"Can't guess who the man is, but I daresay the lady is Donna Maria."
"Donna Maria is here," said a sweet voice behind him.
Torry and Darrel rose to their feet to behold a beautiful woman in the first blush of girlish beauty. Donna Maria was not very tall, but her figure was perfect; and she walked with the graceful, undulating gait peculiar to Spanish women. Her hair and eyes were as black as midnight; and she had a pale oval, olive-hued face, a charming mouth, and when she smiled, displayed a row of pearly teeth. Her air was haughty and imperious, and she looked at the visitors like a queen whose privacy has been intruded upon.
"I am Donna Maria," said she coldly. "May I ask, sir, why you insisted upon seeing me?"
She looked at Darrel, who did not respond, so amazed he was by her beauty; so after a glance of disapproval, the lady turned towards Torry, and repeated the question. The detective immediately unwrapped the parcel he carried, and held the hat out towards her.
Donna Maria looked at it closely, then bowed. "It was mine," she admitted, "but some weeks ago I gave it to my maid."
"Julia Brawn; but you say, 'What was her name?' Why?"
"Because," replied Torry, looking steadily at her, "Julia Brawn has been murdered."
When Torry stated so coldly that Julia Braw was dead, Donna Maria turned pale, trembled violently, and would have fallen but that Darrel, noticing her fainting condition, sprang forward in time to catch her in his arms. In a moment, however, she hastily withdrew herself from his embrace, and recovered her self-composure. Seating herself on a sofa, she remained silent for a few moments, but the pallor of her face, and the trembling of her lips, shewed how difficult it was for her to command her feelings. When she found her voice again, it was to explain the reason of her emotion.
"After the death of my uncle," she said, in low tones, "anything of the same nature frightens me. That poor girl! It seems terrible that she should have met with the same tragic end as Mr. Grent."
Donna Maria spoke excellent English, with but a slight foreign accent, so it was evident that her teacher, Miss Hargone, had instructed her thoroughly well. Darrel, who, as a writer, had some claim to be a judge, was amazed by the fluency of her speech and the extent of her vocabulary. Apparently the young girl was a born linguist since she spoke, almost faultlessly, a tongue other than her own; but, perhaps, her undeniable beauty affected the heart of Darrel sufficiently to render him enthusiastic in his judgment. Torry, less susceptible, paid little attention to the girl's beauty or intelligence. He saw in her merely a witness to be interrogated, not a woman to be wooed, and forthwith proceeded to examine her in a cold-blooded manner, sufficiently exasperating to his ardent companion.