CHAPTER XLII. FEAR!

Leona Lalage held herself up talking bravely about the weather, whilst Prout was dumb with admiration of her audacity. Her very recklessness inspired his respect. He little knew of the deadly fear and suffering concealed behind that smiling mask. The last thing he saw as he closed the door of the brougham was an averted face and a small hand.

The blood horses dashed on, whilst Leona Lalage lay back against the cushions and fainted for the third time in her life. It had been a wonderful effort to put the deadly feeling off so long, but her iron will had conquered.

She came to herself again with a shudder and a feeling of anguish in every limb. She was not suspected yet, or even a fool of an English detective would not have shown her that picture. Broken and agitated as she was, her quick brain began to work again.

In the first place she must get those notes back from Isidore. Even if they had to be obtained by force it must be done. She took a visiting card from her case, and in as steady a hand as possible penciled a line or two on the back asking Isidore to come round and dine with her that evening. Once this was done and left at the capitalist's rooms she felt a little easier in her mind. She was doing something.

Hence she drove on to the Metropole with the hope of seeing Maitrank. She had to wait there till she was angry and impatient. Hitherto she had not had to wait. She was going to get to the bottom of that diamond business if she had to stay all day. A stolid clerk came out and said Herr Maitrank was disengaged.

Maitrank, in his shirtsleeves, was smoking one of his black cigars. He made no apology for his attire nor for the rank tobacco between his yellow teeth. How different the last time when they had met in the millionaire's office.

"Why did you keep me waiting so long?" the Countess demanded.

Maitrank chuckled. He admired a fighter, and here was one to his hand. It was pretty audacious in a woman who had swindled him out of a fortune.

"I was merely deferring the pleasure, my dear," he said. "What can I do for you? Any fresh loan on the banks of the clouds or castles in the air or anything of that kind? Or do you wish to sell me any diamonds?"

"I swear to you," the Countess said, "that I was innocent over those diamonds. I honestly believed them to be genuine, and worth far more money than the sum for which I parted with them. I feel now that I have been tricked. You old wolf, you had the real stones taken away for some purpose of your own."

She bent over the table and shook her clenched hand angrily in the old man's face. He showed his teeth in a snarl.

"Gently, gently," he growled. "Let us look at those gems. I have them here. See, are those the ones you passed over to me?"

He pitched the glittering gauds contemptuously on the desk. Leona examined them carefully So far as she could see no change had been made. And where the stones had been filed she could see the dull scratched edges. Was this the work of the hidden enemy or another cruel stroke of ill fortune?

"They look like the same," she admitted grudgingly. "I'm afraid you're right there."

"Take them back to the place where you purloined them," Maitrank grinned.

Leona was silent. Whence the gems came was no business of her opponent. He seemed to be pleased about something. And he made no allusion to his money, which was a very bad sign. The Countess brought up the subject.

"What are you going to do?" she asked meaningly.

"I am going to do nothing--for the present." Maitrank replied. "I am going to pursue what that admirable diplomatist Beaconsfield called a policy of masterly inactivity. If I do not get my money in cash I shall in another way."

"But you are going to get it?" Leona said eagerly. "I have practically effected a loan with the firm of Bernstein of New York--why do you laugh?"

"Because I am amused, because I am greatly amused. You are wasting your time and all your pretty schemes there. The name of a firm means nothing in business nowadays. I have a different name in every capital in Europe. Also I have another different name in New York. For instance, my firm is called Ernstein and Co., of 149, Broadway. Ah, ah!"

"So I have been corresponding with you all the time?"

"Yes. As the English say, that is about the size of it. Those letters of yours! Oh, oh! The fun I have had out of this. And the magnificent lies!"

But Maitrank was alone. The Countess had bounced in a fury out of the room. At every turn fate seemed to be against her now.

That deadly fear was coming on her again. It was hard to be baffled and beaten at every turn like this, and yet not be able to strike a single blow in return. There was the haunting terror that her enemies knew too much, and that the sword would fall when they pleased. Otherwise the cruel, greedy nature of Maitrank would never have held her off like this. He seemed to be resigned to the loss of the money, but he was evidently going to take it out in another way. Leona would have given years of her life to know which way.

There was nobody to turn to, nobody to advise her now, but Balmayne. He had done pretty well on the whole; he had contrived to keep himself out of danger, and at the first sign of the collapse he would fly.

But anybody was better than the sapping away of mind and body brooding alone. Balmayne listened to everything with a grave face.

"I quite agree with you over those notes," he said. "They must be recovered at any cost from Isidore."

"Think," Leona whispered, "set your wits to work. Meanwhile I have asked him to come here tonight to dine. Between now and then we shall surely find some way. At present I can only think of drugging and stealing his keys. But with our experience we can surely find better methods than that."

"Isidore won't come," Balmayne said, curtly.

The prophecy proved to be correct. Isidore regretted that he had another engagement to dine out this evening. Perhaps it was only a pleasure deferred to the end of the week. Leona tore the paper up passionately.