"You were in Paris last February?"
Lady Mary assented.
"Do you recollect going with Captain Cathcart—oh! by the way, you speak French, I presume?"
"Yes, very fluently."
"As well as your brother—practically without accent?"
"Quite as well. We always had French governesses as children, and mother was very particular about it."
"I see. Well, now, do you remember going with Captain Cathcart on February 6th to a jeweller's in the Rue de la Paix and buying, or his buying for you, a tortoiseshell comb set with diamonds and a diamond-and-platinum cat with emerald eyes?"
He saw a lurking awareness come into the girl's eyes.
"Is that the cat you have been making inquiries about in Riddlesdale?" she demanded.
It being never worth while to deny the obvious, Parker replied, "Yes."