At times she cannot distinguish colours. Yet now and then her vision becomes quite normal."
"I have had some difficulty, Mrs. Tennison, in that way myself," I said. "When I first left St. Malo, after recovering consciousness of the present, I one day saw a gra.s.s field and it appeared to be bright blue. Again, an omnibus in London which I knew to be blue was a peculiar dull red. So my symptoms were the same as your daughter"s."
"It seems proved that both of you are fellow-victims of some desperate plot, Mr. Garfield," said the widow. "But what could have been its motive?"
"That I am striving with all my might to establish," I answered. "If I can only obtain from your daughter the true facts concerning her adventures on that fatal night last November, then it will materially a.s.sist me towards fixing the guilt upon the person I suspect. In this I beg your aid, Mrs. Tennison," I said. "I have only just returned from several weeks abroad, during which I have gained considerable knowledge which in the end will, I hope, lead me to the solution of the problem."
I then told her of my journey to Spain and afterwards to Nimes. But I mentioned nothing concerning either Oswald De Gex or Despujol.
At that moment Gabrielle, unaware of my presence, entered. She was dressed in a simple grey frock with short sleeves and cut discreetly low, and looked very sweet. On seeing me she drew back, but next second she put out her slim white hand in greeting, and with a delightful smile, exclaimed:
"Why--why, Mr. Garfield! I--I remember you! You called upon me some weeks ago--did you not?"
"Yes, Miss Tennison, I did," I replied as I sprang from my chair and bent over her hand. "So you recollect me--eh?"
"I do. They said that you would call upon me," she replied, her beautiful face suddenly clouding.
"Who told you that?" I asked.
"Doctor Moroni. He warned me that you were my enemy."
I drew a long breath, for I discerned the depth of the plot.
"Not your enemy, Miss Tennison," I a.s.sured her. "But your friend--your friend who is trying his best to solve the problem of your--your illness."
"Yes, Gabrielle, dear, Mr. Garfield is certainly your friend. I know that," declared her mother kindly. "Doctor Moroni must have been mistaken. Why should he have warned you against meeting Mr. Garfield?"
I was silent for a moment, then I said:
"Of course, Mrs. Tennison, you have no previous knowledge of me. You are taking me entirely at my own estimation."
"When I meet a young man who is open and frank as you are, I trust him," she said quietly. "You know that woman"s intuition seldom errs."
I laughed.
"Well," I answered. "I am striving to solve the mystery of what occurred on the night of November the seventh--of what occurred to your daughter, as well as to myself."
Mrs. Tennison endeavoured to obtain from me a description of my adventure, but I managed to evade her questions.
"I wonder why Doctor Moroni warned Gabrielle against you?" she remarked presently. "It is a mystery."
"Yes, Mrs. Tennison, it is all a mystery--a complete mystery to me why Doctor Moroni, of all men, should take an interest in your daughter.
He is certainly not a man to be trusted, and I, in turn, warn you against him."
"Why? He has been so good to Gabrielle."
"The reason of my warning is that he is her enemy as well as mine," I said, glancing at the beautiful girl, whose countenance had, alas! now grown inanimate again.
"But I do not understand," Mrs. Tennison exclaimed. "Why should the doctor be Gabrielle"s enemy?"
"Ah! That I cannot tell--except that he fears lest she should recover and reveal the truth--a serious truth which would implicate him."
"Do you think he had any hand in the mysterious affair?"
"I certainly do," was my reply, and then I told her of my journey to Italy, and of my discovery of her daughter with Moroni in Florence.
"But how did you know my daughter?" she asked.
"Because on that fatal night I saw her in a house in London."
"You saw her! Where?"
"In the house of a mutual enemy."
"Who?"
"Mrs. Tennison," I exclaimed quietly. "At present I cannot reveal to you more than I have done. Please excuse me. When I have fully verified my suspicions I will explain all that occurred to me--all that is within my knowledge. Until then, please remain in patience."
"I never dreamed that Gabrielle had a single enemy in the world. I cannot understand it," she exclaimed.
"Neither can I, but the fact remains. The greatest care should be exercised regarding your daughter. Why did she meet that Frenchman in Kensington Gardens?"
"I have only just heard about it," was her mother"s reply. "It appears that Doctor Moroni introduced them. She had only seen him once before."
Then, turning to the girl, her mother asked:
"What did he say to you?"
"He brought me an urgent and secret message from Doctor Moroni, telling me that there was a plot against my life," she replied in a slow, mechanical voice. "The doctor sent word to me that Mr. Garfield would probably call and endeavour to be friendly with me, but that he was my enemy, and I should have no dealings with him."
"Ah!" I exclaimed. "So that was the second warning given you, Miss Tennison! It is more than ever plain that they fear lest, by meeting, we shall discover the plot and its instigators. What else did he say?"
"He told me that Doctor Moroni was still in Florence, but that he would be coming to London again very soon, and that he would call. He urged me at the same time to tell n.o.body that he had seen me, or that he had warned me against you--not even my mother."
"All that is in no way surprising," I remarked, "for I happen to know that Monsieur Suzor and the doctor are on terms of closest friendship--a partnership for evil."
"How?"
"As I have already explained, Miss Tennison, I have not yet fully solved the enigma, though I have learned a number of facts which, though they increase the mystery, yet they give some clue to the solution of the enigma."
"But their evil design?" asked her mother.
"Their evil design is against us both, hence your daughter"s interests have become my own," I replied. "My sole object is to bring to justice those who have, for their own ends--no doubt for financial gain--been guilty of the astounding plot against your daughter. You may believe Doctor Moroni and his friend Suzor as you will, Mrs. Tennison, but I shall not withdraw from my present att.i.tude. That they fear me is conclusively proved."
"I quite see your point," said the quiet-voiced, refined lady.
"Then I do urge you to have a care of Miss Gabrielle," I exclaimed.
"If it is known, as it may be, that I have been here, an effort will surely be made to close the mouth of one or other of us. These men are desperate. I have already proved them so. Therefore we must take every precaution against surprise."