Lord John stood in the doorway.
"Duchess," said the official, "I grieve to say that one of your guests of this evening, the Marchese di Maltagliala, has been assassinated in the garden, or possibly in the road, and his dead body was dragged into the garden afterwards.

He was found just inside the east garden door, which by some mischance had been left unlocked." A deathlike silence followed the _delegato's_ words.
[Illustration: "A DEATHLIKE SILENCE FOLLOWED THE DELEGATO'S WORDS"] Fay turned her bloodless face towards him, and her eyes never left him.

She felt Michael listening behind the screen.
"There was hardly an instant," continued the official, with a touch of professional pride, "before the alarm was given.

By a fortunate chance I myself happened to be near.

The garden was instantly surrounded.