NON-COMMITTAL.
As Vladimir Mellikoff stepped out from the group of men surrounding him
and took the place indicated by Mr. Munger, a low murmur of disapproval
surged up from the highly wrought crowd of listeners and onlookers, at
the sound of which his colourless face flushed, for one brief second,
while the dark eyes in the cavernous sockets gleamed intemperately, and
the mouth beneath the dark beard and moustache tightened visibly.
He gave his evidence quietly and dispassionately, but with great
deliberation, his restless eyes glancing now at Miss Hildreth's calm,
unmoved face, now at John Mainwaring's dark, shapely, outlined
countenance, and back again to Mr. Munger's beetling brow and heavy
frown.
Each word he uttered told with distinct force against Patricia, and
gathering confidence as he went on, Count Vladimir carried the wavering
opinions of the public with him.
Ably interrogated, he proved the presence of Miss Hildreth in St.
Petersburg at the time of Count Stevan's murder, her acquaintance with
him, and her precipitate and mysterious flight from the Russian capital
the morning after the perpetration of the crime. He next proved that a
lady, calling herself Adèle Lamien, had taken passage and sailed in a
steamship of the International Line from London for New York; that, on
the ship's arrival at the latter port, Miss Hildreth was found to be
among the passengers, while Adèle Lamien was missing. Miss Hildreth's
friends were kept in ignorance of her arrival for several days, and when
questioned regarding her sudden and unexpected return, she displayed the
greatest reticence.
He, Vladimir Mellikoff, had arrived in New York somewhat later in the
same month of February, but, owing to various causes of delay, he made
no progress in his mission for several weeks; and, while waiting the
further development of events, he had accepted an invitation extended to
him by Mr. George Newbold, to pay him a visit at his country-house, the
Folly, on Staten Island. The first evening of his arrival he met Miss
Hildreth, and from something in her manner, he was led to observe her
closely; these observations resulted in the conviction that she was
playing a part, which it was vitally important she should succeed in. An
unexpected clue to her secret had fallen into his hands that very
evening; he had found beneath Miss Hildreth's chair, when she and the
house party had withdrawn for the rehearsal, a fine cambric
handkerchief, edged with lace and embroidered in a monogram, _A. de L._;
the very counterpart, in fact, of the one left by the criminal in her
precipitate flight from the rooms of the murdered Stevan Lallovich, the
only point of difference being that the one now in his possession did
not have the written initials _P. H._ upon it.
He next drew attention to the presence at the Folly of a person calling
herself Adèle Lamien, who filled the position of governess to Mr.
Newbold's little daughter. He, personally, had not met Mdlle. Lamien
during his visit; but others had done so who would prove her identity
with the lady before them. He had, however, been witness to an interview
between Mdlle. Lamien and Mr. Philip Tremain, during which Mr. Tremain
made no secret of his knowledge concerning that lady's past life. He had
also in his possession a note addressed to Miss Darling, one of the
young lady guests at the Folly, signed Adèle Lamien, written on paper
bearing the Lallovich crest, and dated the 3rd of May; the very evening
on which Miss Hildreth was said to have arrived at the Folly.
During all of Count Mellikoff's narration, Patricia never once took her
eyes from his dark, inscrutable face; she watched him with the same
expressionless countenance which she had worn from the opening of the
inquiry. But at the mention of the interview between Adèle Lamien and
Philip Tremain her face changed perceptibly, a wave of emotion passed
over it as she turned her troubled eyes appealingly towards John
Mainwaring. Then the mask of impenetrability settled over it again, and
she sat immovable, her hands clasped together on her lap, her head
thrown back in proud defiance.
Count Mellikoff's further statements were purely technical, and related
chiefly to his position in Russia, his credibility, authority, etc., all
of which were vouched for by the Russian Ambassador.
As Vladimir resumed his seat, a low murmur of disapproval escaped from
the crowd, a murmur promptly subdued, but that told of the growing
excitement. Mr. Munger, on hearing its threatening notes, tossed back
his head with a snort of defiance, and called up his next witness with
prompt alacrity.
As the slight, thin figure of Rosalie James appeared in answer to Mr.
Munger's call, another change passed rapidly across Patricia's face, her
lips curled slightly, while into her eyes there flashed a look of
comprehension. Had not Philip hinted at some hidden woman enemy; some
one to whom she, Patricia, had given cause for anger, for retaliation,
for revenge? And had not this girl, with the sharply outlined face,
always held aloof from her? Had she not often found those keen,
observant eyes fixed upon her with the same scrutiny with which they now
regarded her? She had put Mr. Tremain's supposition by as not worth
consideration; she saw now how important had been its bearing, for in
Rosalie James she recognised, with a woman's quick perception, her most
pronounced and calculating enemy. And with this certainty came another.
This girl loved Philip, and knowing her passion to be hopeless, she had
sought out, with the unfailing prescience of slighted love, the woman
who was her rival, hoping that in striking at her she would also wound
the man who had rejected her. Love is proverbially cruel, none knew this
truth better than Miss Hildreth; it was, therefore, with a strange
illogical sympathy that she listened to Miss James's defamation of her.
Rosalie spoke in her usual high pitched voice, every note of which
carried her words into the furthest corners of the crowded room. Under
Mr. Munger's manipulation she gave a condensed and telling account of
her instrumentality in the arrest of Miss Hildreth. In substance it was
as follows.
She had been a guest at the Folly at the same time as Patricia, and had
taken part in the same theatricals, though not in the same play. She had
often heard Miss Hildreth discussed before she met her, and from what
had been said had formed no very high opinion of that lady's character.
Miss Hildreth was always singularly reticent concerning her experiences
during her residence abroad. She had only once heard her make any
voluntary allusion to her visit to St. Petersburg, and that was on the
morning of the 4th of May, when some of the house party were gathered
together in Mrs. Newbold's boudoir. Miss Hildreth had then related a
curious tale; she had not actually detailed the murder of Count Stevan
Lallovich, but she had alluded to it very pertinently and with great
excitement of manner. She had also distinctly named Adèle Lallovich as
the victim of a moral crime, and had intimated the form of her revenge.
To her, Miss Hildreth had from the first appeared as a woman with a
secret, and she had determined to fathom that secret. She had her
reasons for doing so, they were purely personal reasons. She had, from
the first day of her arrival at the Folly, heard a great deal about
Adèle Lamien. She had seen her once or twice, but had paid little
attention to her, noticing only that she shunned observation and kept as
much in the background as possible. On the arrival of Mr. Tremain,
however, Mdlle. Lamien apparently lost her shyness, for she, Miss James,
had several times seen them together, and had once discovered the
governess in a state of great agitation.
She had not liked Mdlle. Lamien at any time, and believed her quite
capable of the most flagrant deception. Mrs. Newbold had been
remonstrated with for her credulity, and on one such occasion she had
related to her guests an extraordinary story, which purported to be that
of her governess, and which was substantially that of Adèle Lallovich,
as told by Count Mellikoff; the details and make-up differed somewhat,
and the murder of Count Stevan was not touched upon, but the main
features were the same. Mr. Tremain was present on the occasion, and it
had occurred to her at the time that Mrs. Newbold had some covert
meaning in her recitation; at all events Mr. Tremain seemed much moved
by it. Mdlle. Lamien was not at the dinner-table when her story was
discussed.
She had first suspected Miss Hildreth and Mdlle. Lamien of being one and
the same person, from a hint thrown out by Count Mellikoff. She had
previously remarked that Mdlle. Lamien and Miss Hildreth were never
present at the same time, and on the evening of Miss Hildreth's arrival,
it was given out that Mdlle. Lamien had suddenly been called away. It
was not long before these suspicions became assurances; she could not
form an opinion as to the motives for the deception being practised upon
them all; she had no previous acquaintance with Miss Hildreth,
consequently she could not vouch absolutely for her identity; but in any
case it was plain that the lady passing under that name had some
desperate motive for doing so.
It was not until the last day of Mr. Tremain's visit at the Folly that
the nature of this intrigue was made plain. The theatricals took place
on the evening of the 4th of May, Mr. Newbold's birthday; on the
following morning Mr. Tremain announced his departure for that
afternoon. About half-past four she and Count Mellikoff were seated on
the stone terrace beneath the library windows; they did not observe any
one enter the room until close on to five o'clock, when Mr. Tremain came
in, walked first up to the book-cases and then passed on into the
music-room, which was separated by _portières_ only from the library.
She and the Count remained a few moments longer on the terrace, and then
entered the library by one of the open French windows; as they did so a
sudden exclamation from the inner room arrested them, and they thus
became the listeners to a very remarkable interview between Mr. Tremain
and Adèle Lamien, during which Mdlle. Lamien played and sang in a manner
which seemed to greatly affect Mr. Tremain. At the close of the song he
had offered himself to Mdlle. Lamien, and this had called forth from
her a confused and rambling statement, in which she hinted at crime and
shame being not unknown to her. Mr. Tremain's ardour, however, had not
been daunted by these equivocal innuendoes; he pressed her for an
answer, and Mdlle. Lamien had at last accepted him conditionally. The
interview terminated by Mdlle. Lamien exclaiming, excitedly: "Surely
this should be triumph enough, even for me, to know that I have won you
from the remembrance, nay, from the very presence, of Patricia
Hildreth!"
She had thought them remarkable words at the time; but they assumed a
still greater significance when Mdlle. Lamien pushed back the
_portières_ and, walking rapidly across the library, turned as she
reached the open door and looked back. Believing herself to be alone,
she let the mask of deception fall from her, and, despite all disguise
of paint and powder, they recognised in the countenance thus turned
towards them, smiling and triumphant, the face of Patricia Hildreth!
Miss James gave her evidence throughout in so calm and assured a manner,
and in such cold and concise sentences, as to admit of no interruption
and impress the seal of unimpeachable truth on all she said. Both her
face and voice were hard and impassive; but, notwithstanding her
pronounced, unsympathetic attitude, she carried weight with her, and
reduced the majority of wavering opinions into affirmative antagonism
against Patricia.
Looked at through the medium of Count Mellikoff's and Miss James's
statements, that lady's conduct did indeed appear not only perplexing
but condemning.