chapter 4

in curzon street

the hon mrs derek kettering lived in curzon street. the butler who opened the door recognized rufus van aldin at once and permitted himself a discreet smile of greeting. he led the way upstairs to the big double drawing-room on the first floor.

a woman who was sitting by the window started up with a cry.

"why, dad, if that isn't too good for anything! i've been telephoning major knighton all day to try and get hold of you, but he couldn't say for sure when you were expected back."

ruth kettering was twenty-eight years of age. without being beautiful, or in the real sense of the word even pretty, she was striking looking because of her colouring. van aldin had been called carrots and ginger in his time, and ruth's hair was almost pure auburn. with it went dark eyes and very black lashes - the effect somewhat enhanced by art. she was tall and slender, and moved well. at a careless glance it was the face of a raphael madonna. only if one looked closely did one perceive the same line of jaw and chin as in van aldin's face, bespeaking the same hardness and determination. it suited the man, but suited the woman less well. from her childhood upward ruth van aldin had been accustomed to having her own way, and anyone who had ever stood up against her soon realized that rufus van aldin's daughter never gave in.

"knighton told me you'd phoned him," said van aldin. "i only got back from paris half an hour ago. what's all this about derek?"

ruth kettering flushed angrily.

"it's unspeakable. it's beyond all limits," she cried. "he - he doesn't seem to listen to anything i say."

there was bewilderment as well as anger in her voice.

"he'll listen to me," said the millionaire grimly.

ruth went on.

"i've hardly seen him for the last month. he goes about everywhere with that woman."

"with what woman?"

"mirelle. she dances at the parthenon, you know."

van aldin nodded.

"i was down at leconbury last week. i - i spoke to lord leconbury. he was awfully sweet to me, sympathized entirely. he said he'd give derek a good talking to."

"ah!" said van aldin.

"what do you mean by 'ah!', dad?"

"just what you think i mean, ruthie. poor old leconbury is a wash-out. of course he sympathized with you, of course he tried to soothe you down. having got his son and heir married to the daughter of one of the richest men in the states, he naturally doesn't want to mess the thing up. but he's got one foot in the grave already, everyone knows that, and anything he may say will cut darned little ice with derek."

"can't you do anything, dad?" urged ruth, after a minute or two.

"i might," said the millionaire. he waited a second reflectively, and then went on.

"there are several things i might do, but there's only one that will be any real good. how much pluck have you got, ruthie?"

she stared at him. he nodded back at her.

"i mean just what i say. have you got the grit to admit to all the world that you've made a mistake? there's only one way out of this mess, ruthie. cut your losses and start afresh."

"you mean -"

"divorce."

"divorce!"

van aldin smiled drily.

"you say that word, ruth, as though you'd never heard it before. and yet your friends are doing it all round you every day."

"oh! i know that. but -"

she stopped, biting her lip. her father nodded comprehendingly.

"i know, ruth. you're like me, you can't bear to let go. but i've learnt, and you've got to learn, that there are times when it's the only way. i might find ways of whistling derek back to you, but it would all come to the same in the end. he's no good, ruth; he's rotten through and through. and mind you, i blame myself for ever letting you marry him. but you were kind of set on having him, and he seemed in earnest about turning over a new leaf - and well, i'd crossed you once, honey..."

he did not look at her as he said the last words. had he done so, he might have seen the swift colour that came up in her face.

"you did," she said in a hard voice.

"i was too darned soft-hearted to do it a second time. i can't tell you how i wish i had, though. you've led a poor kind of life for the last few years, ruth."

"it has not been very - agreeable," agreed mrs kettering.

"that's why i say to you that this thing has got to stop!" he brought his hand down with a bang on the table. "you may have a hankering after the fellow still. cut it out. face facts. derek kettering married you for your money. that's all there is to it. get rid of him, ruth."

ruth kettering looked down at the ground for some moments, then she said, without raising her head:

"supposing he doesn't consent?"

van aldin looked at her in astonishment.

"he won't have a say in the matter."

she flushed and bit her lip.

"no - no - of course not. i only meant -"

she stopped. her father eyed her keenly.

"what did you mean?"

"i meant -" she paused, choosing her words carefully. "he mayn't take it lying down."

the millionaire's chin shot out grimly.

"you mean he'll fight the case? let him! but, as a matter of fact, you're wrong. he won't fight. any solicitor he consults will tell him he hasn't a leg to stand upon."

"you don't think -" she hesitated - "i mean - out of sheer spite against me - he might try to make it awkward?"

her father looked at her in some astonishment.

"fight the case, you mean?"

he shook his head.

"very unlikely. you see, he would have to have something to go upon."

mrs kettering did not answer. van aldin looked at her sharply.

"come, ruth, out with it. there's something troubling you - what is it?"

"nothing, nothing at all."

but her voice was unconvincing.

"you are dreading the publicity, eh? is that it? you leave it to me. i'll put the whole thing through so smoothly that there will be no fuss at all."

"very well, dad, if you really think it's the best thing to be done."

"got a fancy for the fellow still, ruth? is that it?"

"no."

the word came with no uncertain emphasis. van aldin seemed satisfied. he patted his daughter on the shoulder.

"it will be all right, little girl. don't you worry any. now let's forget all about this. i have brought you a present from paris."

"for me? something very nice?"

"i hope you'll think so," said van aldin, smiling.

he took the parcel from his coat pocket and handed it to her. she unwrapped it eagerly, and snapped open the case. a longdrawn

"oh!" came from her lips. ruth kettering loved jewels - always had done so.

"dad, how - how wonderful!"

"rather in a class by themselves, aren't they?" said the millionaire, with satisfaction. "you like them, eh?"

"like them? dad, they're unique. how did you get hold of them?"

van aldin smiled.

"ah! that's my secret. they had to be bought privately, of course. they are rather well known. see that big stone in the middle? you have heard of it, maybe, that's the historic 'heart of fire.'"

"heart of fire!" repeated mrs kettering.

she had taken the stones from the case and was holding them against her breast.

the millionaire watched her. he was thinking of the series of women who had worn the jewels. the heartaches, the despairs, the jealousies. 'heart of fire,' like all famous stones, had left behind it a trail of tragedy and violence. held in ruth kettering's assured hand, it seemed to lose its potency of evil. with her cool, equable poise, this woman of the western world seemed a negation to tragedy or heart-burnings. ruth returned the stones to their case, then, jumping up, she flung her arms round her father's neck.

"thank you, thank you, thank you, dad! they are wonderful! you do give me the most marvelous presents always."

"that's all right," said van aldin, patting her shoulder. "you are all i have, you know, ruthie."

"you will stay to dinner, won't you, father?"

"i don't think so. you were going out, weren't you?"

"yes, but i can easily put that off. nothing very exciting."

"no," said van aldin. "keep your engagement. i have got a good deal to attend to. see you tomorrow, my dear. perhaps if i phone you, we can meet at galbraiths?"

messrs. galbraith, galbraith, cuthbertson, & galbraith were van aldin's london solicitors.

"very well, dad." she hesitated. "i suppose it - this - won't keep me from going to the riviera?"

"when are you off?"

"on the fourteenth."

"oh, that will be all right. these things take a long time to mature. by the way, ruth, i shouldn't take those rubies abroad if i were you. leave them at the bank."

mrs kettering nodded.

"we don't want to have you robbed and murdered for the sake of

'heart of fire,'" said the millionaire jocosely.

"and yet you carried it about in your pocket loose," retorted his daughter, smiling.

"yes -"

something, some hesitation, caught her attention.

"what is it, dad?"

"nothing." he smiled. "thinking of a little adventure of mine in paris."

"an adventure?"

"yes, the night i bought these things."

he made a gesture towards the jewel case.

"oh, do tell me."

"nothing to tell, ruthie. some apache fellows got a bit fresh and i shot at them and they got off. that's all."

she looked at him with some pride.

"you're a tough proposition, dad."

"you bet i am, ruthie."

he kissed her affectionately and departed. on arriving back at the savoy, he gave a curt order to knighton.

"get hold of a man called goby; you'll find his address in my private book. he's to be here tomorrow morning at half-past nine."

"yes, sir."

"i also want to see mr kettering. run him to earth for me if you can. try his club - at any rate, get hold of him somehow, and arrange for me to see him here tomorrow morning. better make it latish, about twelve. his sort aren't early risers."

the secretary nodded in comprehension of these instructions. van aldin gave himself into the hands of his valet. his bath was prepared, and as he lay luxuriating in the hot water, his mind went back over the conversation with his daughter. on the whole he was well satisfied. his keen mind had long since accepted the fact that divorce was the only possible way out. ruth had agreed to the proposed solution with more readiness than he had hoped for. yet, in spite of her acquiescence, he was left with a vague sense of uneasiness. something about her manner, he felt, had not been quite natural. he frowned to himself.

"maybe i'm fanciful," he muttered, "and yet - i bet there's something she has not told me."

第四章 露丝·凯特林

德里克·凯特林夫人住在古尔松大街。仆人开了门，一看是冯·阿尔丁就立即让他进去。她对百万富翁微微一笑，现出尊敬的神色。百万富翁随即走进大厅。他的女儿从窗子看到了他，高兴得喊了起来。

“我多么高兴啊，爸爸，你回来了！我成天给你打电话，可是你的秘书总是回答不出来你回国的时间。”

露丝·凯特林今年二十八岁，谈不上好看，但是身上的各种色调却很吸引人。金黄色的头发，黑色的眼睛，墨黑的睫毛，而且她还会根据自己的这些色调来打扮自己。她有着修长的身材，第一眼看去真象拉斐尔（意大利文艺复兴时期的画家。译注）画的圣母。如果仔细端详就会发现她的嘴和下巴之间有一条皱纹，这是与她父亲相似之处的明显特点。

若是男人有这么一条明显的皱纹，并不会太引人注目的，而一个女人有这么一条皱纹，好象画家别具匠心地加了一道重彩，就很吸引人。

她从小就惯于坚持已见，假如有人敢于领教一下她的这种意志，那他很快就会得出结论：冯·阿尔丁的女儿是从不屈服的。

“奈顿告诉我说，你给他打过电话。我刚刚从巴黎回来半个小时，你丈夫又有些什么新花样？”

露丝的面颊由于愤怒而现出红晕。

“简直太不象话！”她说道，“我的话，他完全当成耳旁风。”

“可是，他应该听我的话。”百万富翁忿忿地说。

露丝继续说道：“我有一个多月没见到他的面了。他和那个坏女人整天到处胡混。”

“哪个坏女人？”

“米蕾·帕泰农饭店的舞女。”

冯·阿尔丁点了一下头。

“上星期我到他父亲那里去过。”露丝说道，“他很喜欢我，完全站在我这边，他说他一定找机会教育他的儿子。”

“算了吧，这个老雷康布里还从来不敢正经地对他儿子说点什么呢。他已经是土埋半截的人了。”

“爸爸，你能帮点忙吗？”

“当然可以。”百万富翁说。他思虑片刻继续说，“我可以采取各种手段。最重要的是要达到一个实际的目的。孩子，你有勇气吗？”

露丝凝视着父亲，现出不甚明白的神色。冯·阿尔丁对女儿点了点头。

“你是否有勇气向公众承认自己犯了一个错误。这是唯一可以使你摆脱这种尴尬境地的办法。和过去一刀两断，开始新的生活吧！”

“你是说……”

“离婚！”

“离婚？”

冯·阿尔丁微笑了。

“你说出这两个字的时候，露丝，好象是第一次才听到过似的。可是你却让你的女友们一个接一个地去离婚。”

“这我知道，可是……”

露丝的话又咽下去了。她咬紧了嘴唇。父亲看了她一眼，投以理解的目光。

“露丝，我了解你。你同我一样，只要是你想做什么，就决不会罢休。但是，我学会了，你也应该学会理解，有时处境很复杂，而且只有一条路才能摆脱这种困境。我也可能有办法使德里克回你的身边。如果那样的话，往日的痛苦又会重新折磨你。他是个可救药的人，完全堕落了。我经常责备自己，为什么允许你同他结婚。但是你却看中了他，而且那时候看来他还可能变好。亲爱的，只有一次，我违背了你的意志。”

说最后一句话时，冯·阿尔丁没看着女儿，否则的话他会发现露丝的脸瞬时泛起了红晕。

“是的！”露丝·凯特林的声音很坚定。

“我的心软下来了，不愿再一次违背了你的意愿。可是那时我再狠一下心该多好，最近几年来你经历的事太多了。”

“简直是没有快乐的时候。”露丝·凯特林说道。

“因此，我说还是结束的好。”他用手拍了一下桌子。“你可能还在喜欢他。算了吧，还事情的本来面目吧。他是为了金钱才和你结婚的。事情就是这样。你要抛弃他，看他会怎样。”

露丝长时间地死盯着地板。随后头也不抬地说道：

“可是，如果他不同意呢？”

冯·阿尔丁迷惑不解地看着露丝。

“我们根本不用去问他。”

红晕又泛上了露丝的脸面上，她咬着嘴唇。

“可是，他要是使你不得安宁呢？”

“你是说他会提出反对？只要他敢！但是我不相信他会这样做。任何一个律师都会告诉他，他的处境是毫无指望的。”

“你不相信他会……”露丝犹豫不决。“我是说，他可会为了折磨我而制造出许多麻烦？”

父亲看着女儿，现出不理解的神色。

“你是说他会对离婚的诉提出反上诉吗？这种可能性是不大的。他没有反上诉的理由，他决不会这样做。”

露丝没有回答父亲的话。

冯·阿尔丁严肃地看了女儿一眼。

“露丝，过来，说出来吧，你心里有什么秘密，说出来吧！”

“没有，爸爸，确实没有什么。”但是露丝的声音很不坚定。

“你是怕公共舆论？这个你让我去处理好了。一切都会悄然无声地过去的。”

“那好吧，可是爸爸，你是否认为这是最好的解决办法？”

“你还是喜欢这小子？是吗？”

“不。”

露丝的声音很坚决，冯·阿尔丁感到心满意足。他亲昵地拍着女儿的肩膀。

“孩子，一切都会顺利！不用担心。现在说点别的什么事吧。我从巴黎给你带回一点小礼物。”

“真的吗？是什么可爱的东西？”

“但愿你能喜欢它。”冯·阿尔丁微笑地说道。

他从口袋里掏出那个纸包。露丝贪婪地撕去外面的纸，打开盒子。“啊！”的一声，是长长的一声惊叫。露丝喜欢宝石，她一向喜欢这玩艺儿。

“噢，爸爸，多么好啊！”

“是货真价实的好东西！“百万富翁满意地说道，“你喜欢吗？”

“喜欢？真是至宝，你是怎么得到手的？”

冯·阿尔丁微微一笑。

“这是我的秘密。当然我得亲自去买。这些装饰品是极其名贵的。你看到中间的那块大宝石吗？你可能已经听说过了。这是历史上著名的‘火心宝石’。”

“‘火心宝石’！”露丝重复地说道。

她从盒子里取出宝石，把宝石握在手里，贴在胸前。百万富翁看着自己的女儿。这时他在想象那些所有戴过这块宝石的女人们，想象着由于宝石而引起的一切嫉妒和不平。

“火心宝石”同其它有名的宝石一样，有一段充满武力和暗杀的历史。现在这些宝石在露丝·凯特林的手里似乎完全推动了它们那种罪恶的力量。这个西方女人看来以她的冷静和毅力显示出她能够抗拒一切悲剧和野蛮行为。

露丝把宝石又放回盒里，然后跑到爸爸面前，搂住了他的脖子。“谢谢你，爸爸，谢谢！这件首饰太好了。你总是送给我非常好的礼物。”

“应该这样。”冯·阿尔丁亲切地说，“你就是我的一切，小露丝。”

“你要不要在这里吃饭，爸爸？”

“我不想在这儿里吃，你是否要出去？”

“可以不去，没有什么特别的事。”

“不，”冯·阿尔丁说出自己的想法，“你尽管去吧，反正我有事要做。明天见，亲爱的。若是我给你打电话，那么可能在加尔布雷恩那里打给你。”

加尔布雷恩·卡恩件森是冯·阿尔丁在伦敦的法律顾问。

“好吧，爸爸。”她犹豫了一下，“这件事不会妨碍我去利维埃拉旅行吧？”

“你什么时候走？”

“十四号。”

“这很容易办。这样的离婚案件不会拖得很久。另外，露丝，我要是你的话，在这种情况下我不会把宝石带在身上。你最好把宝石存在银行里。”

露丝点了一下头。

“我不愿意由于这‘火心宝石’而使你遭动或被暗杀。”百万富翁开玩笑说。

“可是你却把宝石带在身上到处走。”女儿笑着说。

“的确。”

冯·阿尔丁犹豫了一下。女儿看看父亲。

“你要说什么，爸爸？”

“没什么。”他笑了。“我只是想起了在巴黎的一次小小冒险。”

“冒险？”

“是的，就是我买这些东西的那天晚上。”他指着那个宝石盒子说道。

“给我讲讲听，爸爸！”

“没什么特别的，孩子。有两个恶棍想耍无懒，我向他们开了枪，他们就跑掉了。

就是这些。”

她吃惊的看着他。

“和你是开不得玩笑的，爸爸！”

“你说的很对。”

他亲热地吻了女儿一下就走了。他回到公寓时对奈顿指示说道：

“你想法把戈比找来。在我的笔记本里有他的地址，让他明天九点半到我这里来。”

“好的，先生。”

“我还想和凯特林先生谈一谈。你一定要找到他！在他的俱乐部里你可能找到他，告诉他明天上午十二点钟左右到我这里来。时间早了这种人是不会起床的。”

秘书点了点头，表示他已经明白了。冯·阿尔丁离开了自己的雇员。洗澡水已经准备好了，当他躺在热水盆里之后，想起了同女儿的谈话。总而言之他还是满意的。他早就敏感地看出离婚是使他女儿摆脱困境的唯一办法。象他所希望的那样，他的女儿已表示同意了。虽然如此，他总是觉得这件事有着使人心情不快的成分：她的神态里有着某种不情愿的东西。他紧锁起眉头。

“也可能是我的一种错觉，”他嘟哝着说。“不，她可能有什么秘密瞒着我。”