clutches.â
âYes, you did,â said Ruth bitterly. âAnd I married Derek Kettering.â
âYou wanted to,â said the millionaire sharply.
She shrugged her shoulders.
âAnd now,â said Van Aldin slowly, âyou have been seeing him againâafter all I told you. He has been in the house today. I met him outside, and couldnât place him for the moment.â
Ruth Kettering had recovered her composure.
âI want to tell you one thing, Dad; you are wrong about Armandâthe Comte de la Roche, I mean. Oh, I know there were several regrettable incidents in his youthâhe has told me about them; butâwell, he has cared for me always. It broke his heart when you parted us in Paris, and nowââ
She was interrupted by the snort of indignation her father gave.
âSo you fell for that stuff, did you? You, a daughter of mine! My God!â
He threw up his hands.
âThat women can be such darned fools!â
Six
M IRELLE
D erek Kettering emerged from Van Aldinâs 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.
For 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 round to the sumptuous flat that housed the lady known as Mirelle. A trim Frenchwoman received him with smiles.
âBut enter then, Monsieur. Madame reposes herself.â
He 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.
He kissed her, and flung himself into a chair.
âWhat have you been doing with yourself? Just got up, I suppose?â
The orange mouth widened into a long smile.
âNo,â said the dancer. âI have been at work.â
She flung out a long, pale hand towards the piano, which was littered with untidy music scores.
âAmbrose has been here. He has been playing me the new Opera.â
Kettering nodded without paying much attention. He was profoundly uninterested in Claud Ambrose and the latterâs operatic setting of Ibsenâs Peer Gynt. So was Mirelle, for that matter, regarding it merely as a unique opportunity for her own presentation as Anitra.
âIt is a marvellous dance,â she murmured. âI shall put all the passion of the desert into it. I shall dance hung over with jewels âah! and, by the way, mon ami, there is a pearl that I saw yesterday in Bond Streetâa black pearl.â
She paused, looking at him invitingly.
âMy dear girl,â said Kettering, âitâs no use talking of black pearls to me. At the present minute, as far as I am concerned, the fat is in the fire.â
She was quick to respond to his tone. She sat up, her big black eyes widening.
âWhat is that you say, Dereek? What has happened?â
âMy esteemed father-in-law,â said Kettering, âis preparing to go off the deep end.â
âEh?â
âIn other words, he wants Ruth to divorce me.â
âHow stupid!â said Mirelle. âWhy should she want to divorce you?â
Derek Kettering grinned.
âMainly because of you, chérie! â he said.
Mirelle shrugged her shoulders.
âThat is foolish,â she observed in a matter-of-fact voice.
âVery foolish,â agreed Derek.
âWhat are you going to do about it?â demanded Mirelle.
âMy