"There is yet another fact which is, in itself, sufficient proof of this
man's unscrupulousness. One witness of his crime still lives; the
other, Nelly Bridson, is dead. Nelly was once my friend. Unknown to
Captain Brooker I knew her intimately as a bright girl months before
Charles Holroyde met and admired her. Indeed, it was by her that I was
introduced to the man who afterwards loved me, and was so brutally done
to death. When at last she became aware that her lover had forsaken her
some ill-feeling arose between us. I knew that she must hate me, but I
treated her jealousy with unconcern, and remained towards her the same
as before. In my heart, however, I envied her her youth and good looks,
and feared that Charles Holroyde might return to his first love. But,
alas! he was murdered mysteriously--by whom I knew not, until three days
ago, when Max Richards divulged to me the truth. Then I resolved that
punishment should fall upon the guilty. Well, I hated Nelly because I
knew that Holroyde had admired her, and I likewise hated Liane,
entertaining a suspicion that because she always avoided me she had
spoken of me detrimentally to the man whom I loved. After Holroyde's
death I left the Riviera and went to Paris, to Wiesbaden, to Vienna,
caring little whither I went, until at last, about a year afterwards, I
returned to Monte Carlo, and heard from one of Captain Brooker's friends
that he and the girls had left long ago for England, where they had
resolved to live in the future. Immediately after my lover's death luck
had forsaken me entirely, and I passed a spurious bank-note for a large
amount at Marseilles. The police were endeavouring to find me, and it
was to avoid arrest that I was travelling. I wrote several times to
Nelly and received replies, stating how happy they were in their country
home in England, and how much more peaceful and enjoyable it was than at
Nice. Still there was one matter upon which I desired to see her, a
matter connected with the family of the man who was dead. He had, I
believed, told her of his relations in England, but he had spoken no
word of them to me. I had in my possession a Cosway miniature he had
one day left at my house, an antique portrait of an elderly lady,
beautifully painted on ivory and set round with brilliants. He had
mentioned to me that it was an heirloom, and I desired to return it to
the family if I could find them. With that object I went to England,
and one summer's evening met Nelly by appointment in a country lane a
short distance from Stratfield Mortimer."
"You met her?" Captain Brooker exclaimed. "She never told me so."
"She had, alas, no opportunity," Mariette answered. "For it was on that
evening she met with her death. She had ridden her cycle, and I found
her resting in the gateway she had indicated in her letter. She seemed
unusually nervous, I noticed, nevertheless I attributed it to the fact
that she regarded me as her rival, even though the man we both loved was
dead. For nearly an hour we remained together chatting, until the
sunset faded and dusk crept on. I asked her what the man had told her
regarding his family, and showed her the antique miniature. Then she
told me a fact which held me speechless in amazement. Charles Holroyde
was no other than the son of a man living close by that spot, Sir John
Stratfield."
"My brother!" cried George. "Impossible!"
"It was the truth. He had told her everything. The father of Charles
Holroyde was actually living within a mile of that spot, and the
portrait was one of Lady Anne Stratfield, a noted beauty, which was
painted by the fashionable miniaturist, Cosway, shortly before his
death. At first I could not credit that he was actually Sir John's son,
but she brought proof positive to show that what she said was correct,
and at her request I gave her the miniature to return to Sir John. She
promised to call next day and give it into his hands, saying that it
came from a person who desired to remain anonymous."
"Why did you not come to the Court yourself?" George asked quickly.
"I had no desire to meet the father of my dead lover," she replied.
"But he must have been acquainted with you, because he mentioned you in
his will."
"Yes," she answered reflectively, "he must, I suppose, have known of
me."
"Then what occurred afterwards?" Brooker eagerly inquired. "Tell us
the events of that night in their proper sequence."
"After we had talked for some time, she telling me how happy both she
and Liane were, and how the latter had become engaged clandestinely to
the Baronet's son, George, she rode beside me as far as the lodge gates
of the Court, where we parted. Then she remounted and rode back in the
direction of the spot where she was afterwards discovered, while I
strolled slowly on to the station, whence I returned to London. It was
dusk before I left Stratfield Mortimer, but as I changed at Reading to
enter the train for Paddington, I caught a glimpse of a face I thought I
knew. It was only for a single instant, but the face was one that once
seen is never forgotten. It was the face of Zertho."
"You saw me!" he gasped.
"Yes. You were in a crowd on Reading platform, and were about to enter
the same train as myself, but changing your mind, suddenly left the
station hurriedly," she said. "At that time, remember, I had no idea
that you were in England, for Nelly had not mentioned your visit. Two
days later, however, I was appalled by reading in the papers that poor
Nelly had been murdered almost immediately after I had left her, and
quite close to the spot where we had at first stood. Afterwards in the
report of the inquest, I saw that you were present and had given
evidence. Then there was silence. The affair was an enigma, and the
police possessed no clue. The papers mentioned a broad mark a foot wide
upon the dust, which they regarded as mysterious. It was made by my
skirt which swept the road. I alone held the key to the enigma. In
order to assure myself that my suspicions were not unfounded, I returned
to Reading, made careful inquiries there, and when I had satisfied
myself, left England with the knowledge I had obtained still in my
possession."
"What did you discover?" inquired George, quickly, while Liane still
clung to him tremblingly.
"I discovered absolute proof of the identity of Nolly's assassin. It
was Zertho d'Auzac!"