“That we shall never know.”
The solicitor was grave enough as he added, “Something else has happened.”
“What’s that?”
“What do you guess, Tempest?”
“How do I know, unless you’ve found the lady?”
Baxter pitched him a letter across the table. The barrister picked it up and read it.
“135 Chancery Lane, W. C.
“Dear Sirs,—We are instructed by our client, Lady Rellingham, relict of Sir John Rellingham, deceased, late the senior partner in your firm, to make formal claim to the £20,000 held in trust for her, under Sir John’s will, by yourselves, his surviving partners and executors. The terms of the will are before us, and of course these do not specifically allude to Lady Rellingham by that or any other name or description; but we are enclosing a copy, and are prepared to produce, for your inspection, the original of a letter from the late Sir John Rellingham, in his own handwriting, which can leave no doubt of his intentions, and we have no doubt it will be in accord with those directions to yourself to which the will alludes. We should have ventured to express our surprise that the money should have remained in your hands so long, and that during that time no effort should have been made to fulfil the obligations of the trust, were it not that our client informs us that she has been abroad for many years past, that her marriage to Sir John has always been kept a profound secret, and that she was, until quite recently, unaware of Sir John’s death. We are prepared to produce, as and when required, proof of the marriage of Sir John to our client and of her identity. Our client has no desire to encourage any greater publicity than may be necessary in view of the terms of separation which had long existed between herself and her husband; in fact, she would prefer to maintain the silence which has hitherto been observed concerning the marriage. In this we trust you will feel disposed and able to act in unison and conformity with such expression of her wishes; and we should suppose, as he subsequently contracted a bigamous marriage, that for the sake of Sir John Rellingham’s reputation, you would yourselves prefer to do so. But, of course, the large sum at stake precludes any suggestion of less favourable terms being accepted merely to obtain an avoidance of publicity. If you require publicity, our client will not shrink from it.—We are, dear sirs, yours faithfully, Clutch & Holdem.
“To Messrs. Rellingham, Baxter, Marston & Moorhouse.”
The enclosure was as follows:—