We were all somewhat surprised and not a little disorganised by the appearance of four unexpected servants in the train of my party. We hadn"t counted on anything quite so elaborate. There were two lady"s maids, not on friendly terms with each other; a French valet who had the air of one used to being served on a tray outside the servants"
quarters; and a German attendant with hands constructed especially for the purpose of kneading and gouging the innermost muscles of his master, who it appears had to be kneaded and gouged three times a day by a ma.s.seur in order to stave off paralysis, locomotor ataxia or something equally unwelcome to a high liver.
We had ample room for all this physical increase, but no beds. I transferred the problem to p.o.o.pend.y.k.e. How he solved it I do not know, but from the woe-be-gone expression on his face the morning after the first night, and the fact that Britton was unnecessarily rough in shaving me, I gathered that the two of them had slept on a pile of rugs in the lower hall.
Elsie Hazzard presented me to her friends and, with lordly generosity, I presented the castle to them. Her husband, Dr. George, thanked me for saving all their lives and then, feeling a draft, turned up his coat collar and informed me that we"d all die if I didn"t have the cracks stopped up. He seemed unnecessarily testy about it.
There was a Russian baron (the man who had to be kneaded) the last syllable of whose name was vitch, the first five evading me in a perpetual chase up and down the alphabet. For brevity"s sake, I"ll call him Umovitch. The French valet"s master was a Viennese gentleman of twenty-six or eight (I heard), but who looked forty. I found myself wondering how dear, puritanic, little Elsie Hazzard could have fallen in with two such unamiable wrecks as these fellows appeared to be at first sight.
The Austrian"s name was Pless. He was a plain mister. The more I saw of him the first afternoon the more I wondered at George Hazzard"s carelessness. Then there were two very bright and charming Americans, the Billy Smiths. He was connected with the American Emba.s.sy at Vienna, and I liked him from the start. You could tell that he was the sort of a chap who is bound to get on in the world by simply looking at his wife. The man who could win the love and support of such an attractive creature must of necessity have qualifications to spare. She was very beautiful and very clever. Somehow the unforgetable resplendency of my erstwhile typist (who married the jeweller"s clerk) faded into a pale, ineffective drab when opposed to the charms of Mrs. Betty Billy Smith. (They all called her Betty Billy.)
After luncheon I got Elsie off in a corner and plied her with questions concerning her friends. The Billy Smiths were easily accounted for.
They belonged to the most exclusive set in New York and Newport. He had an incomprehensible lot of money and a taste for the diplomatic service. Some day he would be an Amba.s.sador. The Baron was in the Russian Emba.s.sy and was really a very nice boy.
"Boy?" I exclaimed.
"He is not more than thirty," said she. "You wouldn"t call that old."
There was nothing I could say to that and still be a perfect host. But to you I declare that he wasn"t a day under fifty. How blind women can be! Or is silly the word?
From where we sat the figure of Mr. Pless was plainly visible in the loggia. He was alone, leaning against the low wall and looking down upon the river. He puffed idly at a cigarette. His coal black hair grew very sleek on his smallish head and his shoulders were rather high, as if pinched upward by a tendency to defy a weak spine.
"And this Mr. Pless, who is he?"
Elsie was looking at the rakish young man with a pitying expression in her tender blue eyes.
"Poor fellow," she sighed. "He is in great trouble, John. We hoped that if we got him off here where it is quiet he might be able to forget--Oh, but I am not supposed to tell you a word of the story! We are all sworn to secrecy. It was only on that condition that he consented to come with us."
"Indeed!"
She hesitated, uncomfortably placed between two duties. She owed one to him and one to me.
"It is only fair, John, that you should know that Pless is not his real name," she said, lowering her voice. "But, of course, we stand sponsor for him, so it is all right."
"Your word is sufficient, Elsie."
She seemed to be debating some inward question. The next I knew she moved a little closer to me.
"His life is a--a tragedy," she whispered. "His heart is broken, I firmly believe. Oh!"
The Billy Smiths came up. Elsie proceeded to withdraw into herself.
"We were speaking of Mr. Pless," said I. "He has a broken heart."
The newcomers looked hard at poor Elsie.
"Broken fiddle-sticks," said Billy Smith, nudging Elsie until she made room for him beside her on the long couch. I promptly made room for Betty Billy.
"We ought to tell John just a little about him," said Elsie defensively.
"It is due him, Billy."
"But don"t tell him the fellow"s heart is broken. That"s rot."
"It isn"t rot," said his wife. "Wouldn"t your heart be broken?"
He crossed his legs comfortably.
"Wouldn"t it?" repeated Betty Billy.
"Not if it were as porous as his. You can"t break a sponge, my dear."
"What happened to it?" I inquired, mildly interested.
"Women," said Billy impressively.
"Then it"s easily patched," said I. "Like cures like."
"You don"t understand, John," said Elsie gravely. "He was married to a beautiful--"
"Now, Elsie, you"re telling," cautioned Betty Billy.
"Well," said Elsie doggedly, "I"m determined to tell this much: his name isn"t Pless, his wife got a divorce from him, and now she has taken their child and run off with it and they can"t find--what"s the matter?"
My eyes were almost popping from my head.
"Is--is he a count?" I cried, so loudly that they all said "sh!" and shot apprehensive glances toward the pseudo Mr. Pless.
"Goodness!" said Elsie in alarm. "Don"t shout, John."
Billy Smith regarded me speculatively. "I dare say Mr. Smart has read all about the affair in the newspapers. They"ve had nothing else lately.
I won"t say he is a count, and I won"t say he isn"t. We"re bound by a deep, dark, sinister oath, sealed with blood."
"I haven"t seen anything about it in the papers," said I, trying to recover my self-possession which had sustained a most tremendous shock.
"Thank heaven!" cried Elsie devoutly.
"Do you mean to say you won"t tell me his name?" I demanded.
Elsie eyed me suspiciously. "Why did you ask if he is a count?"
"I have a vague recollection of hearing some one speak of a count having trouble with his young American wife, divorce, or something of the sort. A very prominent New York girl, if I"m not mistaken. All very hazy, however. What is his name?"
"John," said Mrs. Hazzard firmly, "you must not ask us to tell you.
Won"t you please understand?"
"The poor fellow is almost distracted. Really, Mr. Smart, we planned this little visit here simply in order to--to take him out of himself for a while. It has been such a tragedy for him. He worshipped the child." It was Mrs. Billy who spoke.
"And the mother made way with him?" I queried, resorting to a suddenly acquired cunning.
"It is a girl," said Elsie in a loud whisper. "The _loveliest_ girl. The mother appeared in Vienna about three weeks or a month ago and--whiff!