"Thinking that we loved one another because of the sham engagement," said the barrister quickly. "Quite so, quite so," said Mr. Martaban, annoyed by the interruption; "I hinted at that before. However, Sir Oliver was bent upon his natural son inheriting the property and marrying his cousin--as Miss Chent truly was. Miss Chent refused, and Sir Oliver drew out a new will, of which Madame Marie knew. It confirmed the will made in Jadby's favour." "But what was the need of that?" asked Prelice, surprised. "Wasn't the first will good enough?" "Oh yes, but as it had been made in the South Seas, Sir Oliver thought--very wrongly, in point of fact--that there might be some flaw. Now, Lord Prelice, you can see that if Jadby married Miss Chent, the elder woman would lose him----" "Madame Marie, you mean?" "Yes, yes. I speak plainly, do I not? Well then, if Jadby inherited the property Madame Marie lost him all the same, as while he had money he would never marry her. She therefore decided to destroy the third will, which had not been signed, and--to have Sir Oliver murdered." "Why didn't she stick him herself?" asked Prelice. "A strange woman," said the solicitor meditatively; "she would do much to gain her ends, even employing a third person to commit a crime. But for some feminine reason she would not stain her own hands with blood." "Rather a quibble." "It is, my lord, it is. However, to continue. As Mr. Haken wished to borrow money from Sir Oliver, and consulted Madame Marie about the same, she used his confidence as a lever by which to obtain the leaves of the Sacred Herb from Dr. Horace. Before that time he had refused her, but he gave the herb to Mr. Haken. I don't know why." "I do," said Prelice below his breath, and thinking of the openly expressed hatred which Horace had proclaimed towards the dead man. Martaban took no notice of the interruption. "Mr. Haken got the herb, and gave it to Madame Marie, who handed it to Sir Oliver on the day of the murder. As you know, Jadby and Shepworth quarrelled on that day." "Yes," said Shepworth vigorously. "Jadby learned about my love for a certain lady--through Madame Marie, I believe--and threatened to make himself disagreeable. I gave him a black eye, and myself a sprained ankle. Then the murder took place." "Yes," said Martaban; "and Mr. Haken was in the library, when----" "I know," interrupted Prelice sharply; "my uncle told me. But how did Madame Marie induce Steve to murder his master?" "It seems that she knew how Agstone was wanted for certain other murders in the South Seas," said Martaban, glancing at the papers, "so she threatened to have him extradited unless he did her bidding. He was, I regret to say, quite willing to do so, as he hated Sir Oliver, who treated him like a slave." "That," said Prelice emphatically, "I also know from Brisson. And then?"