Suspense is always more terrible than the event itself, and Archie, full of suspicion against Mrs. Belswin and the unknown foreigner, tortured his mind to a frightful extent over the possibility of this woman being concerned in the murder. If, however, she was innocent, she would be able to exculpate herself from any complicity in the affair; but if she was guilty it was terrible to think that she was the daily and nightly companion of Kaituna. She had possibly killed the father! If so she might also kill the daughter. Was she some one whom Sir Rupert had wronged, and who thus avenged herself by the hand of another. The idea was terrible, and Maxwell, filled with the agony of uncertainty, determined to go at once to Mrs. Belswin and demand an explanation.
He made a point of calling that afternoon, and was lucky enough to find Mrs. Belswin alone, as Kaituna had gone out on a shopping excursion with Mrs. Valpy, who had come up to town the previous day. Mrs. Belswin informed the young man of this, and invited him to wait until Kaituna returned at the hour of five o'clock.
"Meanwhile," she said, ringing the bell, "sit down, and we will have some tea."
Maxwell mechanically took a seat and glanced at the clock, the hands of which pointed to four. This would give him a full hour to speak to Mrs. Belswin before the arrival of Kaituna, and in that time he expected to learn all he desired to know.
The lady seemed preoccupied, and as Maxwell was racking his brains to invent some leading question, neither of them spoke for a few minutes. The servant brought in the tea, and while Mrs. Belswin busied herself with the cups, she for the first time noticed the unusual silence of the young man.
"Well, Mr. Maxwell," she said, handing him his tea, with a smile, "speech, I understand, was given to us to conceal our thoughts. You, I perceive, conceal them without speaking."
"I have come to see you on a matter of business," said Archie, abruptly putting down his cup on a small table near at hand.
The paleness of his face, the abruptness of his speech, the agitation of his manner, at once put Mrs. Belswin on her guard, and a thrill of fear shot through her heart--fear lest he should have discovered anything about her past life which would be fatal to her living with Kaituna. Her iron stoicism, however, prevailed, and she awaited with outward calm, but inward perturbation, his next words.
"Mrs. Belswin," he said, slowly bending towards her, "do you know this diamond pin?"
"Oh!" muttered Mrs. Belswin under her breath, recognising it at once, "more misfortune."