"And I hope soon to meet you in his company," Number Ten replied, as he finally took his leave from the two men.
As soon as the door had closed on him, Naniescu turned and looked at his friend. But de Kervoisin had picked up his book, and gave him no encouragement to discuss the intriguing personality of Number Ten. His face, too, was quite inscrutable. Marcel Proust was engaging his full attention. For a moment it seemed as if Naniescu would fall back on his stock phrase, or else on a string of cosmopolitan oaths; he even drew his breath ready for either; then it seemed as if words failed him.
The intriguing personality was above comment.
Rosemary had never before welcomed her husband so eagerly as she did that afternoon. As soon as she heard the whirring of his motor she ran to the gates to meet him.
"What news?" she cried when he had brought the car to a standstill.
As usual, his dark eyes flashed with joy when he saw her. He jumped down and raised both her hands to his lips.
"Very vague, I am afraid," he replied. "And some of it a mere conjecture."
"To begin with, young Imrey and Anna Heves have been transferred to Sót."
"Between Cluj and the frontier. It seems that there is a château there that is being used as a prison for political offenders."
"Naniescu. I saw him for a moment. He was very busily engaged with the Minister for Home Affairs who was over from Bucharest, so he could only give me a few minutes."
"No. But she had applied for permission to see Philip and Anna, and he gave the permission. He supposed that she had gone on to Sót by train."
"Even so," Rosemary mused, "she would be back by now, or else she would have wired."
Jasper appeared to hesitate for a moment or two, and then he said: "I don't think that she has been allowed to do either."
"It is mere surmise, my dear," Jasper went on quietly, "but one thing Naniescu did tell me, and that was that he had on behalf of his government definitely made over the Kis-Imre estates to Peter Blakeney."
They were walking round the house towards the veranda when he said this. Rosemary made no response; indeed, it might be thought that she had not heard, for the next question which she put to Jasper appeared irrelevant.