“That’s not quite true!” A musical voice from the doorway tinkled across to the group of men. They all turned instantaneously as Marjorie Lennox picked her dainty way towards them. “No! That’s not true,” she reaffirmed. “Because I can! Charles—introduce me to these gentlemen.” She spoke imperiously.
Peter Daventry realized when he bowed to this charming interruption that life had discovered for him an additional interest. He murmured a few words to a magical smile and thanked God for another blessing. Anthony expressed his intense satisfaction that Miss Lennox was able to help them so materially, in which statement he was gallantly seconded by Detective-Inspector Goodall, whose thoughts at the same time reverted to Sergeant Clegg and a lady’s handkerchief!
“I overheard what was being said,” exclaimed Miss Lennox demurely, “and I realized at once that I could help you. The night before he died, poor Uncle Laurence brought me in here specially to look at that screen. He was very excited about it and he explained to me that Lord Clavering’s death and the sale of his property had given him the chance to get the two screens that had belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots, before the débacle at Carbery Hill and her subsequent imprisonment. We looked at it together—I can describe it very fully.”
“Just what I want, Miss Lennox,” exclaimed Anthony. “As fully as you can, please—you will help me a lot.”
Marjorie puckered her brow. Peter instantly formed the opinion that it made her distinctly more lovely than ever. “It stood about so high,” she declared with an appropriate gesture, “and was made as far as I could judge of some kind of metal—copper I should imagine from the color. Of course, being over 300 years old it was much darker and blacker than the beaten copper work that we see now.” Here came more brow-puckering, to Peter’s secret delight—Mr. Daventry, it must be remembered, had a keen eye and the soundest of discriminating tastes. “The next part is harder to remember,” continued the charming chronicler, “but I think I’m right.” She thought for a moment and then went on. “In the top left-hand corner there was Mary’s Lion and in the right-hand corner the ‘fleur-de-lis.’ At the bottom of the screen—on the right——”
“Forgive me, Miss Lennox,” said Peter under the influence of a sudden impulse, “it’s awfully rude of me, I know, but let me see if I can finish the description for you—just a fancy of mine—that’s all.”
Miss Lennox looked very surprised and a little disdainful, but, “Go on then,” was all she permitted herself to say. Thus encouraged, Peter did so.
“At the bottom,” he declared oracularly, “were the Leopards and Lilies of England.”
A pair of wonderful blue eyes seemed suddenly to become more wonderful. With the wonder of amazement.
“You’re right—absolutely right,” she said. “Where and when did you see Uncle’s screen?”