'I beg your pardon, my lord,' said he, making a feint of retiring, 'I
did not know that your lordship was engaged.'
'I am not engaged,' replied the bishop, seemingly glad to escape from
his own sad thoughts; 'come in, come in. You have left Mrs Pansey's
_fete_ rather early.'
'But not so early as you, sir,' said the chaplain, taking a chair where
he could command an uninterrupted view of the bishop's face. 'I fear you
are not well, my lord.'
'No, Cargrim, I am not well. In spite of my desire to continue my
duties, I am afraid that I shall be forced to take a holiday for my
health's sake.'
'Your lordship cannot do better than join Mrs Pendle at Nauheim.'
'I was thinking of doing so,' said the bishop, glancing at a letter at
his elbow, 'especially as Sir Harry Brace is coming back on business to
Beorminster. I do not wish my wife to be alone in her present uncertain
state of health. As to my own, I'm afraid no springs will cure it; my
disease is of the mind, not of the body.'
'Ah!' sighed Cargrim, sagely, 'the very worst kind of disease. May I ask
what you are troubled about in your mind?'
'About many things, Cargrim, many things. Amongst them the fact of this
disgraceful murder. It is a reflection on the diocese that the criminal
is not caught and punished.'
'Does your lordship wish the assassin to be captured?' asked the
chaplain, in his softest tone, and with much apparent simplicity.
Dr Pendle raised his head and darted a keen look at his questioner. 'Of
course I do,' he answered sharply, 'and I am much annoyed that our local
police have not been clever enough to hunt him down. Have you heard
whether any more evidence has been found?'
'None likely to indicate the assassin, my lord. But I believe that the
police have gathered some information about the victim's past.'
The bishop's hand clenched itself so tightly that the knuckles whitened.
'About Jentham!' he muttered in a low voice, and not looking at the
chaplain; 'ay, ay, what about him?'
'It seems, my lord,' said Cargrim, watchful of his companion's face,
'that thirty years ago the man was a violinist in London and his
professional name was Amaru.'
'A violinist! Amaru!' repeated Dr Pendle, and looked so relieved that
Cargrim saw he had not received the answer he expected. 'A professional
name you say?'
'Yes, your lordship,' replied the chaplain, trying hard to conceal his
disappointment. 'No doubt the man's real name was Jentham.'
'No doubt,' assented the bishop, indifferently, 'although I daresay so
notorious a vagrant must have possessed at least half a dozen names.'
It was on the tip of Cargrim's tongue to ask by what name Jentham had
been known to his superior, but restrained by the knowledge of his
incapacity to follow up the question, he was wise enough not to put it.
Also, as he wished to come to an understanding with the bishop on the
subject of the Heathcroft living, he turned the conversation in that
direction by remarking that Mr Leigh was reported as dying.