WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
When Cyril arrived in Newhaven that evening, he was unpleasantly
surprised to find, as he got out of the train, that Judson had been
travelling in the adjoining compartment. Had the man been following him,
or was it simply chance that had brought them together, he wondered. Oh!
If he could only get rid of the fellow!
"You have come to see me, I suppose," he remarked ungraciously.
"Yes, my lord."
"Very well, then, get into the car."
Cyril was in no mood to talk, so the first part of the way was
accomplished in silence, but at last, thinking that he might as well
hear what the man had to say, he turned to him and asked:
"Have you found out anything of any importance?"
"I fancy so, my lord."
"Really! Well, what is it?"
"If you will excuse me, my lord, I should suggest that we wait till we
get to the castle," replied Judson, casting a meaning look at the
chauffeur's back.
"Just as you please." His contempt for Judson was so great that Cyril
was not very curious to hear his revelations.
"Now," said Cyril, as he flung himself into a low chair before the
library fire, "what have you to tell me?"
Before answering Judson peered cautiously around; then, drawing forward
a straight-backed chair, he seated himself close to Cyril and folded his
hands in his lap.
"In dealing with my clients," he began, "I make it a rule instead of
simply stating the results of my work to show them how I arrive at my
conclusions. Having submitted to them all the facts I have collected,
they are able to judge for themselves as to the value of the evidence on
which my deductions are based. And so, my lord, I should like to go over
the whole case with you from the very beginning."
Cyril gave a grunt which Judson evidently construed into an assent, for
he continued even more glibly:
"The first point I considered was, whether her Ladyship had premeditated
her escape. But in order to determine this, we must first decide whom
she could have got to help her to accomplish such a purpose. The most
careful inquiry has failed to reveal any one who would have been both
willing and able to do so, except the sempstress, and as both mistress
and maid disappeared almost simultaneously, one's first impulse is to
take it for granted that Prentice was her Ladyship's accomplice. This is
what every one, Scotland Yard included, believes."
"And you do not?"
"Before either accepting or rejecting this theory, I decided to visit
this girl's home. I did not feel clear in my mind about her. All the
servants were impressed by her manner and personality, the butler
especially so, and he more than hinted that there must be some mystery
attached to her. One of the things that stimulated their curiosity was
that she kept up a daily correspondence with some one in Plumtree. On
reaching the village I called at once on the vicar. He is an elderly
man, much respected and beloved by his parishioners. I found him in a
state of great excitement, having just read in the paper of Prentice's
disappearance. I had no difficulty in inducing him to tell me the main
facts of her history; the rest I picked up from the village gossips. The
girl is a foundling. And till she came to Geralton she was an inmate of
the vicar's household. He told me that he would have adopted her, but
knowing that he had not sufficient means to provide for her future, he
wisely refrained from educating her above her station. Nevertheless, I
gathered that the privilege of his frequent companionship had refined
her speech and manners, and I am told that she now could pass muster in
any drawing-room."
"Did she ever learn French?" interrupted Cyril, eagerly.
"Not that I know of, and I do not believe the vicar would have taught
her an accomplishment so useless to one in her position."
"Did she ever go to France?"
"Never. But, why do you ask?"
"No matter--I--but go on with your story."
"Owing partly to the mystery which surrounded her birth and gave rise to
all sorts of rumours, and partly to her own personality, the gentry of
the neighbourhood made quite a pet of her. As a child she was asked
occasionally to play with the Squire's crippled daughter and later she
used to go to the Hall three times a week to read aloud to her. So,
notwithstanding the vicar's good intentions, she grew up to be neither
'fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring.' Now all went well till about
a year ago, when the Squire's eldest son returned home and fell in love
with her. His people naturally opposed the match and, as he is entirely
dependent upon them, there seemed no possibility of his marrying her.
The girl appeared broken-hearted, and when she came to the castle, every
one, the vicar included, thought the affair at an end. I am sure,
however, that such was not the case, for as no one at the vicarage wrote
to her daily, the letters she received must have come from her young
man. Furthermore, she told the servants that she had a cousin in
Newhaven, but as she has not a relative in the world, this is obviously
a falsehood. Who, then, is this mysterious person she visited? It seems
to me almost certain that it was her lover."
"Possibly," agreed Cyril. "But I don't quite see what you are trying to
prove by all this. If Prentice did not help her Ladyship to escape, who
did?"
"I have not said that Prentice is not a factor in the case, only I
believe her part to have been a very subordinate one. Of one thing,
however, I am sure, and that is that she did not return to Geralton on
the night of the murder."
"How can you be sure of that?" demanded Cyril.
"Because she asked for permission early in the morning to spend the
night in Newhaven and had already left the castle before the doctors'
visit terminated. Now, although I think it probable that her Ladyship
may for a long time have entertained the idea of leaving Geralton, yet I
believe that it was the doctors' visit that gave the necessary impetus
to convert her idle longing into definite action. Therefore I conclude
that Prentice could have had no knowledge of her mistress's sudden
flight."
"But how can you know that the whole thing had not been carefully
premeditated?"
"Because her Ladyship showed such agitation and distress at hearing the
doctors' verdict. If her plans for leaving the castle had been
completed, she would have accepted the situation more calmly."
"Has nothing been heard of these doctors?"
"Nothing. We have been able to trace them only as far as London. They
could not have been reputable physicians or they would have answered our
advertisements, and so I am inclined to believe that you were right and
that it was his Lordship who spread the rumours of her Ladyship's
insanity."
"I am sure of it," said Cyril.
"Very good. Assuming, therefore, that Lady Wilmersley is sane, we will
proceed to draw logical inferences from her actions." Judson paused a
moment before continuing: "Now I am convinced that the only connection
Prentice had with the affair was to procure some clothes for her
mistress, and these had probably been sometime in the latter's
possession."
"H'm!" ejaculated Cyril sceptically. "I think it would have been pretty
difficult to have concealed anything from that maid of hers."
"Difficult, I grant you, but not impossible, my lord."
"But if Prentice had no knowledge of the tragedy, why did she not return
to the castle? What has become of her? Why have the police been unable
to find her?"
"I believe that she joined her lover and that they are together on the
continent, for in Plumtree I was told that the young man had recently
gone to Paris. As I am sure that she knows nothing of any importance, I
thought it useless to waste time and money trying to discover their
exact locality. That the police have not succeeded in finding her, I
ascribe to the fact that they are looking for a young woman who left
Newhaven after and not before the murder."
"You think she left before?"
"Yes, and I have two reasons for this supposition. First, I can discover
no place where he or she, either separately or together, could have
spent the night. Secondly, if they had left Newhaven the following
morning or in fact at any time after the murder, they would certainly
have been apprehended, as all the boats and trains were most carefully
watched."
"But no one knew of her disappearance till twenty-four hours later, and
during that interval she could easily have got away unobserved."
"No, my lord, there you are mistaken. From the moment that the police
were notified that a crime had been committed, every one, especially
every woman, who left Newhaven was most attentively scrutinised."
"You are certain that Prentice could not have left Newhaven unnoticed,
yet her Ladyship managed to do so! How do you account for that?"
The detective paused a moment and looked fixedly at Cyril.
"Her Ladyship had a very powerful protector, my lord," he finally said.
"A protector! Who?"
Again the detective did not reply immediately.
"It's no use beating about the bush, my lord, I know everything."
"Well then, out with it," cried Cyril impatiently. "What are you
hesitating for? Have you found her Ladyship or have you not?"
"I have, my lord."
"You have! Then why on earth didn't you tell me at once? Where is she?"
cried Cyril.
There was a pause during which the detective regarded Cyril through
narrowed lids.
"She is at present at the nursing home of Dr. Stuart-Smith," he said at
last.
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Cyril, sinking back into his chair and negligently
lighting another cigarette. "I thought you had discovered something. You
mean my wife, Lady Wilmersley----"
"Pardon me for interrupting you, my lord. I don't make mistakes like
that. I repeat, the Dowager Lady Wilmersley is under the care of Dr.
Smith."
The man's tone was so assured that Cyril was staggered for a moment.
"It isn't true," he asserted angrily.
"Is it possible that you really do not know who the lady is that you
rescued that day from the police?" exclaimed the detective, startled out
of his habitual impassivity.
"I confess that I do not. But of one thing I am sure, and that is that
she is not the person you suppose."
"Well, my lord, I must say that you have surprised me. Yet I ought to
have guessed it. It was stupid of me, very."
"I tell you that you are on the wrong track. Lady Wilmersley has golden
hair. Well, this lady's hair is black."
"She has dyed it."
"She has not, for it has turned completely white," exclaimed Cyril,
triumphantly.
"Did she tell you so?"
"Yes."
"Her Ladyship is cleverer than I supposed," remarked the detective with
a pitying smile.
"I am not such a fool as you seem to think," retorted Cyril. "And I can
assure you that the lady in question is incapable of deception."
"All I can say is, my lord, that I am absolutely sure of her Ladyship's
identity and that you yourself gave me the clue to her whereabouts."
"I--how?"
"I of course noticed that when you heard her Ladyship had golden hair,
you were not only extremely surprised but also very much relieved. I at
once asked myself why such an apparently trivial matter should have so
great and so peculiar an effect on you. As you had never seen her
Ladyship, I argued that you must that very day have met some one you had
reason to suppose to be Lady Wilmersley and that this person had dark
hair. By following your movements from the time you landed I found that
the only woman with whom you had come in contact was a young lady who
had joined you in Newhaven, and that she answered to the description of
Lady Wilmersley in every particular, with the sole exception that she
had dark hair! I was, however, told that you had said that she was your
wife and had produced a passport to prove it. Now I had heard from your
valet that her Ladyship was still in France, so you can hardly blame me
for doubting the correctness of your statement. But in order to make
assurance doubly sure, I sent one of my men to the continent. He
reported that her Ladyship had for some months been a patient at
Charleroi, but had recently escaped from there, and that you are still
employing detectives to find her."
"I did not engage you to pry into my affairs," exclaimed Cyril savagely.
"Nor have I exceeded my duty as I conceive it," retorted the detective.
"As your Lordship refused to honour me with your confidence, I had to
find out the facts by other means; and you must surely realise that
without facts it is impossible for me to construct a theory, and till I
can do that my work is practically valueless."
"But my wife has nothing to do with the case."
"Quite so, my lord, but a lady who claimed to be her Ladyship is
intimately concerned with it."
"I repeat that is all nonsense."
"If your Lordship will listen to me, I think I can prove to you that as
far as the lady's identity is concerned, I have made no mistake. But to
do this convincingly, I must reconstruct the tragedy as I conceive that
it happened."
"Go ahead; I don't mind hearing your theory."
"First, I must ask you to take it for granted that I am right in
believing that Prentice was ignorant of her Ladyship's flight."
"I will admit that much," agreed Cyril.
"Thank you, my lord. Now let us try and imagine exactly what was her
Ladyship's position on the night of the murder. Her first care must have
been to devise some means of eluding his Lordship's vigilance. This was
a difficult problem, for Mustapha tells me that his Lordship was not
only a very light sleeper but that he suffered from chronic insomnia.
You may or may not know that his Lordship had long been addicted to the
opium habit and would sometimes for days together lie in a stupor. Large
quantities of the drug were found in his room and that explains how her
Ladyship managed to get hold of the opium with which she doctored his
Lordship's coffee."
"This is, however, mere supposition on your part," objected Cyril.
"Not at all, my lord. I had the sediment of the two cups analysed and
the chemist found that one of them contained a small quantity of opium.
Her Ladyship, being practically ignorant as to the exact nature of the
drug and of the effect it would have on a man who was saturated with it,
gave his Lordship too small a dose. Nevertheless, he became immediately
stupefied."
"Now, how on earth can you know that?"
"Very easily, my lord. If his Lordship had not been rendered at once
unconscious, he would--knowing that an attempt had been made to drug
him--have sounded the alarm and deputed Mustapha to guard her Ladyship,
which was what he always did when he knew that he was not equal to the
task."
"Well, that sounds plausible, at all events," acknowledged Cyril.
"As soon as her Ladyship knew that she was no longer watched," continued
the detective, "she at once set to work to disguise herself. As we know,
she had provided herself with clothes, but I fancy her hair, her most
noticeable feature, must have caused her some anxious moments."
"She may have worn a wig," suggested Cyril, hoping that Judson would
accept this explanation of the difficulty, in which case he would be
able triumphantly to demolish the latter's theory of the girl's
identity, by stating that he could positively swear that her hair was
her own.
"No, my lord. After carefully investigating the matter I have come to
the conclusion that she did not. And my reasons are, first, that no
hairdresser in Newhaven has lately sold a dark wig to any one, and,
secondly, that no parcel arrived, addressed either to her Ladyship or to
Prentice, which could have contained such an article. On the other hand,
as his Lordship had for years dyed his hair and beard, her Ladyship had
only to go into his dressing-room to procure a very simple means of
transforming herself."
"But doesn't it take ages to dye hair?" asked Cyril.
"If it is done properly, yes; but the sort of stain his Lordship used
can be very quickly applied. I do not believe it took her Ladyship more
than half an hour to dye enough of her hair to escape notice, but in all
probability she had no time to do it very thoroughly and that which
escaped may have turned white. I don't know anything about that."
This was a possibility which had not occurred to Cyril; but still he
refused to be convinced.
"Very well, my lord. Let me continue my story: Before her Ladyship had
completed her preparations, his Lordship awoke from his stupor."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because, if his Lordship had not tried to prevent her escape, she would
have had no reason for killing him. Probably they had a struggle, her
hand fell on the pistol, and the deed was done----"
"But what about the ruined picture?"
"Her Ladyship, knowing that there was no other portrait of her in
existence, destroyed it in order to make it difficult for the police to
follow her."
"H'm," grunted Cyril. "You make her Ladyship out a nice, cold-blooded,
calculating sort of person. If you think she at all resembles the young
lady at the nursing home, I can only tell you that you are vastly
mistaken."
"As I have not the honour of knowing the lady in question, I cannot form
any opinion as to that. But let us continue: I wish to confess at once
that I am not at all sure how her Ladyship reached Newhaven. That
waiting automobile complicates matters. On the face of it, it seems as
if it must have some connection with the case. I have also a feeling
that it has, and yet for the life of me I cannot discover the connecting
link. Whatever the younger man was, the elder was undoubtedly a
Frenchman, and I have ascertained that with the exception of an old
French governess, who lived with her Ladyship before her marriage, and
of Mustapha and Valdriguez, Lady Wilmersley knew no foreigner whatever.
Besides, these two men seem to have been motoring about the country
almost at random, and it may have been the merest accident which brought
them to the foot of the long lane just at the time when her Ladyship was
in all probability leaving the castle. Whether they gave her a lift as
far as Newhaven, I do not know. How her Ladyship reached the town
constitutes the only serious--I will not call it break--but hiatus--in
my theory. From half-past six the next morning, however, her movements
can be easily followed. A young lady, dressed as you know, approached
the station with obvious nervousness. Three things attracted the
attention of the officials: first, the discrepancy between the
simplicity, I might almost say the poverty, of her clothes, and the fact
that she purchased a first-class ticket; secondly, that she did not wish
her features to be seen; and thirdly, that she had no luggage except a
small hand-bag. How her Ladyship managed to elude the police, and what
has subsequently occurred to her, I do not need to tell your Lordship."
"You haven't in the least convinced me that the young lady is her
Ladyship, not in the least. You yourself admit that there is a hiatus in
your story; well, that hiatus is to me a gulf which you have failed to
bridge. Because one lady disappears from Geralton and another appears
the next morning in Newhaven, you insist the two are identical. But you
have not offered me one iota of proof that such is the case."
"What more proof do you want? She is the only person who left Newhaven
by train or boat who even vaguely resembled her Ladyship."
"That means nothing. Her Ladyship may not have come to Newhaven at all,
but have been driven to some hiding-place in the Frenchman's car."
"I think that quite impossible, for every house, every cottage, every
stable and barn even, for twenty-five miles around, has been carefully
searched. Besides, this would mean that the murder had been premeditated
and the coming of the motor had been pre-arranged; and lastly, as the
gardener's wife testifies that the car left Geralton certainly no
earlier than eleven-thirty, and as the two men reached the hotel before
twelve, this precludes the possibility that they could have done more
than drive straight back to the Inn, as the motor is by no means a fast
one."
"But, my man, they may have secreted her Ladyship in the town itself and
have taken her with them to France the next morning."
"Impossible. In the first place, they left alone, the porter saw them
off; and secondly, no one except the two Frenchmen purchased a ticket
for the continent either in the Newhaven office or on the boat."
Cyril rose from his seat. Judson's logic was horribly convincing; no
smallest detail had apparently escaped him. As the man piled argument on
argument, he had found himself slowly and grudgingly accepting his
conclusions.
"As you are in my employ, I take it for granted that you will not inform
the police or the press of your--suspicions," he said at last.
"Certainly not, my lord. On the other hand, I must ask you to allow me
to withdraw from the case."
"But why?" exclaimed Cyril.
"Because my duty to you, as my client, prevents me from taking any
further steps in this matter."
"I don't understand you!"
"I gather that you are less anxious to clear up the mystery than to
protect her Ladyship. Am I not right?"
"Yes," acknowledged Cyril.
"You would even wish me to assist you in providing a safe retreat for
her."
"Exactly."
"Well, my lord, that is just what I cannot do. It is my duty, as I
conceive it, to hold my tongue, but I should not feel justified in
aiding her Ladyship to escape the consequences of her--her--action. In
order to be faithful to my engagement to you, I am willing to let the
public believe that I have made a failure of the case. I shall not even
allow my imagination to dwell on your future movements, but more than
that I cannot do."
"You take the position that her Ladyship is an ordinary criminal, but
you must realise that that is absurd. Even granting that she is
responsible for her husband's death--of which, by the way, we have no
absolute proof--are you not able to make allowances for a poor woman
goaded to desperation by an opium fiend?"
"I do not constitute myself her Ladyship's judge, but I don't think your
Lordship quite realises all that you are asking of me. Even if I were
willing to waive the question of my professional honour, I should still
decline to undertake a task which, I know, is foredoomed to failure.
For, if _I_ discovered Lady Wilmersley with so little difficulty,
Scotland Yard is bound to do so before long. The trail is too
unmistakable. It is impossible--absolutely impossible, I assure you,
that the secret can be kept."
Cyril moved uneasily.
"I wish I could convince your Lordship of this and induce you to allow
the law to take its course. Her Ladyship ought to come forward at once
and plead justifiable homicide. If she waits till she is arrested, it
will tell heavily against her."
"But she is ill, really ill," insisted Cyril. "Dr. Stuart-Smith tells me
that if she is not kept perfectly quiet for the next few weeks, her
nervous system may never recover from the shock."
"H'm! That certainly complicates the situation; on the other hand, you
must remember that discovery is not only inevitable but imminent, and
that the police will not stop to consider her Ladyship's nervous system.
No, my lord, the only thing for you to do is to break the news to her
yourself and to persuade her to give herself up. If you don't, you will
both live to regret it."
"That may be so," replied Cyril after a minute's hesitation, "but in
this matter I must judge for myself. I still hope that you are wrong and
that either the young woman in question is not Lady Wilmersley or that
it was not her Ladyship who killed my cousin, and I refuse to jeopardise
her life till I am sure that there is no possibility of your having made
a mistake. But don't throw up the case yet. So far you have only sought
for evidence which would strengthen your theory of her Ladyship's guilt,
now I want you to look at the case from a fresh point of view. I want
you to start all over again and to work on the assumption that her
Ladyship did not fire the shot. I cannot accept your conclusion as final
till we have exhausted every other possibility. These Frenchmen, for
instance, have they or have they not a connection with the case? And
then there is Valdriguez. Why have you never suspected her? At the
inquest she acknowledged that no one had seen her leave her Ladyship's
apartments and we have only her word for it that she spent the evening
in her room."
"True. But, if I went on the principle of suspecting every one who
cannot prove themselves innocent, I should soon be lost in a quagmire of
barren conjectures. Of course, I have considered Valdriguez, but I can
find no reason for suspecting her."
"Well, I could give you a dozen reasons."
"Indeed, my lord, and what are they?"
"In the first place, we know that she is a hard, unprincipled woman, or
she would never have consented to aid my cousin in depriving his
unfortunate wife of her liberty. A woman who would do that, is capable
of any villainy. Then, on the witness-stand didn't you feel that she was
holding something back? Oh, I forgot you were not present at the
inquest."
"I was there, my lord, but I took good care that no one should recognise
me."
"Well, and what impression did she make on you?"
"A fairly favourable one, my lord. I think she spoke the truth and I
fancy that she is almost a religious fanatic."
"You don't mean to say, Judson, that you allowed yourself to be taken in
by her sanctimonious airs and the theatrical way that she kept clutching
at that cross on her breast? A religious fanatic indeed! Why, don't you
see that no woman with a spark of religion in her could have allowed her
mistress to be treated as Lady Wilmersley was?"
"Quite so, my lord, and it is because Valdriguez impressed me as an
honest old creature that I am still doubtful whether her Ladyship is
insane or not, and this uncertainty hampers me very much in my work."
"Lady Upton assured me that her granddaughter's mind had never been
unbalanced and that his Lordship, although he frequently wrote to her,
had never so much as hinted at such a thing; and if you believe the
young lady at the nursing home to be Lady Wilmersley, I give you my word
that she shows no sign of mental derangement."
"Well, that seems pretty final, and yet--and yet--I cannot believe that
Valdriguez is a vicious woman. A man in my profession acquires a curious
instinct in such matters, my lord." The detective paused a moment and
when he began again, he spoke almost as if he were reasoning with
himself. "Now, if my estimate of Valdriguez is correct, and if it is
also a fact that Lady Wilmersley has never been insane, there are
certainly possibilities connected with this affair which I have by no
means exhausted--and so, my lord, I am not only willing but anxious to
continue on the case, if you will agree to allow me to ignore her
Ladyship's existence."
"Certainly. But tell me, Judson, how can you hope to reconcile two such
absolutely contradictory facts?"
"Two such apparently contradictory facts," gently corrected the
detective. "Well, my lord, I propose to find out more of this woman's
antecedents. I have several times tried to get her to talk, but so far
without the least success. She says that she will answer any question
put to her on the witness-stand, but that it is against her principles
to gossip about her late master and mistress. She is equally reticent as
to her past life and when I told her that her silence seemed to me very
suspicious, she demanded--suspicious of what? She went on to say that
she could not see that it was anybody's business, where she lived or
what she had done, and that she had certainly no intention of gratifying
my idle curiosity; and that was the last word I could get out of her.
Although she treated me so cavalierly, I confess to a good deal of
sympathy with her attitude."
"Have you questioned Mrs. Eversley about her?" asked Cyril. "She was
housekeeper here when Valdriguez first came to Geralton and ought to be
able to tell you what sort of person she was in her youth."
"Mrs. Eversley speaks well of her. The only thing she told me which may
have a bearing on the case is, that in the old days his Lordship
appeared to admire Valdriguez very much."
"Ah! I thought so," cried Cyril.
"But we cannot be too sure of this, my lord. For when I tried to find
out what grounds she had for her statement, she had so little proof to
offer that I cannot accept her impression as conclusive evidence. As far
as I can make out, the gossip about them was started by his Lordship
going to the Catholic church in Newhaven."
"By going to the Catholic church!" exclaimed Cyril.
"Exactly. Not a very compromising act on his Lordship's part, one would
think. But as his Lordship was not a Catholic, his doing so naturally
aroused a good deal of comment. At first the neighbourhood feared that
he had been converted by his mother, who had often lamented that she had
not been allowed to bring up her son in her own faith. It was soon
noticed, however, that whenever his Lordship attended a popish service,
his mother's pretty maid was invariably present, and so people began to
put two and two together and before long it was universally assumed that
she was the magnet which had drawn him away from his own church. I asked
Mrs. Eversley if they had been seen together elsewhere, and she
reluctantly admitted that they had. On several occasions they were seen
walking in the Park but always, so Mrs. Eversley assured me, in full
view of the castle. She had felt it her duty to speak to Valdriguez on
the subject, and the latter told her that his Lordship was interested in
her religion and that she was willing to run the risk of having her
conduct misconstrued if she could save his soul from eternal damnation.
She also gave Mrs. Eversley to understand that she had her mistress's
sanction, and as her Ladyship treated Valdriguez more as a companion and
friend than as a maid, Mrs. Eversley thought this quite likely and did
not venture to remonstrate further. So the intimacy, if such it could be
called, continued as before. What the outcome of this state of things
would have been we do not know, for shortly afterwards both Lord and
Lady Wilmersley died and Valdriguez left Geralton. When his Lordship
went away a few weeks later, a good many people suspected that he had
joined her on the continent. Mrs. Eversley, however, does not believe
this. She has the most absolute confidence in Valdriguez's virtue, and I
think her testimony is pretty reliable."
"Bah! Mrs. Eversley is an honest, simple old soul. A clever adventuress
would have little difficulty in hoodwinking her. Mark my words, you have
found the key to the mystery. What more likely than that his
Lordship--whose morals, even as a boy, were none of the best--seduced
Valdriguez and that she returned to Geralton so as to have the
opportunity of avenging her wrongs."
"I can think of nothing more unlikely than that his Lordship should have
selected his cast-off mistress as his wife's attendant," Judson drily
remarked.
"Not at all. You didn't know him," replied Cyril. "I can quite fancy
that the situation would have appealed to his cynical humour."
"Your opinion of the late Lord Wilmersley is certainly not flattering,
but even if we take for granted that such an arrangement would not have
been impossible to his Lordship, I still refuse to believe that
Valdriguez would have agreed to it; even assuming that his Lordship had
wronged her and that she had nursed a murderous resentment against him
all these years, I cannot see how she could have hoped to further her
object by accepting the humiliating position of his wife's maid. It also
seems to me incredible that a woman whose passions were so violent as to
find expression in murder could have controlled them during a lifetime.
But leaving aside these considerations, I have another reason to urge
against your theory: Would his Lordship have trusted a woman who, he
knew, had a grievance against him, as he certainly trusted Valdriguez?
She had free access to his apartments. What was there to have prevented
her from giving him an overdose of some drug during one of the many
times when he was half-stupefied with opium? Nothing. The risk of
detection would have been infinitesimal. No, my lord, why Valdriguez
returned to Geralton is an enigma, I grant you, but your explanation
does not satisfy me."
"As long as you acknowledge that Valdriguez's presence here needs an
explanation and are willing to work to find that explanation, I don't
care whether you accept my theory or not; all I want to get at is the
truth."
"The truth, my lord," said the detective, as he rose to take his leave,
"is often more praised than appreciated."