"Oh, absolutely," Angela replied. "It is a slender man with a deep
mahogany face and curly hair, quite a handsome Asiatic, in fact; but
what struck me more were his eyes, which are a clear light blue. Fancy,
blue eyes in a face like that!"
"Capital," Mrs. Benstein murmured. "It is exactly as I expected. No, I
am not going to say any more for the present, because I don’t want to
spoil your enjoyment. Now go off and flirt with that handsome young
fraud, called Aben Abdullah, when you have the chance. Only don’t go
where I shall have to hunt for you in case of dire necessity."
*CHAPTER XIX.*
*WHAT DID SHE MEAN?*
Harold was on the look out for Angela, so that she had not much trouble
in finding him. His stolid Asiatic indifference was admirably feigned,
and showed nothing of the anxiety within. There was just an
interrogative gleam in his eyes for the moment.
"Isn’t there somewhere where we can be really quiet for a few minutes?"
he said. "I have successfully disposed of my royal rascal for the time,
and I want badly to speak to you. Unless I am greatly mistaken, you can
give me a good deal of information, Angela."
Angela’s smile indicated that she could. There was a small passage
behind some heavy curtains leading to a suite of rarely-used rooms, and
Angela led the way there. She put the light up for a few moments and
disclosed a cosy corner lounge, then she snapped off the switch again.
"I’ve pulled the curtain back so that it is possible to see without
being seen," she explained. "We must not stay long, Harold—I am sure
that Mrs. Benstein will want me before long."
Harold slipped his arm round the girl’s waist, and kissed her. Stolen
moments like this were very sweet. There was just an interval of
blissful silence.
"Now tell me what you know," Harold asked presently, "about the Blue
Stone."
"I know nothing about the Blue Stone," Angela explained. "Mrs. Benstein
has done something with it. All the mischief arose from the fact that
she had no idea of the traditional value of the gem. She had not asked
her husband about it. As a matter of fact a cunning idea of Sir
Clement’s——"
"I know all about that," Harold interrupted. "It was very cunning, and
came near success, only I nicked in, and you and I spoilt it between us.
Lefroy spotted the stone first and tried to keep the knowledge from
Frobisher, which was practically impossible. Then luck conspired to
force those fellows to make an offensive and defensive alliance. But
where is the stone?"
"My dear boy, I haven’t the remotest idea. All I know is that it has
disappeared from Mrs. Benstein’s forehead, and that she seems to be
enjoying the comedy."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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