Then hastening to her room she threw off her dinner gown, and putting on a coat and skirt and the boots which she had worn when fishing that morning, she went out by a door which led from the great old library, with its thousands of brown-backed volumes, on to the broad terrace which overlooked the glen, now a veritable fairyland beneath the light of the moon.
Outside the silence was only broken by the ripple of the burn over its pebbles deep below, and the cry of the night-bird upon the steep rock whereon the historic old castle was built. By a path known to her she descended swiftly, and away into the park by yet another path, used almost exclusively by the servants and the postman, down to a gate which led out into the high road to Perth by one of the farms on the estate, the one known as the Bervie.
As she was about to pa.s.s through the small swing gate, she heard a voice which she recognized exclaim:
"Miss Rans...o...b.. I have to apologize!" And from the dark shadow a rather tall man emerged and barred her path.
"I daresay you will think this all very mysterious," he went on, laughing lightly. "But I do hope I have not inconvenienced you. If so, pray accept my deepest apologies. Will you?"
"Not at all," the girl replied, though somewhat taken aback by the suddenness of the encounter. The man spoke slowly and with evident refinement. His voice was the same she had heard at Nice on that memorable night of gaiety. She recognized it instantly.
As he stood before her, his countenance became revealed in the moonlight, and she saw a well-moulded, strongly-marked face, with a pair of dark, penetrating eyes, set a little too close perhaps, but denoting strong will and keen intelligence.
"Yes," he laughed. "Look at me well, Miss Rans...o...b.. I am the white cavalier whom you last saw disguised by a black velvet mask. Look at me again, because perhaps you may wish to recognize me later on."
"And you are still Mr. X--eh?" asked the girl, who had halted, and was gazing upon his rather striking face.
"Still the same," he said, smiling. "Or you may call me Brown, Jones, or Robinson--or any of the other saints" names if you prefer."
"You have been very kind to me. Surely I may know your real name?"
"No, Miss Rans...o...b.. For certain very important reasons I do not wish to disclose it. Pardon me--will you not? I ask that favour of you."
"But will you not satisfy my curiosity?"
"At my personal risk? No. I do not think you would wish me to do that--eh?" he asked in a tone of mild reproof.
Then he went on:
"I"m awfully sorry I could not approach you openly. In London I found out that you were up here, so I thought it best to see you in secret.
You know why I have come to you, Miss Rans...o...b..-eh?"
"On behalf of Mr. Henfrey."
"Yes. He is still in hiding. It has been impossible--through force of circ.u.mstances--for him to send you further messages."
"Where is he? I want to see him."
"Have patience, Miss Rans...o...b.. and I will arrange a meeting between you."
"But why do the police still search for him?"
"Because of an unfortunate fact. The lady, Mademoiselle Ferad, is now confined to a private asylum at Cannes, but all the time she raves furiously about Monsieur Henfrey. Hence the French police are convinced that he shot her--and they are determined upon his arrest."
"But do you think he is guilty?"
"I know he is not. Yet by force of adverse circ.u.mstances, he is compelled to conceal himself until such time that we can prove his innocence."
"Ah! But shall we ever be in a position to prove that?"
"I hope so. We must have patience--and still more patience," urged the mysterious man as he stood in the full light of the brilliant moon. "I have here a letter for you which Mr. Henfrey wrote a week ago. It only came into my hands yesterday." And he gave her an envelope.
"Tell me something about this woman, Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo. Who is she?" asked Dorise excitedly.
"Well--she is a person who was notorious at the Rooms, as you yourself know. You have seen her."
"And tell me, why do you take such an interest in Hugh?" inquired the girl, not without a note of suspicion in her voice.
"For reasons best known to myself, Miss Rans...o...b.. Reasons which are personal."
"That"s hardly a satisfactory reply."
"I fear I can give few satisfactory replies until we succeed in ascertaining the truth of what occurred at the Villa Amette," he said.
"I must urge you, Miss Rans...o...b.. to remain patient, and--and not to lose faith in the man who is wrongfully accused."
"But when can I see him?" asked Dorise eagerly.
"Soon. But you must be discreet--and you must ask no questions. Just place yourself in my hands--that is, if you can trust me."
"I do, even though I am ignorant of your name."
"It is best that you remain in ignorance," was his reply. "Otherwise perhaps you would hesitate to trust me."
"Why?"
But the tall, good-looking man only laughed, and then he said:
"My name really doesn"t matter at present. Later, Miss Rans...o...b.. you will no doubt know it. I am only acting in the interests of Henfrey."
Again she looked at him. His face was smiling, and yet was sphinx-like in the moonlight. His voice was certainly that of the white cavalier which she recollected so well, but his personality, so strongly marked, was a little overbearing.
"I know you mistrust me," he went on. "If I were in your place I certainly should do so. A thousand pities it is that I cannot tell you who I am. But--well--I tell you in confidence that I dare not!"
"Dare not! Of what are you afraid?" inquired Dorise. The man she had met under such romantic circ.u.mstances interested her keenly. He was Hugh"s go-between. Poor Hugh! She knew he was suffering severely in his loneliness, and his incapability to clear himself of the terrible stigma upon him.
"I"m afraid of several things," replied the white cavalier. "The greatest fear I have is that you may not believe in me."
"I do believe in you," declared the girl.
"Excellent!" he replied enthusiastically. "Then let us get to business--pardon me for putting it so. But I am, after all, a business man. I am interested in a lot of different businesses, you see."
"Of what character?"
"No, Miss Rans...o...b.. That is another point upon which I regret that I cannot satisfy your pardonable curiosity. Please allow your mind to rest upon the one main point--that I am acting in the interests of the man with--the man who is, I believe, your greatest and most intimate friend."
"I understood that when we met in Nice."
"Good! Now I understand that your mother, Lady Rans...o...b.. is much against your marriage with Hugh Henfrey. She has other views."