"Howard," said Alphonse, "has grossly insulted Mr. Devar. In my country such an incident would not pass without bloodshed."
And he related, with considerable fire, the scene in the smoking-room at the club.
"But it was Mr. Turner and not Dick who insulted Mr. Devar."
"That is true, but Howard planned the whole--it was a trick, a trap."
"A clever trap," said Isabella, with her incomprehensible smile. "I did not know that Dick had the wit."
"Mr. Turner appears to have known Devar before," explained Alphonse, "and seemed to have some cause for complaint against him, though I do not believe all he said. And now Howard wantonly insults one of your friends, a gentleman who has dined in this house. He takes too much upon himself. If you will only say the word, Miss Gayerson, I will quarrel with Howard myself."
And Isabella, as Alphonse subsequently told me, received this offer with an ill-concealed smile.
"Dick is not afraid of the responsibility," she said, and did not appear so resentful as her champion.
Isabella did not answer at once, and Alphonse, whose good heart invariably tricked his temper, made a suggestion.
"Is it because he thought Mr. Devar no fit friend for yourself, Miss Gayerson?"
Isabella laughed derisively before she did me another wrong.
"He does not trouble about me or my affairs," she answered. "No, it is because Mr. Devar is too clever a person to be a welcome observer of Dick's actions. Dick probably knows that Mr. Devar is an expert in money matters, and less easy to deceive than yourself and a few ignorant and trusting women."
"Yes," replied the friend of my childhood. "It is probable that Mr. Devar suspects what others suspect. But you are so simple, Monsieur Giraud!"
"It is not that--Mademoiselle," he said with his light laugh. "It is that I am a fool."
Isabella was not looking at him, but at her quiet hands clasped together on her lap.
"We all know," she said, "that Dick is supplying Madame de Clericy with money that does not come from her estates. Whence does it come?"
"You suggest," said Alphonse, "that Howard has recovered my money and is supporting Madame de Clericy and Lucille with it."
What answer Isabella would have made to this I know not, for it was at this moment that the servant threw open the door and ushered me into a silence which was significant even to one of no very quick understanding. I saw that Alphonse Giraud was agitated and caught a singular gleam in Isabella's eyes. I suppose she was one of those women who take pleasure in stirring up strife between men. Her cheeks had a faint pink flush on them that made her suddenly beautiful. I had never noticed her looks before.