Blunder after blunder, he recounted them all. The theft of the case-book had pointed to the thief being a doctor. The omission of Violet’s name from the list I had copied supplied the key to my motives, and my attack on Sarah Neobard left no doubt that I was in love with the girl she had denounced. My kind-hearted chief had willingly lent himself to my plans for meeting Violet at Tyberton, though he had tried to let me see he was not quite blind. He had followed the history of the Zenobia costume easily enough. And Violet’s refusal to give up the name of her champion had told him more than it had told poor, dull-witted me.
“That is my best reason for advising you to start in practice for yourself, my boy. Consider what your prospects are with me. I am at the top of the tree now and my salary is a bare £1,500 a year. And if I make another £500 by my private work it’s as much as I make. That’s not enough for an earl’s daughter to look forward to. You will make double as a fashionable doctor. You have the most valuable gift of all for the medical profession. You are a good listener. The people who will come to you, the patients who really bring in money, don’t want to be cured. They like to fancy they are ill and they want to talk about themselves. Let ’em do it and charge them for it. With my influence and Lord Ledbury’s you won’t have long to wait.”
I could only shake my head sorrowfully. “You are very good, sir; you are kinder to me than I deserve. But I have no right to think that Lady Violet will ever marry me.”
Sir Frank gave me a queer look.
“Then I tell you this—if you don’t marry her, I will.”
Before I could recover from the start given me by this threat he was consulting his watch again.
“Charles ought to be here by this time. And I think he is. I shall be glad if you will come with us, Cassilis. We are going to the Domino Club.”
I followed him thankfully into the hall, to meet Inspector Charles and a quietly dressed Frenchman who was briefly introduced to me as Brigadier Samson. I took the invitation to go with them as a token that my chief had acquitted me in his own mind at least. I was ignorant whether I ever had been under suspicion in the Inspector’s, and I am so still.
We drove to the Club in the taxi that had brought the two police officers. We found it looking much more cheerful than on the last occasion. The new proprietress had evidently determined to make it a greater success than ever, in spite of the little cloud that had fallen on it. There were signs of renovation going on in the hall and new decorations had been put up in the ball-room.
The door was opened to us by the waiter Gerard, who looked as amiable as ever, but rather more subdued. The respectful glance he gave to Captain Charles seemed to tell of some intelligence between them. Gerard was closely followed by another man whose salute showed me that he was one of the Inspector’s staff, in charge of the premises.