Miss de Gervais claims so much of his time." Baroni's brow grew stormy.
"Mees de Gervais?
Of course! It is inevitable!" he muttered.

"I knew it must be like that." Diana regarded him curiously.
"But why?
Do--do all dramatists have to consult so much with the leading actress in the play ?" The old _maestro_ made a sweeping gesture with his arm, as though disavowing any knowledge of the matter.
"Do not ask me!" he said bitterly.

"Ask Max Errington--ask your husband these questions." At the condemnation in his voice her loyalty asserted itself indignantly.
"You are right," she said quickly.

"I ought not to have asked you.
Good-bye, signor." But Diana's loyalty was hard put to it to fight the newly awakened jealousy that was stirring in her heart, and it seemed as though just now everything and everybody combined to add fuel to the fire, for, only a few days later, when Miss Lermontof came to Lilac Lodge to practise with Diana, she, too, added her quota of disturbing comment.
"You're looking very pale," she remarked, at the end of the hour.

"And you're shockingly out of voice! What's the matter ?" Then, as Diana made no answer, she added teasingly: "Matrimony doesn't seem to have agreed with you too well.