"Oh, nothing--only I"ve got it now."
"Got what?"
"Where it was I first saw you. Of course--fool that I was!"
He continued to stare, and then she saw his smile fade and a curious reminiscent look take its place. She knew what the look meant. He was trying to recall more of the occasion, and wondering how much of his conversation with Lady Clifford she had overheard.
"I thought it would come back to you one day," she remarked easily.
"It"s the hat that made the difference, you know."
She left him standing there motionless, looking after her, his eyes narrowed in thought. She was careless now as to what he recalled or didn"t recall. What difference could it make?
"Come in, my dear. I"m trying to write some of my many letters--such a trying task!"
The old lady was sitting up in bed with her writing materials before her on a little bed-table. She smiled at Esther, but her face looked weary and old, with lines of grief that had not been there a month ago.
"Are you going out?"
"I"m leaving, Miss Clifford. I came to say good-bye."
Miss Clifford"s jaw dropped; she laid down her pen and stared.
"Good-bye? Not now, surely! I thought----"
"So did I, but it was a mistake. Lady Clifford doesn"t need me any more."
There was no doubt that the old lady was as much astonished as she was distressed.
"But, I don"t understand! I thought, of course, that you were going to stay on a bit, at least until we know about Roger!"
Esther felt awkward, uncertain what to say.
"It"s quite all right, Miss Clifford. Your sister-in-law doesn"t think there"s any good keeping me on. She told me half an hour ago."
In spite of her efforts her eyes met the old lady"s honest ones for a second. Then the old lady shook her head helplessly, looking both embarra.s.sed and regretful.
"If only it were my house, my dear," she faltered uncomfortably. "Of course you know how I felt about it. I took it for granted ...
besides, we looked upon you more as a friend than as a mere nurse, you know that. Roger will be dreadfully upset when he hears."
"Never mind, I shall hope to see you very soon. I"m not leaving Cannes just yet. I shall ring up to-morrow to inquire how you all are."
"Yes, please do!"
Miss Clifford took her hand and gave it a squeeze, troubled frown wrinkling her forehead.
"I wish I knew what to do about Roger. I am sure he has kept going by sheer will power and obstinacy. I am so afraid I shall have all the same dreadful uncertainty over again, just as I did with poor Charles."
"Oh, no, he"s a young man, remember," Esther rea.s.sured her quickly.
"He will be all right, only you must make him go to bed."
"I persuaded him to lie down after lunch, and he"s sound asleep now, so Chalmers tells me. I wonder if I ought to tell him you"re going?
He"ll be so cross when he finds out."
"Not on any account," Esther forbade her firmly. "It would be wrong to disturb him."
"He is really very difficult," went on the old lady confidentially.
"Between ourselves, I don"t know what my sister-in-law is going to think of his behaving in this way, refusing to take the doctor"s advice. She"s doing all she can for the boy, and if he continues as he is doing he is almost sure to offend her. She"s extremely sensitive!"
Esther was silent, hoping Roger would follow her advice about the nursing-home.
"Well, au revoir, my dear! I"m very sorry indeed, and I shall miss you. I shall never forget how kind you were to my brother."
Her brown eyes filled with tears as she kissed Esther"s cheek.
There was no sign of the doctor when Esther slowly descended to the entrance hall. She would have liked to slip away by herself, but it was too late, Chalmers had just placed her luggage on the back of the doctor"s car; she met him coming back. Moreover, she had intended to stop at the chemist"s on her way down; now of course she dared not do it. What Miss Clifford had said about Roger"s symptoms and the dreadful uncertainty had intensified all her vague fears, so that suddenly she felt she must end the suspense at once--if possible, before she quitted the house. Who could say what might happen once she got away?
Was there anything she could do? It would be late, perhaps too late before she would have a chance of reaching the chemist; the shop might be closed. Her eye fell on the little cloak-room at the back of the stairs, where the telephone was kept. Of course--she had a minute to spare now. What was to prevent her telephoning? The chemist spoke English--she could make him understand.
She cast a swift glance around; there was no one in sight. Then she slipped into the little room and rapidly searched in the telephone book for the name--Cailler, it was; she remembered because it was the name of a milk chocolate. Ah, here it was! With gratifying dispatch she got the connection, heard a voice which she recognised as belonging with the curly blond beard.
"_Allo, allo! Oui, c"est bien_--ah, yes, it is the Pharmacie Cailler, yes, yes.... What is it you say? I do not understand ... report?
Report of what? ... Needle? Hypodermic needle? ... But yes, yes, mademoiselle, it has been sent already to your address; it came this afternoon, so we have sent it to you."
"Sent it! But I haven"t received it. Are you quite sure?"
"But yes, certainly, one hour ago, to Mademoiselle Rowe, the Villa Firenze."
What was this? A suspicion crept into her mind.
"Yes, yes, monsieur. I"m afraid it must have gone astray. Could you possibly look it up and tell me over the telephone what the report was?
It is rather important...."
Gripping the receiver hard, she held her breath, straining her ears for the reply. It followed without hesitation, distinct and clear:
"But certainly, mademoiselle, I can tell you. The needle contained, _tout simplement_, what one calls in English the pure toxin of typhoid!"
"Toxin of typh...."
The words died in her throat, the receiver dropped clattering down.
For an instant she sat as though paralysed, her dry lips parted, her eyes staring in front of her. Then with a sudden rush the horrible truth swept upon her, overwhelming her utterly. Curiously enough, it seemed as though she had always known it from the first. How could she have shut her eyes to the facts? Incidents, motives, all suddenly fitted together like parts of a puzzle moved into place. It was all clear now; she saw the entire plan, so simple, so natural, so diabolically clever--the unsuspecting old man being done to death by a natural disease that was prevalent at the time, while every effort was made to save him, all the world looking on--"see, just to show you there"s no deception"--"all open and above board"--only the one flaw which she, by accident, had hit upon. Yes, she alone of all the household had held the clue in her hand, and had not had the wit to use it, to follow it up! Fool, fool, that she was! Yet, no--not quite that. The first injections were iron and a.r.s.enic, just what they pretended to be; only the last one was the pure toxin, renewing and intensifying the disease beyond hope of salvation. Even if she had known then, it would still have been too late to rescue Sir Charles....
But then, there was Roger! Was he, too, an intended victim? Was another murder in progress?
She jumped to her feet, pushed open the door blindly, ready to fly up the stairs and warn him of his danger, tell him all she knew. It was no time to mince matters, she must act and act quickly. If they persuaded him to submit to those injections of so-called anti-toxin....
"Oh--Chalmers!"
For the second time that day she ran bolt into the dignified person of the butler, who was crossing on his way to the stairs. She pulled herself up and spoke to him in a choking voice: