The obviously honest thing to do was to write to Mr. van Rensselaer immediately, to let him know that without effort or curiosity on her part his identity had been revealed to her.

Her letter to him was short to abruptness.  She stated briefly the manner in which the information had come to her as well as her regret that his wish to remain unknown had been thwarted.  She hoped that her voice would fulfill all the promise he thought it gave two years back; referred to the personal nature of her last letter; spoke of her desire to repay in full the money part of her obligation to him, realizing that the kind thought could never be repaid in this world, and signed herself his “grateful Katrine Dulany.”

In a fortnight the answer came: 

MY DEAR MISS DULANY,—­Your letter reached me but a few minutes ago, and I am feeling, since its arrival, like the ass that wore the lion’s skin.  Mrs. Lennox was entirely wrong in her statements.  It is true that I proposed the arrangement, which she told you of, to Mrs. Ravenel, but that dear lady wrote me within the week that I was too late in my offer, and that another believer in your gift had anticipated the pleasure I had promised myself in helping to give to the world a great voice.

I am extremely sorry that you are under no obligations to me.  The confidences which you mention I assure you are entirely safe so far as I am concerned, for I never received a letter from you save the one which lies before me as I write.

     I have heard that you will sing at the Josef recital in May.  May I
     count upon you to write me a line as to the exact time, so that I
     may have the pleasure of hearing you?

If, meanwhile, there is any way that I can serve you, believe me that I shall be glad to do so, for I heard you sing “Ah!  Fors e lui” one night, standing under the pines outside of your window, and my debt is great.

     Sincerely,
     NICHOLAS VAN RENSSELAER.

And it was a curious thing to note that this letter, caused by the chatter of Anne Lennox, was the direct cause of Katrine’s next meeting with Frank, a meeting which, but for this correspondence which led to an acquaintance with the Van Rensselaers, might never have taken place.

One evening, shortly after the receipt of this letter, Madame de Nemours told Katrine a piece of news for which she was not unprepared.

“By-the-way,” she said, “Mrs. Lennox was here to-day.  Mr. Ravenel is expected in Paris to-morrow.  I have asked a party to dine with them on Friday.”