"You will hear of him now," said Calvert tartly; "do not interrupt, please. Well, Flora----" "Who is Flora?" asked Fane again. "My cousin, Mrs. Brand. She was Flora Calvert. She kept a diary all these years, as she led a rather lonely life. The man she married was a commercial traveller, and was frequently away. His name was Brand, and with his wife he lived at Hampstead." "In Coleridge Lane. I know." "Tracey muttered something uncomplimentary, and went to the window. Fane's constant interruptions got on his nerves. During the rest of the story he occupied a chair, and amused himself with looking out. All the same he lost nothing of what passed. For such observation had he been asked by Arnold to be present at the interview. "From the diary, which begins with her married life, it appears that Mrs. Brand was very happy with her husband," went on Calvert. "She met him at some open-air entertainment, where she was in danger of being crushed by the crowd. Brand rescued her, and afterwards called on Flora, who was then living with her mother. He called himself Adolphus Brand." "Was that not his name?" "It is hard to say. When he first came to see Flora he told her his name was Wentworth. She related her life, and how she expected to inherit a fortune from an uncle called Arthur Brand who lived in Australia. Wentworth thereupon said that he also had a cousin called Brand, from whom he expected money. It was probable, he said, that if he did get this money he would have to change his name. A few months later he proposed to marry Flora, but could not do so until he got the money." "Was it a large fortune?" asked Fane. "Not very large--a few thousand pounds. One day Brand stated that his cousin was dead, and that he had the money on condition that he changed his name. Now you see, Fane, how Wentworth came to be called Brand. It was curious that he should have the same name as the uncle from whom Flora hoped to get money." "A coincidence," said Fane coolly; "these things happen in real life. It is only in fiction that coincidences appear to be absurd." "Well, to continue the story," said Arnold, stealing a glance at the American, "Brand married my cousin after the death of her mother. He took her to live at Gunnersbury." "I thought you said they lived at Hampstead." "Later on they did, but not when they first married. Brand--as he said--was a commercial traveller." "As he said; you doubt his statement then?" "I have reason to," responded Calvert gravely. "Please let me tell the story in my own way. You can comment on it when it is done. Brand being, as he said, a commercial traveller, was often away for months at a time. Flora, suspecting nothing wrong----" "Why should she?" asked Fane.