"'My brother is upset,' she said calmly, 'because he knows that the pearls are of immense value. The late Lord Glenarm left them to me in his will. He made a huge fortune by a successful speculation in sugar. He had no daughters of his own, and late in life he married my mother's sister. He was my godfather, and when he first bought the pearls and gave them to his wife as a wedding present, he said that after her death and his they should belong to me. They were valued for probate at twenty-five thousand pounds.' "Henry Buckley was still speechless, and it was in answer to several questions put to her by the Inspector that Lady Angela gave the full history, as far as she knew it, of the disappearance of her pearls. "'I was going to spend the week-end with some friends at Tatchford, near Newmarket,' she said. 'My brother at first had decided not to come with me. On the Friday evening I went with Captain Shillington to a ball at the Duchess of Flint's in Grosvenor Square. I wore my pearls; on the way home in the car, Captain Shillington appeared very anxious as to what I should do about the pearls whilst I was away. He wanted me to take them to the bank first thing in the morning before I left. But I knew I couldn't do this, because my train was at nine-fifty from Liverpool Street. Captain Shillington had once or twice before shown anxiety about the pearls and urged me to keep them at the bank when I was not wearing them, but he had never been so insistent as that night.' "Lady Angela appeared to hesitate for a moment or two. She glanced at her brother with a curious expression, both of anxiety and contempt. It seemed as if she were trying to make up her mind to say something that was very difficult, to put in so many words. The Inspector sat silent and impassive, waiting for her to continue her story, and at last she did make up her mind to speak. "'I had a safe in the flat,' she went on, glibly, 'where I keep my jewellery, but Captain Shillington did not seem satisfied. He argued and argued, and at last he persuaded me to let him have the pearls while I was away and he would deposit them at his own bank until my return.' "Presumably at this point the lady caught an expression on the face of the Inspector which displeased her, for she added with becoming dignity, 'I am engaged to be married to Captain Denver Shillington.' "'My God!' Henry Buckley exclaimed at this point, and with a groan he buried his face in his hands.