Detective and mystery stories; London (England) -- Fiction; Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction
"You forget my midnight exploration of the Pink Shop, when I saw
Madame Coralie in bed without the yashmak and by the light of my
bull's-eye lantern," said the detective, quickly.
"Then you are sure that she is the nurse who stole the child?"
"Quite sure. It appears she was jealous of Mrs. Ilse, as she was in
love with the Colonel at the time, although she had no grounds to go
upon. He was not the Colonel then, of course."
"He is pleased at your discovery, I expect?" said Audrey.
Perry Toat cast one of her stealthy glances at the young wife. "Very
pleased indeed," she assented cordially, "since the discovery of
Madame Coralie as the nurse may give him back his daughter."
At the Three Fishers Audrey found a curt note from her father saying
that he was coming down to see her that afternoon, as he had obtained
her address from Lady Sanby. Sir Joseph had learnt all about the
wedding and how Lady Sanby had acted as the fairy godmother. Perhaps
for this reason he was willing to be reconciled to his daughter. But a
letter from Miss Rosy Pearl to Ralph, which had arrived by the same
post, put a different complexion on the affair. Miss Pearl wrote
saying that she had prevailed on Sir Joseph to become friends again
with Audrey, and that she would come herself with the millionaire to
Weed-on-the-Sands to witness the reconciliation. "Fortunately I am not
engaged at any music-hall for two weeks," wrote the dancer, "so I can
stay at the Three Fishers for the night and cultivate the society of
your wife. I may tell you that if she were not at Weed-on-the-Sands I
would not be able to come down with Sir Joseph, as in my profession
one can never be too careful."
Ralph laughed at this display of Miss Pearl's uneasy virtue. "I am
afraid that she will not find us here," he said to Audrey.
"Not this afternoon," replied the girl, quickly, "but we can return by
the late train. I should like to become reconciled with papa."
"I think Lady Sanby has something to do with Sir Joseph's desire to be
on speaking terms with us," said Ralph, a trifle drily. "No doubt she
gave him a good talking to. However, I shall leave a note saying that
we shall return by--When can we return, Miss Toat?"
The detective thought for a moment or so. "We leave here by the
half-past twelve train," she said, looking at the watch attached to
her wrist, "and get to London at half-past two o'clock. We shall reach
my office in Buckingham Street at three, and there I expect to find
Madame Coralie and Eddy Vail waiting for us. The interview will likely
be a long one--say two or three hours. You can catch the six o'clock
train, and there is also one at eight, if you prefer to dine in
London."
"We will take the six train back," said Audrey, quickly, "as I don't
want to keep my father waiting longer than I can help."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account