They had been daily companions since she was a mite of four, and between him and his dead brother’s child there was a whole lot of understanding and sympathy which other people never knew.
“My money, uncle?” she asked.
He nodded.
“I realised your investments last week,” he said. “I happened to know that the Corporation in which the money stood had incurred very heavy losses through some error in insurance. It isn’t a great deal, but I couldn’t afford to let you take any further risks.
“There was, of course, a possibility of this shot having been fired by accident,” he went on, reverting to the matter which would naturally be at the back of his mind. Then he fell into thought, pacing the room in silence.
“I thought you were out,” he said, stopping suddenly in front of the girl. “You told me you were going to a concert.”
Before she could explain why she changed her mind they heard the sound of voices in the hall.
“Stay here,” said Sir John. “It is the police. I will go down and tell them all there is to know.”
When her husband had gone, Lady Maxell rose from her chair. The table, with its sealed packages, drew her like a magnet. She fingered them one by one, and came at last to the envelope containing Mary’s patrimony. This she lifted in her hands, weighing it. Then, with a deep sigh, she replaced the package on the table.
“There’s money there,” she said, and Mary smiled.