She blamed Nelson, too; but, womanlike, blamed Annesley more. Sometimes
she determined to put out a claw and draw blood from both, but changed
her mind, remembering that to do them harm she must harm herself.
Once it occurred to her to form a separate, secret alliance with
Constance Annesley-Seton. There were reasons why that might have suited
her, and she began one day to feel her ground when Connie had telephoned,
and had come to her flat for advice from the crystal. She had "seen
things" which she thought Lady Annesley-Seton would like her to see, and
when the seance was ended in a friendly talk, the Countess de Santiago
begged Constance to call her Madalena. "You are my _first_ real friend in
England!" she said.
"Except my cousin Anne," Connie amended, with a sharp glance from the
green-gray eyes to see whether "Madalena" were "working up to anything."
"Oh, I can't count _her_!" said the Countess. "She doesn't like me. She
wouldn't have me come near her if it weren't for her husband. I am quick
to feel things. You, I believe, really _do_ like me a little, so I can
speak freely to you.
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