BOOK II
CHAPTER I
His Grace the Duke of Westerham stepped forward from the hearthrug, inthe middle of which he had been standing, and held out both his hands.His lips were parted in a smile, and there was a twinkle in his eyes.
"My dear Andrew," he exclaimed, "it is delightful to see you. You seemto bring the salt of the North Sea into our frowsy city."
Andrew grasped his friend's hands.
"I have been fishing with some of my men for three weeks," he said,"off the Dogger Bank. The salt does cling to one, you know, and Isuppose I am as black as a nigger."
The Duke sighed a little.
"My dear Andrew," he said, "you make one wonder whether it is worthwhile to count for anything at all in the world. You represent thetriumph of physical fitness. You could break me, or a dozen like me, inyour hands. You know what the faddists of the moment say? They declarethat brains and genius have had their day--that the greatest man in theworld nowadays is the strongest."
Andrew smiled as he settled down in the armchair which his friend hadwheeled towards him.
"You do not believe in your own doctrines," he remarked. "You would notpart with a tenth part of your brains for all my muscle."
The Duke paused to think.
"It is not only the muscle," he said. "It is this appearance ofsplendid physical perfection. You have but to show yourself in a Londondrawing-room, and you will establish a cult. Do you want to beworshipped, friend Andrew--to wear a laurel crown, and have beautifulladies kneeling at your feet?"
"Chuck it!" Andrew remarked good humouredly. "I didn't come here to bechaffed. I came here on a serious mission."
The Duke nodded.
"It must indeed have been serious," he said, "for you to have had yourhair cut and your beard trimmed, and to have attired yourself in thegarments of civilization. You are the last man whom I should haveexpected to have seen in a coat which might have been cut by Poole, ifit wasn't, and wearing patent boots."
"Jolly uncomfortable they are," Andrew remarked, looking at them."However, I didn't want to be turned away from your doors, and I stillhave a few friends in town whom I daren't disgrace. Honestly, Berners,I came up to ask you something."
The Duke was sympathetic but silent.
"Well?" he remarked encouragingly.
"The fact is," Andrew continued, "I wonder whether you could help me toget something to do. We have decided to let the Red Hall, Cecil and I.The rents have gone down to nothing, and altogether things are prettybad with us. I don't know that I'm good for anything. I don't see, totell you the truth, exactly what place there is in the world that Icould fill. Nevertheless, I want to do something. I love the villager'slife, but after all there are other things to be considered. I don'twant to become quite a clod."
The Duke produced a cigar box, passed it to Andrew, and deliberatelylighted a cigar himself.
"Friend Andrew," he said, "you have set me a puzzle. You have set me agood many since I used to run errands for you at Eton, but I think thatthis is the toughest."
Andrew nodded.
"You'll think your way through it, if any one can," he remarked. "Idon't expect anything, of course, that would enable me to afford cigarslike this, but I'd be glad to find some work to do, and I'd be glad tobe paid something for it."
The Duke was silent for a moment. He looked down at his cigar and thensuddenly up again.
"Has that young idiot of a brother of yours been making a fool ofhimself?" he asked.
"Cecil is never altogether out of trouble," Andrew answered drily. "Heseems to have taken bridge up with rather unfortunate results, andthere were some other debts which had to be paid, but we needn't talkabout those. The point is that we're jolly well hard up for a year ortwo. He's got to work, and so have I. If it wasn't for looking afterhim, I should go to Canada to-morrow."
"D----d young idiot!" the Duke muttered. "He's spent his own money andyours too, I suppose. Never mind, the money's gone."
"It isn't only the money," Andrew interrupted. "The fact is, I'm notaltogether satisfied, as I told you before, with living just for sport.I'm not a prejudiced person. I know that there are greater things inthe world, and I don't want to lose sight of them altogether. We De laBornes have contributed poets and soldiers and sailors and statesmen tothe history of our country, for many generations. I don't want to godown to posterity as altogether a drone. Of course, I'm too late foranything really worth doing. I know that just as well as you can tellme. At the same time I want to do something, and I would rather not goabroad, at any rate to stay. Can you suggest anything to me? I knowit's jolly difficult, but you were always one of those sort of fellowswho seem to see round the corner."
"Do you want a permanent job?" the Duke asked. "Or would a temporaryone fit you up for a time?"
"A temporary one would be all right, if it was in my line," Andrewanswered.
"We've got to send three delegates to a convention to be held at TheHague in a fortnight's time, for the revision of the InternationalFishing laws," the Duke remarked. "Could you take that on?"
"I should think so," Andrew answered. "I've been out with the men fromour part of the world since I was a child, and I know pretty well allthat there is to be known on our side about it. What is the conventionabout?"
"There are at least a dozen points to be considered," the Dukeanswered. "I'll send you the papers to any address you like, to-morrow.They're at my office now in Downing Street. Look 'em through, and seewhether you think you could take it on. I have two men alreadyappointed, but they are both lawyers, and I wanted some one who knewmore about the practical side of it."
"I should think," Andrew remarked, "that this is my job down to theground. What's the fee?"
"The fee's all right," the Duke answered. "You won't grumble aboutthat, I promise you. You'll get a lump sum, and so much a day, but thewhole thing, of course, will be over in a fortnight. What to do withyou after that I can't for the moment think."
"We may hit upon something," Andrew said cheerfully. "What are youdoing for lunch? Will you come round to the 'Travellers' with me? It'sthe only London club I've kept going, but I dare say we can getsomething fit to eat there."
"I'm jolly sure of it," the Duke answered, "but while you're in Londonyou're going to do your lunching with me. We'll go to the Athenaeum andshow these sickly-looking scholars and bishops what a man should looklike. It's almost time for luncheon, isn't it?"
"Past," Andrew answered. "It was half-past twelve when I got here."
"Then we will leave at once," the Duke declared. "I have nothing to dothis morning, fortunately. You don't care about driving, I know. We'llwalk. It isn't half a mile."
They turned into the street together.
"By the by," the Duke asked, "what has become of your brother'sfriends? I mean the little party that we broke into so unceremoniously."
"The Princess and Miss Le Mesurier are, I believe, in London," Andrewanswered. "I was very surprised to hear this morning that Forrest wasstill down at the Red Hall with Cecil. By the by, Ronald has turned upagain, of course?"
The Duke hesitated for so long that Andrew turned towards him, andnoticed for the first time the anxious lines in his face.
"Since the day he left the Red Hall," the Duke said, "Ronald hasneither been seen nor heard from. I forgot that you had been outsidecivilization for nearly a month. Although I have tried hard, I have notbeen able to keep the affair altogether out of the papers."
Andrew was thunderstruck.
"Good God!" he exclaimed. "Why, Berners, this is one of the strangestthings I ever heard of. What are you doing about it?"
"I am employing detectives," the Duke answered. "I do not see what elseI could do. They have been down to the Red Hall. In fact I believe oneof them is still in the vicinity. Your brother's story as to hisdeparture seems to be quite in order, although no one at the railwaystation is able to remember his travelling by that train. They seem toremember the car, however, which is practically the same
thing, andseveral people saw Major Forrest bringing it back early in the morning."
"Did any one," Andrew asked slowly, "see Lord Ronald in the car on hisway to the station?"
"Not a soul," the Duke answered.
Andrew was honestly perplexed. Jeanne's statement that she had seenForrest leaving the Red Hall with the car empty except for himself, hehad never regarded seriously. Even now he could only conclude that shehad been mistaken.
"Have any large cheques been presented against your brother's account?"he asked.
The Duke shook his head.
"Not one," he answered.
"Have the detectives any clue at all?"
"Not the ghost of one," the Duke answered. "Ronald had a few harmlesslittle entanglements, but absolutely nothing that could have proved ofany anxiety to him. He had several engagements during the last ten dayswhich I know that he meant to keep. Something must have happened tohim, God knows when or where! But here we are at the club. Andrew, Isee that you have no umbrella, so I need not repeat the old joke aboutthe bishops."
"What a selfish fellow I am!" Andrew remarked, as they seatedthemselves at a small table in the luncheon room. "Here have I beenbothering you about my affairs, and all the time you have had thisthing on your mind. Berners, I want you to tell me something."
"Go ahead," the Duke answered.
"Have you any idea in your head that Ronald has come to any harm at theRed Hall?"
The Duke shook his head.
"No!" he answered decidedly. "Frankly, if he had been there withForrest alone, that would have been my first idea, but with yourbrother there, and the Princess, it is impossible to suspect anything,even if one knew what to suspect. The only possible clue as to hisdisappearance which is connected in any way with the Red Hall is that Iunderstand he was paying attentions to Miss Le Mesurier, which she wasdisinclined to accept."
Andrew nodded.
"I think," he said, "that is probable."
"On the other hand," the Duke continued, "Ronald isn't in the least thesort of man to make away with himself or hide, because a girl, whom hecould not have known very well, refused to marry him."
"Have you seen anything of the Princess in town?" Andrew asked, alittle irrelevantly.
"I met her with her stepdaughter at Hereford House last night," theDuke answered. "The Princess was looking as brilliant as ever, but thelittle girl was pale and bored. She had a dozen men around her, and nota smile for one of them. Dull little thing, I should think."
Andrew said nothing. He was looking out of the window upon Pall Mall,but his eyes saw a little sandy hillock with blades of sprouting grass.Behind, the lavender-streaked marsh; in front, the yellow sands and therippling sea. The sun seemed to warm his cheeks, the salt wind blew inhis face. Westerham wondered for a moment what his friend saw in thegrey flagged street to bring that faint reminiscent smile to his lips.
A messenger from the hall outside came in, and respectfully addressedthe Duke.
"Your Grace is wanted upon the telephone," he announced.
The Duke excused himself. He was absent only for a few minutes, andwhen he returned and took his place he leaned over towards Andrew.
"My message was from the detective," he said. "He wants to see me. Infact, he is coming round here directly."