The deception practised upon John Tullis, frustrated only by the receipt of a genuine message from the Countess, was enough to convince the authorities that something serious was afoot.

It may have meant no more than the assassination of Tullis at the hands of a jealous husband; or it may have been a part of the vast conspiracy which Dangloss now believed to be in progress of development.
"Development!" Truxton King had exclaimed at this point in her narrative.

"Good God, if Dangloss only knew what I know!" There had been a second brief message from the Countess.

She admitted that she was with her husband at the Axphain capital.

This message came to Tullis and was to the effect that she and the Count were leaving almost immediately for a stay at Biarritz in France.