As soon as he was gone the excellent lady made an intolerable grimace, shaking herself and shrugging her shoulders, and walking up and down the room with her dirty wrapper held close round her.  “Bah,” she said.  “Bah!” And as she thought of the heavy stupidity of her late visitor she shrugged herself and shook herself again violently, and clutched up her robe still more closely.  “Bah!” It was intolerable to her that a man should be such a fool, even though she was to make money by him.  And then, that such a man should conceive it to be possible that he should become the husband of a woman with seven thousand pounds a year!  Bah!

Archie, as he walked away from Mount Street, found it difficult to create a triumphant feeling within his own bosom.  He had been awkward, slow and embarrassed, and the spy had been too much for him.  He was quite aware of that, and he was aware also that even the sagacious Doodles had been wrong.  There had, at any rate, been no necessity for making a difficulty about the money.  The Russian spy had known her business too well to raise troublesome scruples on that point.  That she was very good at her trade he was prepared to acknowledge; but a fear came upon him that he would find the article too costly for his own purposes.  He remembered the determined tone in which she had demanded the fifty pounds merely as a further beginning.

And then he could not but reflect how much had been said at the interview about money—­about money for her, and how very little had been said as to the assistance to be given—­as to the return to be made for the money.  No plan had been laid down, no times fixed, no facilities for making love suggested to him.  He had simply paid over his twenty pounds, and been desired to bring another fifty.  The other fifty he was to take to Mount Street on the morrow.  What if she were to require fifty pounds every day, and declare that she could not stir in the matter for less?  Doodles, no doubt, had told him that these first-class Russian spies did well the work for which they were paid; and no doubt, if paid according to her own tariff, Madam Gordeloup would work well for him; but such a tariff as that was altogether beyond his means!  It would be imperatively necessary that he should come to some distinct settlement with her as to price.  The twenty pounds, of course, were gone; but would it not be better that he should come to some final understanding with her before he gave her the further fifty?  But then, as he thought of this, he was aware that she was too clever to allow him to do as he desired.  If he went into that room with the fifty pounds in his pockets, or in his glove, or, indeed, anywhere about his person, she would have it from him, let his own resolution to make a previous bargain be what it might.  His respect for the woman rose almost to veneration, but with the veneration was mixed a strong feeling of fear.