meanwhile, the countess saens had departed from merehaven house with a smiling assurance to the effect that she did not anticipate any serious loss in consequence of the very mysterious robbery. she looked easy enough as she stepped into her brougham, drawn by the splendid bays that london knew so well by sight, and kissed her fingers gaily to her cavalier. but the brightness left her eyes when once she was alone. there was a keen, eager expression on her face then, a look of mingled anxiety and anger in her dark eyes. the most fascinating woman in london would have surprised her many admirers had they chanced to see her at that moment. she looked old and haggard; the smiling mouth had grown hard as a steel trap. she did not wait for the footman to open the door; she ran up the steps with a curt command that the carriage must wait, as she was presently going out again.
the trembling maid was upstairs awaiting the coming of her mistress. she had very little to add to what she had already said. nothing appeared to have been disturbed. there was no sign of a robbery anywhere, save that one of the drawers in a dressing table had been turned out and the contents scattered on the floor.
"now listen to me," the countess said. "who paid for you to take those papers?"
"i know nothing of any papers, non, non!" the maid replied. "i take nothing. if madame wishes to suggest that i am a thief, i go. i leave to-night."
the girl paced up and down the room, her pale face held high. she was not used to being called a thief. if madame was not satisfied she would depart at once. the countess changed her tone.
"now listen to me," she said more gently. "just before dinner to-night i am in receipt of certain papers. nobody knows that i possess them. for safe keeping i place them in that drawer and lock it up. some time later you come to me with this story of the burglary. if jewels had been stolen, or money, i would have perhaps understood it, though your tale is so extraordinary that——"
"not at all, madame," the maid cried hotly. "no more strange than the stories one reads every day in the newspapers. and there are no jewels missing."
"no, and that makes the affair all the more suspicious in my eyes. nobody could have known about those papers, and yet the thief takes nothing else. a woman walks into the house as if it belonged to her, she goes direct to that drawer, and there you are! you say you saw the woman?"
the maid nodded sulkily; she did not look in the least guilty.
"i have already told madame so," she said. "i saw the woman twice to-night. the first time was when she was here, the second time at the residence of my lord merehaven. it was the lady in the satin dress who stood in the hall." the girl spoke in tones of perfect confidence. no ridicule on the part of the countess could shake her belief in the statement.
"but it is impossible," the latter said. "you are speaking of miss galloway. i saw miss galloway several times during the evening. if you are correct, she must have slipped away and changed her dress, committed the robbery, and be back here and changed her dress again—all in a quarter of an hour."
"nevertheless, it was the same woman," the maid said with a stubborn air.
with a gesture of contempt the countess dismissed the girl. it was impossible to believe that she had had a hand in the disappearance of those precious papers. perhaps the hall porter might have something to say in the matter. in the opinion of countess saens, the thief was non-existent. at any rate, the hall porter would be able to say.
the hall porter had not much to tell, but that little was to the point. certainly, about the time mentioned by the maid a woman had come into the house. she had opened the hall door and had walked in herself as if she were quite at home there. she was plainly dressed in black and wore a veil. then she proceeded to walk upstairs.
"you mean to say that you did nothing to interfere?" the countess asked.
"well, no, madame," the hall porter admitted. "the young woman appeared to be quite at home; evidently she had been here many times before, and i thought she was a friend of annette's. friends of hers do come here sometimes after you have gone out, and one or two of them walk in. so i took no notice whatever. a little time after, the young woman came back as if she were in a hurry, and hastened out of the house. just as she was gone i heard annette call out. thinking that something was the matter, i rushed up the stairs. when i knew[105] what was wrong it was too late to go after the thief."
so annette had been telling the truth, the countess thought. she was furiously angry at her loss, but it was impossible to blame anybody. it was a stroke of the sword after the countess's own heart. but there were disquieting circumstances behind it that frightened her.
"you had better send again to the nearest police-station," she said. "let them know that i have gone out and shall not be back for some little time."
with a frown between her delicate brows the countess drove away. in all her bold, dashing, adventurous life she had never been confronted by a more difficult problem than this. she was playing for tremendously high stakes, and her share of the victory was the price of a throne. once this thing was accomplished, she had no need ever to plot or scheme or trick again. a fortune would be hers, and she would sit secure as a leader of fashion for the rest of her days.
an hour ago and the game was as good as won. everything had been done so secretly; nobody guessed anything. another day, and nothing could save the crown in question. and yet in a moment the whole dream had been shattered. somebody knew exactly what was going on, somebody was at work to checkmate the dark design. and that somebody was bold and daring to a degree. if the countess only knew who the other woman was! it was maddening to work in the dark against so clever a foe. if your enemy knows you and you don't know your enemy, he has a tremendous advantage. the countess clenched her teeth together viciously as she thought of it.
the carriage stopped at length outside the carlton[106] hotel, and almost immediately hunt, the editor of the evening mercury, appeared. he looked uneasy and anxious.
"your message came all right," he said. "i came here at once and ordered supper, though we shall not have much time to talk."
"then let us go into the room at once," the countess said; "though as to appetite, why——"
"but i ordered the supper in a private room," hunt protested. "one never knows what people may hear. what is the use of arguing? the supper is all ready for us."
they were in the private room at length. they made some pretence of eating and drinking till the two waiters had for the time being departed. then hunt turned to his companion.
"what has happened?" he asked. there was nothing of deference in his manner. it was quite evident that the smart little american editor was no squire of dames. "your manner was so mysterious. and it is time you did something for your money. two thousand pounds is a deal to pay for——"
"such information as i have already given you?" the countess interrupted. "i don't think so, seeing what a tremendous sensation you secured to-night."
"but those other papers," hunt protested. "you promised me the full details of that private understanding between england and asturia. i have told my readers boldly that they shall have it in the morning issue of my paper to-morrow morning. if you want the extra money——"
"man, i want it as an old man wants youth. it is vitally necessary to me. and can't you see[107] that it is to my interest that those papers should be published to the world? it will be a staggering blow to england, and a corresponding advantage to russia. i should have seen that those papers saw the light whether i was paid for them or not. but they are worth a great deal to you, and that is why i approached you in the matter."
"yes, yes," hunt said impatiently. "please get on. i came here to receive those papers—in fact, the mercury is waiting for them at this moment. if you will hand them over to me you shall have the other cheque for five thousand posted to you to-night. where are they?"
the countess laughed derisively. there was a gleam of wild fury in her dark eyes.
"it is impossible," she said. "out of the question. strange as it may seem, those papers were stolen from my house to-night by some woman whom i would give five years of my life to know."
