"And are you no exception?"
"Ah! now, Doctor, you're really too inquisitive." And she laughed, just
a trifle unnaturally I thought, as though I had approached an unwelcome
topic.
"Well," I said smiling, "I won't press you further; it isn't fair.
Good-bye, and I trust I shall meet both your cousin and yourself at a
date not far distant--that is, if I am still in town."
"Oh, I hope you will be!" exclaimed her ladyship; "I can't think why
doctors go and bury themselves in the country."
"There are just as many patients in the country districts as in the
towns," I responded. "And in the country one carries on one's
profession amid more congenial surroundings."
I repeated my farewells, and, with a final and longing glance at my
mysterious wife, went forth into the hall, and was let out by the
liveried servant.
To approach my wife boldly and demand the truth was, I saw, useless.
First I must, by my own careful observation, establish her identity with
Beryl Wynd, and, secondly, clear up the mystery of how a woman could be
dead and yet still live.
The expression of those clear, honest eyes, the form of the beautiful
face, as flawless as that of Titian's "Flora" in the Tribune of the
Uffizzi, the unusual tint of that gold-brown hair were all unmistakable.
They set at rest any doubt which arose within me that the woman whose
hand I had held was not the same upon whose finger I had placed the
wedding-ring. Incredible though it seemed, I had that morning spoken
with my unknown wife, and she had not known me. We were strangers, yet
united in matrimony.
Mechanically I walked towards Kensington Church in order to take the
omnibus back to Hammersmith. My mind was filled with the mystery of my
marriage and the reason why the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds had
been offered me if I would consent to secretly kill my bride.
Certain it was that I had been the victim of a cunningly devised plot,
and further, that the fact of my return to London was known to those who
had conspired against me. Therefore, it behoved me to exercise
considerable care and caution in the prosecution of my inquiries. The
two scoundrels, Wyndham Wynd and Major Tattersett, must, I resolved, be
discovered at all hazards, while I must also leave no stone unturned to
find out the house in which the marriage had taken place.
The man Wynd had intended that my wife should die, but it was plain
that, by some good fortune, she had escaped him. Yet the most curious
phase of the affair was that she appeared utterly unconscious of it all.
It struck me that I might, by dint of careful questioning, learn
something from Sir Henry's wife. But she was, I knew, a clever,
intelligent woman; and if she held a secret, it would be exceedingly
difficult to obtain knowledge of it.
I returned to Rowan Road, and, on entering with my latch-key, found Bob
standing in the hall.
"Why, my dear fellow?" he cried; "I had a wire to say you were missing,
and so came up to look after you. Where, in the name of fortune, have
you been?"
"I've been abroad," I responded vaguely.
"Abroad!" he cried incredulously. "Why? What made you go abroad?"
"I'll tell you all when we get upstairs," I answered; and we ascended
together to the little den.
Then, over our pipes, I related to him the curious story.
"Well," he declared, in profound amazement. "I've never heard of a
stranger adventure than that! Do you mean to say that you're actually
married?"
"Without a doubt. A special licence was obtained and the marriage is,
therefore, quite legal. The most remarkable fact of all is, that while
I know my wife, she doesn't know me. To her I'm a perfect stranger."
"But the fellow, Wynd, whoever he is, is evidently no novice in crime,"
Bob declared thoughtfully. "The contraction of the eye was a curious
symptom."
"Yes. It was in the pupil of the left eye."
"And yet the girl you have met to-day is perfectly sound in both eyes?"
he remarked.
"Perfectly."
"But, my dear fellow, it can't be! If she were dead, as you say, she
can't, as you yourself know, be still alive."
"That's just where the mystery becomes so inscrutable?" I cried. "The
woman whom I married evidently died. Indeed, I'd have given a
certificate of death and backed it by my professional reputation. Yet
she's alive and well, and I have, only an hour ago, spoken with her."
"Bless my soul?" cried Bob. "Most extraordinary thing I've ever heard
of! There must have been some very strong reason why you should marry
her, or that scoundrel Wynd would not have offered such a sum. He
evidently wished to get her married, and then do away with her for
reasons which I hope we shall, some day, be able to discover. The
thing's a complete enigma," he went on, "and if I can help you to solve
it, Dick, I'll do so willingly. In my opinion there's a great deal more
in this affair than we dream of. The whole thing seems to have been
most carefully worked out, and I shouldn't wonder if her ladyship has
not had a hand in the affair. She seems too bold; and therefore I have
suspicions of her."
"So have I, old fellow," I said. "The strongest suspicions. Her very
words have betrayed her."
"Unless"--he hesitated--"unless she saw you at the _Savoy_ when we fed
together in honour of my birth, and was struck by your appearance--in
fact, to put it plainly, unless she has fallen in love with you."
"But why?" I demanded. "I've never met the woman before, to my
knowledge."
"But you're a good-looking Johnnie, my dear Dick," my friend declared,
laughing; "and she's certainly not the first woman who has fallen over
head and ears in love with you."
"You're devilish complimentary, old chap," I answered; "but if she is,
as you think, really attracted towards me, then she'll have a cruel
awakening when she finds that I'm actually the husband of her cousin
Feo."
"That's just what I've been thinking," he replied, with a serious
expression on his face. "Your position is an exceedingly difficult one,
and the inquiries must be made with the utmost tact and care. At all
hazards you must humour her ladyship, and retain her as your friend.
Indeed if, as you say, your wife is not aware that you are actually her
husband, then it might not be a bad plan to flatter her ladyship by
making violent love to her."
"I can't, Bob," I declared. "In this matter I must at least act
straightforwardly. Feo has fallen a victim, just as I myself have--
that's evident."
"You were entrapped, it's true; but I take it that you really admire
this mysterious Feo?"
"Admire her!" I cried with enthusiasm. "That's the most curious
feature of the whole affair. I freely confess to you, my dear fellow,
that not only do I admire her, but I'm madly in love with her! She's
the most graceful and beautiful woman I've ever beheld."
"Well, Dick," he observed after a pause, during which time he puffed
vigorously at his big briar, "you are about the last man I should have
suspected of having a romance. Every detail of it is, however,
bewildering. It's a perfect maze of mystery--a mystery absolutely
incredible!"