My perseverance was ill rewarded, but I succeeded in learning
that the only member of the family on the island, besides the old
lord, was a girl whom they called "the Lady Euphrosyne," the daughter
of the lord's brother, who was dead. Next I asked after my friend of
the Optimum restaurant, Constantine. He was this lady's cousin once
or twice removed--I did not make out the exact degree of kinship--but
Demetri hastened to inform me that he came very seldom to the island,
and had not been there for two years.
"And he is not expected there now?" I asked.
"He was not when we left, my lord," answered Demetri, and it seemed
to me that he threw an inquiring glance at his brother, who added
hastily:
"What should we poor men know of the Lord Constantine's doings?"
"Do you know where he is now?" I asked.
"No, my lord," they answered together, and with great emphasis.
I cannot deny that something struck me as peculiar in their manner,
but when I mentioned my impression to Denny, he scoffed at me.
"You've been reading old Byron again," he said, scornfully. "Do you
think they're corsairs?"
Well, a man is not a fool simply because he reads Byron, and I
maintained my opinion that the brothers were embarrassed at my
questions. Moreover, I caught Spiro, the more truculent-looking of the
pair, scowling at me more than once when he did not know I had my eye
on him.
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