At this point of her agonised reflections, the door opened, and Sir Daniel Jerce again appeared. "I think," he said, coldly, yet very pointedly, "that if you take a walk, and put away those medicine bottles, you will find that your illness will vanish. Good-day." And he was gone in a moment.
Clarice flung off the shawl and ran to the door. Jerce, then, saw through her feigned disorder. What a fool she was to try and deceive so clever a physician. By the time she gained the hall, Jerce had already passed out of the front door, and when she opened that, he was passing out of the gate. For the moment she felt inclined to call him back, and insist upon her illness, but knowing that she could not deceive so capable a judge, she closed the door again, and returned to the drawing-room.
There she wrapped herself up again. It was necessary to deceive those in the house, since no one was so acute as Jerce, to tell a false illness from a real one. She could not carry out her plot unless she pretended to be ill, and so had taken advantage of being in the porch on the previous night to secure her ends. Intending to go secretly to London on that same evening, Clarice wished to keep to her room, so that no one save Mrs. Rebson--in whom she would have to confide--should know that she was out of the house. And especially had she wished to deceive Jerce. Yet he had seen through her scheme of pretended sickness, and would be on the look-out to see why she had acted in such a manner. Clarice was certain that in some way Jerce was plotting against her and Anthony, notwithstanding his denial of the anonymous letter. It would take her all her ingenuity, clever as she thought herself, to circumvent the doctor. He was uncommonly sharp and uncommonly suspicious, and if he found out what she intended to do, he would nullify the success of her plot in some way. What a fool she had been to see him, especially when she had gained nothing by the interview.
In the face of this first failure to impose upon a clever man who wanted his own way, many a woman would have thrown up the sponge. But Clarice only stiffened her back in the face of the increasing difficulties. Come what may, she would masquerade as she intended, and learn the truth of Ferdy's hidden life. Her plan was at once daring and simple. In looks she exactly resembled Ferdy, and, dressed in a suit of his clothes, no one would be able to recognise her as his sister. Also she could mimic Ferdy's tricks of speech and ordinary gestures exactly, and thus would be able to pass as her brother, even with those who knew him well. Once arrayed as Ferdy, Clarice intended to go to London and pass the evening at the Mascot Music Hall, in order to witness the performance of Sarah Dumps. Then--as Ferdy--she would go round and see the dancer, and perhaps Zara might let slip something which would put her on the track of the boy's delinquencies. If she could arrive at the truth of Ferdy's fast life, at which Jerce had hinted, she might learn how he came to be implicated in the crime. And he was implicated rather than Clarke, since Clarice believed that Zara had only accused Clarke to save her lover, as well as to prevent the marriage with Prudence. Also the direct accusation in the anonymous letter hinted that someone--if not Jerce--knew that Ferdy had some connection with the death of Henry Horran. Jerce himself hinted that Ferdy was mixed up in the matter, and was ready to use his information--whatever it might be--to place Ferdy in the dock, if the match with Ackworth was not broken off.
It can thus be seen why Clarice had asked Anthony to invite her brother to Gattlinsands on that evening, and to detain him, if possible, for the next night. She did not want to run the risk of meeting Ferdy at the Mascot Music Hall, or to have--as it were--two Richmonds in the field. On this one night she hoped to learn sufficient to force Ferdy into open confession, and when she knew all, she might be able to save him. But failing success on this night, she trusted to be more successful on the ensuing evening. But in any case, she felt that she must be successful if Ferdy was to be saved from the tricksters who were around him and from his own weak self. Of course, her experiment was a daring one, and Anthony certainly would not approve of it. But too much was at stake to hesitate, so Clarice went up to her room about five o'clock to get ready for her masquerade. On the stroke of the hour, Mrs. Rebson appeared with a telegram, which proved to be from Anthony. He wired that Ferdy had accepted his invitation, and was on his way to Gattlinsands.
"That's all right," said Clarice, putting the wire carefully away.
"What's all right, deary?" asked Mrs. Rebson, who was smoothing her nursling's bed.
"Nanny, come here," said the girl, and led Mrs. Rebson to a chair. "I dare say you remember what you said about disgrace?"
"The Domestic Prophet," replied Mrs. Rebson, smoothing her apron; "yes, and disgrace will come, say what you like."
"It will come, I fear."