'We went by the garden--without troubling your servant--I wanted to show my wife.' Lyon followed his hostess with her husband and the Colonel stopped him at the top of the stairs. 'My dear fellow, I _can't_ have been guilty of the folly of not fastening the door?' 'I am sure I don't know, Colonel,' Lyon said as they went down. 'It was a very determined hand--a perfect wild-cat.' 'Well, she _is_ a wild-cat--confound her! That's why I wanted to get him away from her.' 'But I don't understand her motive.' 'She's off her head--and she hates me; that was her motive.' 'But she doesn't hate me, my dear fellow!' Lyon said, laughing. 'She hated the picture--don't you remember she said so? The more portraits there are the less employment for such as her.' 'Yes; but if she is not really the model she pretends to be, how can that hurt her?' Lyon asked. The inquiry baffled the Colonel an instant--but only an instant. 'Ah, she was in a vicious muddle! As I say, she's off her head.' They went into the dining-room, where Mrs. Capadose was taking her place. 'It's too bad, it's too horrid!' she said. 'You see the fates are against you. Providence won't let you be so disinterested--painting masterpieces for nothing.' 'Did _you_ see the woman?' Lyon demanded, with something like a sternness that he could not mitigate. Mrs. Capadose appeared not to perceive it or not to heed it if she did. 'There was a person, not far from your door, whom Clement called my attention to. He told me something about her but we were going the other way.' 'And do you think she did it?' 'How can I tell? If she did she was mad, poor wretch.' 'I should like very much to get hold of her,' said Lyon. This was a false statement, for he had no desire for any further conversation with Miss Geraldine. He had exposed his friends to himself, but he had no desire to expose them to any one else, least of all to themselves. 'Oh, depend upon it she will never show again. You're safe!' the Colonel exclaimed. 'But I remember her address--Mortimer Terrace Mews, Notting Hill.' 'Oh, that's pure humbug; there isn't any such place.' 'Lord, what a deceiver!' said Lyon. 'Is there any one else you suspect?' the Colonel went on. 'Not a creature.' 'And what do your servants say?' 'They say it wasn't _them_, and I reply that I never said it was. That's about the substance of our conferences.' 'And when did they discover the havoc?' 'They never discovered it at all. I noticed it first--when I came back.' 'Well, she could easily have stepped in,' said the Colonel. 'Don't you remember how she turned up that day, like the clown in the ring?' 'Yes, yes; she could have done the job in three seconds, except that the picture wasn't out.' 'My dear fellow, don't curse me!--but of course I dragged it out.' 'You didn't put it back?' Lyon asked tragically. 'Ah, Clement, Clement, didn't I tell you to?' Mrs. Capadose exclaimed in a tone of exquisite reproach.