CHAIR BY THE COZILY BURNING FIREPLACE AND DASHING MADLY AND VERY UNLADYLIKE

TO THE DOOR. I STOPPED BY THE LONG MIRROR IN THE HALLWAY TO CHECK MY APPEARANCE, AND WAS PLEASED AT THE VISION OF FEMININE LOVELINESS WHICH SMILED (ALBEIT A TRIFLE FIENDISHLY) BACK FROM THE GLASS.

?? "PERFECT, 1 MURMURED. "A TRULY MARVELOUS SPECIMEN OF FEMININITY, GLORIOUS TO BE HOLD. THE TROUBLE IS, IT'S ALL DEAD AND ROTTEN INSIDE. WHAT A SHAME!"

I OPENED THE DOOR, AND MADEMOISELLE STOOD THERE, STILL WEARING HER SEVERELY CUT CLOTHES, STILL BEAUTIFUL IN HER OWN STRICT WAY IN SPITE OF THE ENCROACHMENTS OF TIME, STILL HAUGHTY AND IMPERIOUS, AND STILL A MEAN BITCH DESERVING OF TREACHERY.

"GOOD EVENING, MADEMOISELLE DEAR, I COOED AT HER. "PLEASE COME IN!"

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"GOOD EVENING, ROBERTA, SHE SAID, STEPPING IN THE DOOR ON HER FIVE-INCH STILT HEELS WHICH MADE HER AN INCH TALLER THAN ME IN MY THREE-INCH SENSIBLE HEELS. TOUCHE, MADEMOISELLE! I THOUGHT TO MYSELF.

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| LED HER TO A SEAT BY THE FIRE, HAVING TAKEN HER WRAP, AND APOLOGIZED FOR THE FACT THAT THE SERVANTS WERE ON THEIR DAYS OFF THAT DAY. "I WANTED TO BE ALONE WITH YOU ANYWAY, I EXPLAINED, "FOR THIS MATTER I WISH TO DISCUSS WITH YOU IS OF EXTREME DELICACY."

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$7

"WHAT IS IT, CHERIE?" MADEMOISELLE INQUIRED. "I AM BURNING UP WITH CURIOSITY AS TO WHAT MADE YOU SEEK ME OUT."

"ALL IN THE DUE COURSE OF TIME,"

I SAID. "MEANWHILE, I HAVE THE DUBONNET ROUGE YOU LOVE SO DEARLY CHILLED TO THE EXACT DRINKING TEMPERATURE."

SHE NODDED AND SMILED, AS i HANDED HER HER DRINK. I WATCHED HER CLOSELY AS SHE SIPPED IT DURING THE ENSUING CONVERSATION WHICH CONSISTED OF MINOR CHIT-CHAT.

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"NOW THAT IT'S ALL OVER, I SAID, "YOU CAN TELL ME. THE WHOLE

SUDDENLY, THING WAS YOUR IDEA, WASN'T IT, MY DEAR."

"WHAT WAS MY IDEA?" MADEMOISELLE INQUIRED, HER SPEECH SLURRING SLIGHTLY UNDER THE EFFECTS OF THE DRUG.

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