"
"You have visited 'The House of a Hundred Raptures'?"
"Many times, at week-ends. Opium, like wine, is better enjoyed in
company."
"Does she post you the opium?"
"Oh, no; my man goes to Limehouse for it. Ah! here she is."
A woman came in, carrying a brown leather attache case. She had left
her hat and coat in the hall, and wore a smart blue serge skirt and a
white blouse. She was not tall, but she possessed a remarkably
beautiful figure which the cut of her garments was not intended to
disguise, and her height was appreciably increased by a pair of suede
shoes having the most wonderful heels which Rita ever remembered to
have seen worn on or off the stage. They seemed to make her small feet
appear smaller, and lent to her slender ankles an exaggerated frontal
curve.
Her hair was of that true, glossy black which suggests the blue sheen
of raven's plumage, and her thickly fringed eyes were dark and
southern as her hair. She had full, voluptuous lips, and a bold self-
assurance. In the swift, calculating glance which she cast about the
room there was something greedy and evil; and when it rested upon Rita
Dresden's dainty beauty to the evil greed was added cruelty.
"Another little sister, dear Lola," murmured Kilfane.
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