CHAPTER XIX
"TAKE ME AWAY!"
Richard presented himself the next morning at the Hotel de Paris.
"Cheero!" he exclaimed, on being shown into Hunterleys' sitting-room."All right up to date, I see."
Hunterleys nodded. He had just come in from the bank and held hisletters in his hand. Richard seated himself on the edge of the table.
"I slept out on the yacht last night," he said. "Got up at six o'clockand had a swim. What about a round of golf at La Turbie? We can get downagain by luncheon-time, before the people are about."
"Afraid I can't," Hunterleys replied. "I have rather an important letterto go through carefully, and a reply to think out."
"You're a queer chap, you know," Richard went on. "You always seem tohave something on but I'm hanged if I can see how you pass your timehere in Monte Carlo. This political business, even if you do have to putin a bit of time at it now and then, can't be going on all the while.Monte Carlo, too! So far as the women are concerned, they might as wellbe off the face of the earth, and I don't think I've ever seen you makea bet at the tables. How did your wife do last night? I thought sheseemed to be dropping it rather."
"I think that she lost," Hunterleys replied indifferently. "Hergambling, however, is like mine, I imagine, on a fairly negligiblescale."
Richard whistled softly.
"Well, I don't know," he observed. "I saw her going for maximumsyesterday pretty steadily. A few thousands doesn't last very long atthat little game."
Hunterleys smiled.
"A few thousands!" he repeated. "I don't suppose Violet has ever lost orwon a hundred pounds in her life."
Richard abandoned the subject quickly. He was obliged to tell himselfthat it was not his business to interfere between husband and wife.
"Say, Hunterleys," he suggested, "do you think I could do something forthe crowd on my little boat--a luncheon party or a cruise, eh?"
"I should think every one would enjoy it immensely," Hunterleysanswered.
"I can count on you, of course, if I arrange anything?"
"I am afraid not," Hunterleys regretted. "I am too much engrossed now tomake any arrangements."
"I'm hanged if you don't get more mysterious every moment!" Richardexclaimed vigorously. "What's it all about? Can't you even be safe inyour room for five minutes without keeping one of those little articlesunder your newspaper while you read your letters?" he added, liftingwith his stick the sheet which Hunterleys had hastily thrown over asmall revolver. "What's it all about, eh? Are you plotting to dethronethe Prince of Monaco and take his place?"
"Not exactly that," Hunterleys replied, a little wearily. "Lane, oldfellow, you're much better off not to know too much. I have told youthat there's a kind of international conference going on about here andI've sort of been pitchforked into the affair. Over in your country youdon't know much about this sort of thing, but since I've been out ofharness I've done a good deal of what really amounts to Secret Servicework. One must serve one's country somehow or other, you know, if onegets the chance."
Richard was impressed.
"Gee!" he exclaimed. "The sort of thing that one reads about, eh, andonly half believes. Who's the French Johnny who arrived last night?"
"Douaille. He's the coming President, they say. I'm thinking of payinghim a visit of ceremony this afternoon."
There was a knock at the door. A waiter entered with a note upon asalver.
"From Madame, monsieur," he announced, presenting it to Hunterleys.
The latter tore it open and read the few lines hastily:
_Dear Henry_,
If you could spare a few minutes, I should be glad if you would come round to my apartment.
Yours, VIOLET.
Hunterleys twisted the note up in his fingers.
"Tell Lady Hunterleys that I will be round in a few moments," heinstructed the servant.
Richard took up his stick and hat.
"If you have an opportunity," he said, "ask Lady Hunterleys what shethinks about a little party on the yacht. If one could get the properpeople together--"
"I'll tell her," Hunterleys promised. "You'd better wait till I getback."
He made his way to the other wing of the hotel. For the first time sincehe had been staying there, he knocked at the door of his wife'sapartments. Her maid admitted him with a smile. He found Violet sittingin the little salon before a writing-table. The apartment wasluxuriously furnished and filled with roses. Somehow or other, theirodour irritated him. She rose from her place and hastened towards him.
"How nice of you to come so promptly!" she exclaimed. "You're sure itdidn't inconvenience you?"
"Not in the least," he replied. "I was only talking to Richard Lane."
"You seem to have taken a great fancy to that young man all at once,"she remarked.
Hunterleys was sitting upon the arm of an easy-chair. He had picked upone of Violet's slippers and was balancing it in his hand.
"Oh, I don't know. He is rather refreshing after some of these people.He still has enthusiasms, and his love affair is quite a poem. Aren'tyou up rather early this morning?"
"I couldn't sleep," she sighed. "I think it has come to me in the nightthat I am sick of this place. I wondered--"
She hesitated. He bent the slipper slowly back, waiting for her toproceed.
"The Draconmeyers don't want to go," she went on. "They are here foranother month, at least. Linda would miss me terribly, I suppose, but Ihave really given her a lot of my time. I have spent several hours withher every day since we arrived, and I don't know what it is--perhaps mybad luck, for one thing--but I have suddenly taken a dislike to theplace. I wondered--"
She had picked up one of the roses from a vase close at hand, and wastwirling it between her fingers. For some reason or other she seemed illat ease. Hunterleys watched her silently. She was very pale, but sincehis coming a slight tinge of pink colour had stolen into her cheeks. Shehad received him in a very fascinating garment of blue silk, which wasreally only a dressing-gown. It seemed to him a long time since he hadseen her in so intimate a fashion.
"I wondered," she concluded at last, almost abruptly, "whether you wouldcare to take me away."
He was, for a moment, bereft of words. Somehow or other, he had been socertain that she had sent to him to ask for more money, that he hadnever even considered any other eventuality.
"Take you away," he repeated. "Do you really mean take you back toLondon, Violet?"
"Just anywhere you like," she replied. "I am sick of this place and ofeverything. I am weary to death of trying to keep Linda cheerful--youdon't realise how depressing it is to be with her; and--and every oneseems to have got a little on my nerves. Mr. Draconmeyer," she added, alittle defiantly, raising her eyes to his, "has been most kind anddelightful, but--somehow I want to get away."
He sat down on the edge of a couch. She seated herself at the furtherend of it.
"Violet," he said, "you have taken me rather by surprise."
"Well, you don't mind being taken by surprise once in a while, do you?"she asked, a little petulantly. "You know I am capricious--you have toldme so often enough. Here is a proof of it. Take me back to London or toParis, or wherever you like."
He was almost overwhelmed. It was unfortunate that she had chosen thatmoment to look away and could not see, therefore, the light which glowedin his eyes.
"Violet," he assured her earnestly, "there is nothing in the world Ishould like so much. I would beg you to have your trunks packed thismorning, but unfortunately I cannot leave Monte Carlo just now."
"Cannot leave Monte Carlo?" she repeated derisively. "Why, my dear man,you are a fish out of water here! You don't gamble, you do nothing butmoon about and go to the Opera and worry about your silly politics. Whaton earth do you mean when you say that you cannot leave Monte Carlo?"
"I mean just what I say," he replied. "I cannot leave Monte Carlo forseveral days, at any rate."
She looked a
t him blankly, a little incredulously.
"You have talked like this before, Henry," she said, "and it is all tooabsurd. You must tell me the truth now. You can have no business here.You are travelling for pleasure. You can surely leave a place or not atyour own will?"
"It happens," he sighed, "that I cannot. Will you please be very kind,Violet, and not ask me too much about this? If there is anything else Ican do," he went on, hesitatingly, "if you will give me a little more ofyour time, if you will wait with me for a few days longer--"
"Can't you understand," she interrupted impatiently, "that it is justthis very moment, this instant, that I want to get away? Something hasgone wrong. I want to leave Monte Carlo. I am not sure that I ever wantto see it again. And I want you to take me.... Please!"
She held out her hands, swaying a little towards him. He gripped them inhis. She yielded to their pressure until their lips almost met.
"You'll take me away this morning?" she whispered.
"I cannot do that," he replied, "but, Violet--"
She snatched herself away from him. An ungovernable fit of fury seemedto have seized her. She stood in the centre of the room and stamped herfoot.
"You cannot!" she repeated. "And you will not give me a reason? Verywell, I have done my best, I have made my appeal. I will stay in MonteCarlo, then. I will--"
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," she cried. "Who is it?"
The door was softly opened. Draconmeyer stood upon the threshold. Helooked from one to the other in some surprise.
"I am sorry," he murmured. "Please excuse me."
"Come in, Mr. Draconmeyer," she called out to his retreating figure."Come in, please. How is Linda this morning?"
Draconmeyer smiled a little ruefully as he returned.
"Complaining," he replied, "as usual. I am afraid that she has hadrather a bad night. She is going to try and sleep for an hour or two. Icame to see if you felt disposed for a motor ride this morning?"
"I should love it," she assented. "I should like to start as soon aspossible. Henry was just going, weren't you?" she added, turning to herhusband.
He stood his ground.
"There was something else I wished to say," he declared, glancing atDraconmeyer.
The latter moved at once towards the door but Violet stopped him.
"Not now," she begged. "If there is really anything else, Henry, you cansend up a note, or I dare say we shall meet at the Club to-night. Now,please, both of you go away. I must change my clothes for motoring. Inhalf an hour, Mr. Draconmeyer."
"The car will be ready," he answered.
Hunterleys hesitated. He looked for a moment at Violet. She returned hisglance of appeal with a hard, fixed stare. Then she turned away.
"Susanne," she called to her maid, who was in the inner room, "I amdressing at once. I will show you what to put out."
She disappeared, closing the connecting door behind her. The two menwalked out to the lift in silence. Draconmeyer rang the bell.
"You are not leaving Monte Carlo at present, then, Sir Henry?" heremarked.
"Not at present," Hunterleys replied calmly.
They parted without further speech. Hunterleys returned to his room,where Richard was still waiting.
"Say, have you got a valet here with you?" the young man enquired.
Hunterleys shook his head.
"Never possessed such a luxury in my life," he declared.
"Chap came in here directly you were gone--mumbled something about doingsomething for you. I didn't altogether like the look of him, so I sat onthe table and watched. He hung around for a moment, and then, when hesaw that I was sticking it out, he went off."
"Was he wearing the hotel livery?" Hunterleys asked quickly.
"Plain black clothes," Richard replied. "He looked the valet, rightenough."
Hunterleys rang the bell. It was answered by a servant in grey livery.
"Are you the valet on this floor?" Hunterleys enquired.
"Yes, sir!"
"There was a man in here just now, said he was my valet or something ofthe sort, hung around for a minute or two and then went away. Who washe?"
The servant shook his head. He was apparently a German, and stupid.
"There are no valets on this floor except myself," he declared.
"Then who could this person have been?" Hunterleys demanded.
"A tailor, perhaps," the man suggested, "but he would not come unlessyou had ordered him. I have been on duty all the time. I have seen noone about."
"Very well," Hunterleys said, "I'll report the matter in the office."
"Some hotel thief, I suppose," Lane remarked, as soon as the door wasclosed. "He didn't look like it exactly, though."
Hunterleys frowned.
"Not much here to satisfy any one's curiosity," he observed. "Just aswell you were in the room, though."
"Surrounded by mysteries, aren't you, old chap?" Richard yawned,lighting a cigarette.
"I don't know exactly about that," Hunterleys replied, "but I'll tellyou one thing, Lane. There are things going on in Monte Carlo at thepresent moment which would bring out the black headlines on thehalfpenny papers if they had an inkling of them. There are people herewho are trying to draw up a new map of Europe, a new map of the world."
Richard shook his head.
"I can't get interested in anything, Hunterleys," he declared. "Youcould tell me the most amazing things in the world and they'd pass in atone ear and out at the other. Kind of a blithering idiot, eh? You knowwhat I did last night after dinner. If you'll believe me, when I got tothe villa, I found the place patrolled as though they were afraid ofdynamiters. I skulked round to the back, got on the beach, and climbed alittle way up towards the rock garden. I hid there and waited to see ifshe'd come out on the terrace. She never came, but I caught a glimpse ofher passing from one room to another, and I tell you I'm such a poorsort of an idiot that I felt repaid for waiting there all that time. Ishall go there again to-night. The boys wanted me to dine--EddyLanchester and Montressor and that lot--a jolly party, too. I sha'n't doit. I shall have a mouthful alone somewhere and spend the rest of theevening on those rocks. Something's got to come of this, Hunterleys."
"Let's go into the lounge for a few moments," Hunterleys suggested. "Imay as well hear all about it."
They made their way downstairs, and sat there talking, or ratherHunterleys listened while Richard talked. Then Draconmeyer strolledacross the hall and waited by the lift. Presently he returned withViolet by his side, followed by her maid, carrying rugs. As theyapproached, Hunterleys rose slowly to his feet. Violet was looking upinto her companion's face, talking and laughing. She either did not seeHunterleys, or affected not to. He stood, for a moment, irresolute.Then, as she passed, she glanced at him quite blankly and waved her handto Richard. The two disappeared. Hunterleys resumed his seat. He had,somehow or other, the depressing feeling of a man who has lost a greatopportunity.
"Lady Hunterleys looks well this morning," Lane remarked, absolutelyunconscious of anything unusual.
Hunterleys watched the car drive off before he answered.
"She looks very well," he assented gloomily.