“The least said about it, the better,” the Earl replied sharply. “The Russians will be most annoyed they can no longer interfere with us. The new cable goes overland to Marseilles, where it picks up the main cable line to Malta. That keeps us clear of those who pretend to be our friends, but who are undoubtedly our enemies.”
Tasia was very familiar with international problems – not only from her reading but from her many fascinating conversations with her father.
She therefore surprised the Earl by her remarks and questions he had never expected to hear from a woman. Then he remembered the way she had spoken to him when they had first met in three foreign languages.
He asked Tasia,
“Where have you travelled that you know so much about the current European situation?”
“If you are r
