The very last thing he thought of doing was to dictate to the sagacious officer, who, in affairs of this sort, was so much his superior.
“From the postmarks on the letters I see your daughter and her husband have paid a visit to several other towns besides those in which I have made inquiries.”
“Other towns—eh?” exclaimed the earl.
“Yes, one is Sheffield and another Bradford. I shall make it my business to visit both places. Ah! the case is not so hopeless as Mr. Chicknell seems to imagine.”
“I am glad to hear you say so. Pray Heaven we may be successful; it will remove a weight off my heart.”
The detective looked at the speaker and observed, quietly—
“You ought not to have let the matter go so long without ascertaining something respecting the young people’s whereabouts.”
“Of that you must allow me to be the best judge,” said Lord Ethalwood, with all his old pride and hauteur.
Mr. Wrench saw at once the mistake he had made in hazarding an observation which sounded very much like a reproof.
“But you have a duty to perform, sir,” observed the earl, “and I doubt not that you will not shrink from carrying it out to the best of your ability.”