrugged his shoulders.

61"And then—nothing. That was the end of the incident."

62"I don't understand a word of what you are talking about," declared the dancer.

63"Portrait of a lady with grey eyes," murmured Derek reflectively. "Just as well I am never likely to meet her again."

64"Why?"

65"She might bring me bad luck. Women do."

66Mirelle slipped quickly from her couch, and came across to him, laying one long, snake-like arm round his neck.

67"You are foolish, Dereek," she murmured. "You are very foolish. You are beau garçon, and I adore you, but I am not made to be poor—no, decidedly I am not made to be poor. Now listen to me; everything is very simple. You must make it up with your wife."

68"I am afraid that's not going to be actually in the sphere of practical politics," said Derek drily.

69"How do you say? I do not understand."

70"Van Aldin, my dear, is not taking any. He is the kind of man who makes up his mind and sticks to it."

71"I have heard of him," nodded the dancer. "He is very rich, is he not? Almost the richest man in America. A few days ago, in Paris, he bought the most wonderful ruby in the world—'Heart of Fire' it is called."

72Kettering did not answer. The dancer went on musingly:

73"It is a wonderful stone—a stone that should belong to a woman like me. I love jewels, Dereek; they say something to me. Ah! to wear a ruby like 'Heart of Fire.'"

74She gave a little sigh, and then became practical once more.

75"You don't understand these things, Dereek; you are only a man. Van Aldin will give these rubies to his daughter, I suppose. Is she his only child?"

76"Yes."

77"Then when he dies, she will inherit all his money. She will be a rich woman."

78"She is a rich woman already," said Kettering drily. "He settled a couple of millions on her at her marriage."

79"A couple of millions! But that is immense. And if she died suddenly, eh? That would all come to you?"

80"As things stand at present," said Kettering slowly, "it would. As far as I know she has not made a will."

81"Mon Dieu!" said the dancer. "If she were to die, what a solution that would be."

82There was a moment's pause, and then Derek Kettering laughed outright.

83"I like your simple, practical mind, Mirelle, but I am afraid what you desire won't come to pass. My wife is an extremely healthy person."

84"Eh, bien!" said Mirelle; "there are accidents."

85He looked at her sharply but did not answer.

86She went on.

87"But you are right, mon ami, we must not dwell on possibilities. See now, my little Dereek, there must be no more talk of this divorce. Your wife must give up the idea."

88"And if she won't?"

89The dancer's eyes narrowed to slits.

90"I think she will, my friend. She is one of those who would not like the publicity. There are one or two pretty stories that she would not like her friends to read in the newspapers."

91"What do you mean?" asked Kettering sharply.

92Mirelle laughed, her head thrown back.

93"Parbleu! I mean the gentleman who calls himself the Comte de la Roche. I know all about him. I am Parisienne, you remember. He was her lover before she married you, was he not?"

94Kettering took her sharply by the shoulders.

95"That is a damned lie," he said, "and please remember that, after all, you are speaking of my wife."

96Mirelle was a little sobered.

97"You are extraordinary, you English," she complained. "All the same, I dare say that you may be right. The Americans are so cold, are they not? But you will permit me to say, mon ami, that she was in love with him before she married you, and her father stepped in and sent the Comte about his business. And the little Mademoiselle, she wept many tears! But she obeyed. Still, you must know as well as I do, Dereek, that it is a very different story now. She sees him nearly every day, and on the fourteenth she goes to Paris to meet him."

98"How do you know all this?" demanded Kettering.

99"Me? I have friends in Paris, my dear Dereek, who know the Comte intimately. It is all arranged. She is going to the Riviera, so she says, but in reality the Comte meets her in Paris and—who knows! Yes, yes, you can take my word for it, it is all arranged."

100Derek Kettering stood motionless.

101"You see," purred the dancer, "if you are clever, you have her in the hollow of your hand. You can make things very awkward for her."

102"Oh, for God's sake be quiet," cried Kettering. "Shut your cursed mouth!"

103Mirelle flung herself down again on the divan with a laugh. Kettering caught up his hat and coat and left the flat, banging the door violently. And still the dancer sat on the divan and laughed softly to herself. She was not displeased with her work.