It looked as though it might not be very legible at best; but on
the sheet before her the shaking, uneven letters trailed off into such
filiform indistinctness that she had to go through it several times
before she could decipher the following, written in French:
"Mademoiselle, I understand you well enough to be
sure that you will ask for the truth at all costs,
but in giving it to you, I also depend upon your
honor to divulge to no one, not even Eleanor, what
I tell you: I fought Scorpa this morning and have
sustained a bullet wound in the arm. Unfortunately,
it was impossible to hide, as the bone is broken
and it had to be put in plaster. Scorpa's condition
is, I am told, serious. If it goes badly, I shall
have to leave the country, though I doubt if he
allows the real cause to be known. I rely upon your
discretion as completely as you may rely upon my
having avenged an insult offered to the purest and
noblest of women.
"I beg you to believe, Mademoiselle, in the
respectful devotion of the humblest of your
servants.
"DI VALDO."
Nina folded the letter and locked it away in her jewel case, moving as
if in a daze.
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