'Barkoczy von Futak uns Szala,' she completed for me.
'Quite a mouthful. You don't think something more straightforward might have been better?'
'Oh, no,' she said. 'The longer the name, the better it is. Besides, such a person existed, I met her mother once. She told me she had once had a daughter who would have been about my age had she lived. So I decided to bring her back to life.'
'I see.'
'I will do no more for you,' she said suddenly.
'I haven't asked you to. Nor was I going to, tempting though the prospect is. I have no doubt that my masters, if I had any, of course, would disapprove thoroughly of my weakness. But I have never had a taste for forcing people to do things. I believe my treatment of you in the past was perfectly straightforward and honourable.'
She nodded.
'Let it remain so. But I would like to know how you managed your rise to fortune since we last met. Your circumstances were somewhat different then.'
She laughed, and even though there was absolutely not one jot of difference on her face, I could sense that she was relaxing. She believed me and, up to a very limited point, trusted me. Which was justifiable; as I spoke the words I meant them. But, in the back of my mind I knew that, one day, I might have to betray that trust. I did not like blackmail, but I knew enough of the world to know how well it worked. I say in my defence only that I hoped it would never be necessary.
'Would you care for some tea, Mr Cort?'
'Thank you, Countess. That's my real name, by the way. I see no point in playing games with false ones. There, I think, we differ.'
She rang a little bell on the side table, and gave the order to a servant who appeared with great speed. I very much hoped he was not the sort of servant who listened at doors.
'Don't worry,' she said, reading my face well. 'It is very thick wood, and neither of us have voices that carry. Besides, although Simon has waggling ears, he is both well paid and has secrets of his own that are better not exposed to public view.
'As for my little subterfuge, my own name would open no doors. A title of nobility, however spurious, does so in this republican country. One does what is necessary.'
The tea arrived, with delicate china cups and a silver teapot. Very pretty, although not for the serious tea-drinker. One has to make allowances. 'Do you wish to sit outside?' she asked. 'It is a fine day, and I have an excellent view of the sea. Then I will tell you something of my story, if you wish.'
She nodded to the servant, who took the tray outside, and when all was prepared, we followed. It was delightful; the villa was halfway up a small hill which rose up from the beach, with a large and well-stocked garden, a mixture of grass and plants more used to warmer climates. There was a tall tree to provide shade, and under this we sat at a graceful metal table, looking out over the sea, which entertained with the roughness of the waves, even though it was warm and still where we were.
'Here, you see, we can be quite certain that we will not be overheard,' she said as she nodded that I might pour her tea for her. 'Curiously, there is not so much to tell, once you leave out details that you would find sordid and unbecoming. I will put it in your own language, just as I took your approach. I reinvested my profits, and accumulated capital, and then decided to diversify into a new area of operation. How does that sound?'
'It sounds highly commendable, even though it tells me nothing at all.'
'You know the early part; I worked my way up the ladder of seniority amongst the officers in Nancy, where I made a great discovery. Which was that it was more profitable to be a man's mistress than a whore. Forgive my language. Men reward their mistresses, and married men will go to considerable lengths to keep them quiet. As they have only a limited amount of time to consort with people like me, there is much time left over. Consequently, I realised that I could be the exclusive mistress of one man on Monday, of another on Tuesday, a third on Wednesday, and so on. As long as none knew of the others, all would be well. All of my shareholders, as I call them, agreed to keep me entirely, and so I gained five times as much, the majority of my earnings being pure profit. As two were exceptionally generous, I very soon accumulated enough to consider an independent existence.'
'Enough for this?'
'No. I have very little money at the moment. All my earnings I have invested once more – the jewels, the clothes, this villa, the house in Paris. I survive on a diet of debt and donations. But I no longer fear the gutter.'
'I am glad for you.'
She nodded.
'So you are still . . .'
'Yes?'
'How to put this? Juggling clients? How many?'
'Four. It is all that can be managed safely. And I do find I like time to myself; I reserve two or three days a week for relaxation and proper sociability. And, at present, I am on holiday. Of a sort.'
'Of a sort?'
