But as she looked at his ring, through the thick mist of her
tears, Mary comforted herself by saying: "Somehow it must come right. I
can sacrifice myself now, but not for always. In some way I will let
Vanno know."
She thought vaguely, stumblingly, her ideas astray and groping like
blind men in an earthquake, knowing not where to turn for safety. And as
she thought, Miss Jewett was speaking. Mary heard what the American
woman said only as an undertone to the clamour in her own brain; but at
last the sense of the words and what they might mean for herself sprang
out of darkness like the white arm of a searchlight.
"In justice to Princess Della Robbia and to me--though maybe you won't
care much about that--you must hear what I've got to tell you," Miss
Jewett said imperatively to Angelo. "It's true I'm a detective. I'm not
ashamed of it. I've made a reputation that way. But I'm human. I didn't
come here to be a beast. I'd no idea what Miss Bland was up to. I
thought she wanted me to look at the Princess, and know whether I'd seen
her picture at the Convent of St. Ursula-of-the-Lake, in Scotland. I
went there on Miss Bland's business, while she waited here, near your
house, so as to be on the spot when I came along with news. It was in
America she first engaged me to do the work. She said her cousin the
Duke di Rienzi wasn't satisfied with his son's marriage, and wanted to
find out something about the lady. It was all one to me, so long as I
was paid.
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