The Princess was attempting a new and very complicated form of
patience. Forrest was watching her. Their host was making an attempt to
read the newspaper.
"In five minutes," the Princess declared, "I shall have achieved the
impossible. This time I am quite sure that I am going to do it."
A breathless silence followed her announcement. The Princess, looking
up in surprise, found that the eyes of her two companions were fixed
not upon her but upon the door. She laid down her cards and turned her
head. It was Jeanne who stood there, her hair tossed and blown by the
wind, her face ashen white.
"What is the matter, child?" the Princess demanded.
Jeanne came a little way into the room.
"There were two men," she faltered, "talking in the shrubbery close to
where I was sitting behind the hollyhocks. I could not understand all
that they said, but they are coming here. They were speaking of Lord
Ronald."
"Go on," Forrest muttered, leaning forward with dilated eyes.
"They spoke as though something might have happened to him here," the
girl whispered. "Oh! it is too horrible, this! What do you think that
they meant?"
She looked at the three people who confronted her. There was nothing
reassuring in the faces of the two men. The Princess leaned back in her
chair and laughed.
"My dear child," she said, "you have been asleep and dreamed these
foolish things; or if not, these yokels to whom you have been listening
are mad. What harm do you suppose could come to Lord Ronald here?"
"I do not know," Jeanne said, speaking in a low tone, and with the fear
still in her dark eyes.
"I told you," the Princess continued, "that there was some sort of a
quarrel. What of it? Lord Ronald simply chose to go away. Do you
suppose that there is any one here who would think of trying to hinder
him? Look at us three and ask yourself if it is likely. Look at Major
Forrest here, for instance, who never loses his temper, and whose whole
life is a series of calculations. Or our host. Look at him," the
Princess continued, with a little wave of her hand. "He may have
secrets that we know nothing of, but if he is a desperate criminal, I
must say that he has kept the knowledge very well to himself. As for
me, you know very well that I quarrel with no one. Le jeu ne vaut pas
la peine."
Jeanne drew a little breath. Her face was less tragic. There was a
moment's silence. Then Cecil de la Borne moved toward the fireplace. He
was pale, but his manner was more composed. The Princess' speech, drawn
out, and very slowly spoken, of deliberate intent, had achieved its
purpose. The first terror had passed away from all of them.
"I will ring the bell," Cecil said, "and find out who these trespassers
are, wandering about my grounds at this hour of the night. Or shall we
all go out and look for them ourselves?"
"As you will," Forrest answered. "Personally, I should think that Miss
Jeanne has overheard some gossip amongst the servants, and
misunderstood it. However, this sort of thing is just as well put a
stop to."
A sudden peal rang through the house. The front-door bell, a huge
unwieldy affair, seldom used, because, save in the depths of winter,
the door stood open, suddenly sent a deep resonant summons echoing
through the house. The bareness and height of the hall, and the fact
that the room in which they were was quite close to the front door
itself, perhaps accounted for the unusual volume of sound which seemed
created by that one peal. It was more like an alarm bell, ringing out
into the silent night, than any ordinary summons. Coming in the midst
of those tense few seconds, it had an effect upon the people who heard
it which was almost indescribable. Cecil de la Borne was pale with the
nervousness of the coward, but Forrest's terror was a real and actual
thing, stamped in his white face, gleaming in his sunken eyes, as he
stood behind the card-table with his head a little thrust forward
toward the door, as though listening for what might come next. The
Princess, if she was in any way discomposed, did not show it. She sat
erect in her chair, her head slightly thrown back, her eyebrows a
little contracted. It was as though she were asking who had dared to
break in so rudely upon her pastime. Jeanne had sunk back into the
window, and was sitting there, her hands clasped together.
Cecil de la Borne glanced at the clock.
"It is nearly eleven o'clock," he said. "The servants will have gone to
bed. I must go and see who that is."
No one attempted to stop him. They heard his footsteps go echoing down
the silent hall. They heard the harsh clanking of the chain as he drew
it back, and the opening of the heavy door. They all looked at one
another in tense expectation. They heard Cecil's challenge, and they
heard muffled voices outside. Then there came the closing of the door,
and the sound of heavy footsteps in the hall. Forrest grasped the table
with both hands, and his face was bloodless. The Princess leaned
towards him.
"For God's sake, Nigel," she whispered in his ear, "pull yourself
together! One look into your face is enough to give the whole show
away. Even Jeanne there is watching you."
The man made an effort. Even as the footsteps drew near he dashed some
brandy into a tumbler and drank it off. Cecil de la Borne entered,
followed by the man who had been Andrew's guest and another, a small
dark person with glasses, and a professional air. Cecil, who had been a
little in front, turned round to usher them in.
"I cannot keep you out of my house, gentlemen, I suppose," he said,
"although I consider that your intrusion at such an hour is entirely
unwarrantable. I regret that I have no other room in which I can
receive you. What you have to say to me, you can say here before my
friends. If I remember rightly," he added, "your name is Berners, and
you are lodging in this neighbourhood."
The man who had called himself Berners bowed to the Princess and Jeanne
before replying. His manner was grave, but not in any way threatening.
His companion stood behind him and remained silent.
"I have called myself Berners," he said, "because it is more convenient
at times to do so. I am Richard Berners, Duke of Westerham. A recent
guest of yours--Lord Ronald--is my younger brother."
The silence which reigned in the room might almost have been felt. The
Duke, looking from one to the other, grew graver.
"I suppose," he continued, "I ought to apologize for coming here so
late at night, but my solicitor has only just arrived from London, and
reported to me the result of some inquiries he has been making. Ronald
is my favourite brother, although I have not seen much of him lately. I
trust, therefore," he continued, still speaking to Cecil de la Borne,
"that you will pardon my intrusion when I explain that from the moment
of quitting your house my brother seems to have completely disappeared.
I have come to ask you if you can give me any information as to the
circumstances of his leaving, and whether he told you his destination."
Cecil de la Borne was white to the lips, but he was on the point of
answering when the Princess intervened. She leaned forward toward the
newcomer, and her face expressed the most genuine concern.
"My dear Duke," she said, "this is very extraordinary news that you
bring. Lord Ronald left here for London. Do you mean to say that he has
never arrived there?"
The Duke turned towards his companion.
"My solicitor here, Mr. Hensellman," he said, "has made the most
careful inquiries, and has even gone so far as to employ detectives. My
brother has certainly not returned to London. We have also wired to
every country house where a visit from him would have been a
probability, without result. Under those circumstances, and others
which I need not perhaps enlarge upon, I must confess to feeling some
anxiety as to what has become of him."
"Naturally," the Princess answered at once. "And yet," she continued,
"it is only a few days ago since he left here. Your brother, Duke, who
seemed to me a most delightful young man, was also distinctly peculiar,
and I do not think that the fact of your not being able to hear of him
at his accustomed haunts for two or three days is in any way a matter
which need cause you any anxiety."
The Duke bowed.
"Madam," he said, "I regret having to differ from you. I beg that you
will not permit anything which I say to reflect upon yourself or upon
Mr. De la Borne, whose honour, I am sure, is above question. But you
have amongst you a person whom I am assured is a very bad companion
indeed for boys of my brother's age. I refer to you, sir," he added,
addressing Forrest.
Forrest bowed ironically.
"I am exceedingly obliged to you, sir," he said, "for your amiable
opinion, although why you should go out of your way to volunteer it
here, I cannot imagine."
"I do so, sir," the Duke answered, "because during the last two or
three days cheques for a considerable amount have been honoured at my
brother's bank, bearing your endorsement. I may add, sir, that I came
down here to see my brother. I wished to explain to him that you were
not a person with whom it was advisable for him to play cards."
Forrest took a quick step forward.
"Sir," he exclaimed, "you are a liar!"
The Duke bowed.
"I do not quote my own opinion," he said. "I speak from the result of
the most careful investigations. Your reputation you cannot deny. Even
at your own clubs men shrug their shoulders when your name is
mentioned. I will give you the benefit of any doubt you wish. I will
simply say that you are a person who is suspected in any assembly where
gentlemen meet together, and that being so, as my brother has
disappeared from this house after several nights spent in playing cards
with you, I am here to learn from you, and from you, sir," he added,
turning to Cecil de la Borne, "some further information as to the
manner of my brother's departure, or to remain here until I have
acquired that information for myself."
The Princess rose to her feet and laid her hand upon Forrest's
shoulder. The veins were standing out upon his forehead, and his face
was black with anger. He seemed to be in the act of springing upon the
man who made these charges against him.
"Nigel," she said, "please let me talk to the Duke. Remember that,
after all, from his own point of view, what he is saying is not so
outrageous as it seems to us. Cecil, please don't interfere," she added
turning towards him. "Duke," she continued, speaking firmly, and with
much of the amiability gone from her tone, "you are playing the modern
Don Quixote to an extent which is unpardonable, even taking into
account your anxiety concerning your brother. Lord Ronald was a guest
here of Mr. De la Borne's, and to the best of my knowledge he lost
little more than he won all the time he was here. In any case, on Major
Forrest's behalf, and as an old friend, I deny that there was any
question whatever as to the fairness of any games that were played.
Your brother received a telegram, and asked to be allowed the use of
the car to take him to Lynn Station early on the following morning. He
promised to return within a week."
"You have heard from him since he left?" the Duke asked quickly.
"We have not," the Princess answered. "Only yesterday morning I
remarked that it was slightly discourteous. Your brother left here on
excellent terms with us all. You can interview, if you will, any member
of the household. You can make your inquiries at the station from which
he departed. Your appearance here at such an untimely hour, and your
barely veiled accusations, remind me of the fable of the bull in the
china shop. If you think that we have locked your brother up here, pray
search the house. If you think," she added, with curling lip, "that we
have murdered him, pray bring down an army of detectives, invest the
place, and pursue your investigations in whatever direction you like.
But before you leave, I should advise you, if you wish to preserve your
reputation as a person of breeding, to apologize to Mr. De la Borne for
your extraordinary behaviour here to-night, and the extraordinary
things at which you have hinted."
The Duke smiled pleasantly.
"Madam," he said, "I came here to-night not knowing that you were
amongst the difficulties which I should have to deal with. I wish to
speak to Mr. De la Borne. You will permit me?"
The Princess shrugged her shoulders and turned away.
"I have ventured to speak for both of them," she remarked, "for the
sake of peace, because I am a woman and can keep my temper, and they
are men who might have resented your impertinence."
The Duke remained as though he had not heard her speech. He laid his
hand upon Cecil's shoulder.
"De la Borne," he said, "you and I are scarcely strangers, although we
have never met. There have been friendships in our families for many
years. Don't be afraid to speak out if anything has gone a little wrong
here and you are ashamed of it. I want to be your friend, as you know
very well. Tell me, now. Can't you help me to find Ronald. Haven't you
any idea where he is?"
"None at all," Cecil answered.
"Tell me this, then," the Duke said, his clear brown eyes fixed
steadily upon Cecil's miserable white face. "Were there any unusual
circumstances at all connected with his leaving here?"
"None whatever," Cecil answered, with an uneasy little laugh, "except
that I had to get up to see him off, and it was a beastly cold morning."
The lawyer, who had been standing silent all this time, drew the Duke
for a moment on one side.
"I should recommend, sir," he whispered, "that we went away. If they
know anything they do not mean to tell, and the less we let them know
as to whether we are satisfied or not, the better."
The Duke nodded, and turned once more to Cecil.
"I am forced to accept your word, Mr. De la Borne," he said, "and when
my brother confirms your story I shall make a special visit here to
offer you my apologies. Madam," he added, bowing to the Princess, "I
regret to have disturbed your interesting occupation."
Forrest he completely ignored, turning his back upon him almost
immediately. Cecil went out with them into the hall. In a moment the
great front door was opened and closed. Cecil came back into the room,
and the perspiration stood out in great beads upon his forehead. Now
that the Duke had departed, something seemed to have fallen from their
faces. They looked at one another as the ghosts of their real selves
might have looked. Forrest stumbled toward the sideboard. Cecil was
already there.
"The brandy!" he muttered. "Quick!"