It was in the handwriting of Sir Charles d.y.k.e, and even the imperturbable barrister could not resist an exclamation of amazement when he read:
"MY DEAR BRUCE,--My wife"s maid has vanished. She has not been near the house for three days. The thing came to my ears owing to gossip amongst the servants. There is something maddening about these occurrences. I really cannot stand any more. Do come to see me, there"s a good fellow."
"Well, I"m jiggered!" said the detective. "The blessed girl must have been spirited away a few hours after I saw her. Maybe, Mr. Bruce, we are all wrong. Has she gone to join her mistress?"
"Possibly--in the next world."
Nothing would shake the barrister"s belief that Alice, Lady d.y.k.e, was dead.
CHAPTER IV
NO. 61 RALEIGH MANSIONS
Really, the maid deserved to have her ears pulled.
People in her walk in life should not ape their betters. Lady d.y.k.e, owing to her position, was ent.i.tled to some degree of oddity or mystery in her behavior. But for a lady"s maid to so upset the entire household at Wensley House, Portman Square, was intolerable.
Sir Charles became, if possible, more miserable; the butler fumed; the housekeeper said that the girl was always a forward minx, and the footman winked at b.u.t.tons, as much as to say that he knew a good deal if he liked to talk.
The police were as greatly baffled by this latter incident as by its predecessor. The movements of the maid were quite unknown. No one could tell definitely when she left the house. Her fellow-servants described the dress she probably wore, as all her other belongings were in her bedroom; but beyond the fact that her name was Jane Harding, and that she had not returned to her home in Lincolnshire, the police could find no further clue.
So, in brief, Jane Harding quickly joined Lady d.y.k.e in the limbo of forgetfulness.
Bruce, however, forgot nothing. Indeed, he rejoiced at this new development.
"The greater the apparent mystery," he communed, "the less it is in reality. We now have two tracks to follow. They are both hidden, it is true, but when we find one, it will probably intersect the other."
The new year was a few days old when Bruce made his first step through the bewildering maze which seemed to bar progress on every side. He received a report from the man, a pensioned police-officer, who had conducted a painstaking search into the history and occupation of every inhabitant of Raleigh Mansions.
Two items the barrister fastened on to at once.
"At No. 12, top floor right, entrance by first door on Sloane Square side, is a small flat occupied by a man named Sydney H.
Corbett. He pa.s.ses as an American, but is probably an Englishman who has resided in the United States. He does not mix with other Americans in London, and is of irregular habits. He frequents race meetings and sporting clubs, is reported to belong to a Piccadilly club where high play is the rule, and has no definite occupation. He occasionally visits a lady who lives at No. 61, same mansions, ground floor, and sixth door. They have been heard to quarrel seriously, and the dispute appears always to have concerned money. Corbett went to Monte Carlo early in December. His address there is "Hotel du Cercle," and the local post-office has a supply of stamped and addressed envelopes in which to forward his correspondence.
"At No. 61, as already described, resides Mrs. Gwendoline Hillmer. She lives in good style, rents a brougham and a victoria, and is either a wealthy widow or maintained by some one of means. She dresses well, and goes out a good deal to theatres, but otherwise leads a rather lonely life. Her most frequent visitor is, or was, a gentleman who looked like an officer in the Guards, and, much less often, the aforesaid Sydney H. Corbett. Her servants, except the maid, live out. The maid, who is a sort of companion, is talkative, but does not know much, or, if she does, will not speak."
Bruce weighed these statements very carefully. They did not contain any positive facts that promised well for the elucidation of Lady d.y.k.e"s visit to the mansions on that fateful November evening, but the absolute colorlessness of the reports concerning the other occupants rendered them quite impossible of individual distinction.
After an hour of puzzled thought the barrister finally decided upon a course of action. He would see Mrs. Gwendoline Hillmer, and trust to luck in the way of discoveries.
A quiet smile lit up his handsome, regular features as he proceeded to array himself in the most fashionable clothes he possessed, paying the utmost attention to every detail in a manner that amazed his valet.
When at last that worthy was despatched to the nearest florist"s for a _boutonniere_, he communicated his bewilderment to the hall-porter.
"My guv"nor"s going out on the mash," he said confidentially. "I thought he would never look at a woman; but, bless you, Jim, we"re all alike.
When the day comes we all rush after a petticoat."
It was nearly six o"clock when Bruce walked down Victoria Street. For some reason, he did not call a hansom, and it was almost with a start that he found himself purchasing a ticket to Sloane Square at the Underground Railway office. At this precise hour and place he had last seen Lady Alice on earth. The memory nerved him to his purpose.
A few minutes later he pressed the electric bell of No. 61 Raleigh Mansions. As he listened to the slight jar of the indicator within, he smiled at the apparent fatuity of his mission.
He had one card, perhaps a weak one, to play, it was true, but he hoped that circ.u.mstances might prevent this from being tabled too early in the game.
The door opened, and a youthful housemaid stood before him, the simple wonder in her eyes showing that such visitors were rare.
"Is Mrs. Hillmer at home?" he said.
"I"ll see sir, if you give me your name."
"Surely you know whether or not she is at home?"
The girl stammered and blushed at this unexpected query. "Well, sir,"
she said, "my mistress is in, but I do not know if she can receive any one. She is dressed to go out."
"Ah! that"s better. Now, take her my card, and say that while I will not detain her, my business is very important." This with a sweet smile that put the flurried maid entirely at her ease.
The girl withdrew, after hesitating for a moment to decide the important question as to whether or not she should close the door in his face.
Another smile, and she did not.
He was thus free to note the luxurious and tasteful air of the general appointments, for the entrance hall usually reveals much of the characteristics of the inmates. Here was every evidence of refinement and wealth. All the display had not been lavished on the drawing-room.
As he waited, conscious of the fact that his colloquy with the servant had been overheard, a lady crossed from one room to the other at the end of the pa.s.sage. Her smart but simple dress, and the quick scrutiny she gave him, as though discovering his presence accidentally, caused him to believe--rightly, as it transpired--that this was the maid-companion described by his a.s.sistant.
Not only had she obviously made her appearance in order to look at him, but the housemaid had carried his message to a different section of the flat.
The girl returned. "My mistress will see you in a few minutes," she said. "Will you kindly step into the dining-room?"
He followed her, sat down in a position where the strong glare of the electric lamps would fall on any one who stood opposite, and waited developments.
The furniture was solid and appropriate, the carpet rich, and the pictures, engravings for the most part, excellent. This pleasant room, warmed by a cheerful fire, impressed Bruce as a place much used by the household. Books and work-baskets were scattered about, and a piano, littered with music, filled a corner. There were a few photographs of persons and places, but he had not time to examine these before the lady of the house entered.
Her appearance, for some reason inexplicable to the barrister himself, took him by surprise. She was tall, graceful, extremely good-looking, and dressed in a style of quiet elegance. Just the sort of woman one would expect to find in such a well-appointed abode, yet more refined in manner than Bruce, from his knowledge of the world, thought he would meet, judging by the hasty inferences drawn from his subordinate"s report. She was self-possessed, too. With calm tone, and slightly elevated eyebrows, she said:
"You wish to see me, I understand?"
"Yes. Allow me first to apologize for the hour at which I have called."
"No apology is necessary. But I am going out. Perhaps you will be good enough not to detain me longer than is absolutely necessary."
She stood between the table and the door. Bruce, who had risen at her entrance, was at the other side of the room. Her words, no less than her att.i.tude, showed that she desired the interview to be brief. But the barrister resolved that he would not be repelled so coolly.
Advancing, with a bow and that fascinating smile of his, he said, pulling forward a chair: