CHAPTER XXXI
The Prince, being host, arranged the places at his supper-table. Mr.Sabin found himself, therefore, between Lady Carey and a young Germanattache, whom they had met in the ante-room of the restaurant. Lucillehad the Prince and Mr. Brott on either side of her.
Lady Carey monopolised at first the greater part of the conversation.Mr. Sabin was unusually silent. The German attache, whose name was Baronvon Opperman, did not speak until the champagne was served, when hethrew a bombshell into the midst of the little party.
"I hear," he said, with a broad and seraphic smile, "that in this hotelthere has to-day a murder been committed."
Baron von Opperman was suddenly the cynosure of several pairs of eyes.He was delighted with the success of his attempt towards the generalentertainment.
"The evening papers," he continued, "they have in them news of a suddendeath. But in the hotel here now they are speaking of something--whatyou call more--mysterious. There has been ordered an examinationpost-mortem!"
"It is a case of poisoning then, I presume?" the Prince asked, leaningforward.
"It is so supposed," the attache answered. "It seems that the doctorscould find no trace of disease, nothing to have caused death. Theywere not able to decide anything. The man, they said, was in perfecthealth--but dead."
"It must have been, then," the Prince remarked, "a very wonderfulpoison."
"Without doubt," Baron Opperman answered.
The Prince sighed gently.
"There are many such," he murmured. "Indeed the science of toxicologywas never so ill-understood as now. I am assured that there are manypoisons known only to a few chemists in the world, a single grain ofwhich is sufficient to destroy the strongest man and leave not theslightest trace behind. If the poisoner be sufficiently accomplished hecan pursue his--calling without the faintest risk of detection."
Mr. Sabin sipped his wine thoughtfully.
"The Prince is, I believe, right," he remarked. "It is for that reason,doubtless, that I have heard of men whose lives have been threatened,who have deposited in safe places a sealed statement of the danger inwhich they find themselves, with an account of its source, so that ifthey should come to an end in any way mysterious there may be evidenceagainst their murderers."
"A very reasonable and judicious precaution," the Prince remarked withglittering eyes. "Only if the poison was indeed of such a nature that itwas not possible to trace it nothing worse than suspicion could ever bethe lot of any one."
Mr. Sabin helped himself carefully to salad, and resumed the discussionwith his next course.
"Perhaps not," he admitted. "But you must remember that suspicion is ofitself a grievous embarrassment. No man likes to feel that he is beingsuspected of murder. By the bye, is it known whom the unfortunate personwas?"
"The servant of a French nobleman who is staying in the hotel," Mr.Brott remarked. "I heard as much as that."
Mr. Sabin smiled. Lady Carey glanced at him meaningly.
"You have worried the Prince quite sufficiently," she whispered. "Changethe subject."
Mr. Sabin bowed.
"You are very considerate--to the Prince," he said.
"It is perhaps for your sake," she answered. "And as for thePrince--well, you know, or you should know, for how much he counts withme."
Mr. Sabin glanced at her curiously. She was a little flushed as thoughwith some inward excitement. Her eyes were bright and soft. Despite acertain angularity of figure and her hollow cheeks she was certainly oneof the most distinguished-looking women in the room.
"You are so dense," she whispered in his ear, "wilfully dense, perhaps.You will not understand that I wish to be your friend."
He smiled with gentle deprecation.
"Do you blame me," he murmured, "if I seem incredulous? For I am an oldman, and you are spoken of always as the friend of my enemy, the friendof the Prince."
"I wonder," she said thoughtfully, "if this is really the secret of yourmistrust? Do you indeed fear that I have no other interest in life saveto serve Saxe Leinitzer?"
"As to that," he answered, "I cannot say. Yet I know that only a fewmonths ago you were acting under orders from him. It is you who broughtLucille from America. It was through you that the first blow was struckat my happiness."
"Cannot I atone?" she murmured under her breath. "If I can I will.And as for the present, well, I am outside his schemes now. Let us befriends. You would find me a very valuable ally."
"Let it be so," he answered without emotion. "You shall help me, if youwill, to regain Lucille. I promise you then that my gratitude shall notdisappoint you."
She bit her lip.
"And are you sure," she whispered, "that Lucille is anxious to be wonback? She loves intrigue, excitement, the sense of being concernedin important doings. Besides--you must have heard what they say abouther--and Brott. Look at her now. She wears her grass widowhood lightlyenough."
Mr. Sabin looked across the table. Lucille had indeed all the appearanceof a woman thoroughly at peace with the world and herself. Brott wastalking to her in smothered and eager undertones. The Prince was waitingfor an opportunity to intervene. Mr. Sabin looked into Brott's whitestrong face, and was thoughtful.
"It is a great power--the power of my sex," Lady Carey continued, witha faint, subtle smile. "A word from Lucille, and the history book of thefuture must be differently written."
"She will not speak that word," Mr. Sabin said. Lady Carey shruggedher shoulders. The subtlety of her smile faded away. Her whole faceexpressed a contemptuous and self-assured cynicism.
"You know her very well," she murmured. "Yet she and I are no strangers.She is one who loves to taste--no, to drink--deeply of all theexperiences of life. Why should we blame her, you and I? Have we not thesame desire?"
Mr. Sabin lit a cigarette.
"Once, perhaps," he remarked. "You must not forget that I am no longer ayoung man."
She leaned towards him.
"You will die young," she murmured. "You are not of the breed of men whogrow old."
"Do you mean to turn my head?" he asked her, with a humorous smile.
"It would be easier," she answered, "than to touch your heart."
Then Lucille looked across at them--and Mr. Sabin suddenly rememberedthat Reginald Brott knew them both only as strangers.
"Muriel," she said, "you are behaving disgracefully."
"I am doing my best," Lady Carey answered, "to keep you in countenance."
The eyes of the two women met for a moment, and though the smileslingered still upon their faces Lady Carey at any rate was not able towholly conceal her hatred. Lucille shrugged her shoulders.
"I am doing my best," she said, "to convert Mr. Brott."
"To what?" Lady Carey asked.
"To a sane point of view concerning the holiness of the aristocracy,"Lucille answered. "I am afraid though that I have made very littleimpression. In his heart I believe Mr. Brott would like to see us allworking for our living, school-teachers and dressmakers, and that sortof thing, you know."
Mr. Brott protested.
"I am not even," he declared, "moderately advanced in my views asregards matters of your sex. To tell you the truth, I do not like womento work at all outside their homes."
Lady Carey laughed.
"My dear," she said to Lucille, "you and I may as well retire indespair. Can't you see the sort of woman Mr. Brott admires? She isn'tlike us a bit. She is probably a healthy, ruddy-cheeked young person wholives in the country, gets up to breakfast to pour out the coffee forsome sort of a male relative, goes round the garden snipping off rosesin big gloves and a huge basket, interviews the cook, orders the dinner,makes fancy waistcoats for her husband, and failing a sewing maid, doesthe mending for the family. You and I, Lucille, are not like that."
"Well, you have mentioned nothing which I couldn't do, if it seemedworth while," Lucille objected. "It sounds very primitive anddelightful. I am sure we are all too luxurious and too lazy. I think weough
t to turn over a new leaf."
"For you, dear Lucille," Lady Carey said with suave and deadly satire,"what improvement is possible? You have all that you could desire. Itis much less fortunate persons, such as myself, to whom Utopia must seemsuch a delightful place."
A frock-coated and altogether immaculate young man approached theirtable and accosted Mr. Sabin.
"I beg your pardon, sir," he said, "but the manager would be muchobliged if you would spare him a moment or two in his private room assoon as possible."
Mr. Sabin nodded.
"In a few minutes," he answered.
The little party broke up almost immediately. Coffee was ordered in thepalm court, where the band was playing. Mr. Sabin and the Prince fell alittle behind the others on the way out of the room.
"You heard my summons?" Mr. Sabin asked.
"Yes!"
"I am going to be cross-examined as regards Duson. I am no longer amember of the Order. What is to prevent my setting them upon the righttrack?"
"The fact," the Prince said coolly, "that you are hoping one day torecover Lucille."
"I doubt," Mr. Sabin said, "whether you are strong enough to keep herfrom me."
The Prince smiled. All his white teeth were showing.
"Come," he said, "you know better than--much better than that. Lucillemust wait her release. You know that."
"I will buy it," Mr. Sabin said, "with a lie to the manager here, or Iwill tell the truth and still take her from you."
The Prince stood upon the topmost step of the balcony. Below was thepalm court, with many little groups of people dotted about.
"My dear friend," he said, "Duson died absolutely of his own free will.You know that quite well. We should have preferred that the matter hadbeen otherwise arranged. But as it is we are safe, absolutely safe."
"Duson's letter!" Mr. Sabin remarked.
"You will not show it," the Prince answered. "You cannot. You have keptit too long. And, after all, you cannot escape from the main fact. Dusoncommitted suicide."
"He was incited to murder. His letter proves it."
The Prince shrugged his shoulders.
"By whom? Ah, how your story would excite ridicule. I seem to hear thelaughter now. No, my dear Souspennier, you would bargain for me withLucille. Look below. Are we likely to part with her just yet?"
In a corner, behind a gigantic palm, Lucille and Brott were talkingtogether. Lady Carey had drawn Opperman a little distance away. Brottwas talking eagerly, his cheeks flushed, his manner earnest. Mr. Sabinturned upon his heel and walked away.