"Did he do that, Mr. Durham?" she asked. "Did he dare to——"
"Yes. He got Michael to sign a will as Bernard, leaving all the money to him, and then employed Jerry to poison him. Jerry should not have done so for two or three days, but he was eager to get away, as he was afraid of being found out, so he poisoned your son within a few hours of the signing of the false will."
"The villain!" said Mrs. Gilroy, thinking of Beryl. "But he shall not escape. I have come to tell you all. I wish I could see him hanged. He is the cause of all the trouble. I saw in the papers that Sir Bernard was alive," she added; "how did he escape?"
"He swam across the river and went down to Cove Castle. We knew all the time he was there in hiding."
"Who knew?"
"Myself, Lord Conniston, Miss Berengaria and Miss Malleson."
"So you played with Michael?" said Mrs. Gilroy, drawing a breath.
"Yes. Miss Malleson and Miss Plantagenet both knew he was not the true Bernard. Your hint about your son being like his father showed me who Michael was, and I told the others. Yes, Mrs. Gilroy, I allowed Michael to sign the false will, so as to trap Beryl. But, believe me, had I known Beryl intended to poison your son, I should not have allowed the matter to go so far."
"You could do nothing else," said Mrs. Gilroy, sadly. "Both Michael and myself have suffered. I was deceived by a false marriage, and the sins of the father have been visited on the child."
"That is true enough," said Durham. "But for the sin of Walter Gore, Michael, with his wonderful resemblance to Bernard, would not have been born, and Beryl would not have been able to plot as he did."