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“You are very gracious, but my object has already been explained—I desire to marry the Duchess Stephanie.”

“As a means to what end?”

“Marriage is an end in itself,” said Helga, speaking for the first time, and coming to his rescue.

“That would make M. Boreski a mere fortune-hunter, mademoiselle, an extremely distasteful and invidious part to play.”

They were both surprised at the turn of things and were silent for some moments.

“I thought this part of the matter had been definitely settled,” said Helga; and then for the first time a suspicion crossed my mind that the man was taking his cue from her.

He said quickly—

“So it has been.”

“Are you tired of your art, monsieur? If you were to marry the Duchess Stephanie your career must of course end. What, then, do you expect to gain in its place? Money? What is a million roubles”—I only just avoided saying a hundred thousand dollars—“to a man with your gifts? Do you seek place, power, influence? Let me remind you, you are forcing your way into a circle which will never receive you as an equal. Political influence will be impossible for you—the Emperor himself would be inflexible on that point. If I read you aright, you are a man with ambition and individuality; and neither ambition nor individuality is content to be a mere adjunct to a wife.”