"I suppose you heard that from Laura," replied Arnold calmly. "Yes, she was my cousin, and left her fortune to me, although I saw very little of her. She is also--or rather, seeing she is dead, was also--the cousin of Professor Bocaros, whose aunt married my uncle."
"Never heard of him," said Fane.
"You will hear of him now," said Calvert tartly; "do not interrupt, please. Well, Flora----"
"Who is Flora?" asked Fane again.
"My cousin, Mrs. Brand. She was Flora Calvert. She kept a diary all these years, as she led a rather lonely life. The man she married was a commercial traveller, and was frequently away. His name was Brand, and with his wife he lived at Hampstead."
"In Coleridge Lane. I know."
"Tracey muttered something uncomplimentary, and went to the window. Fane's constant interruptions got on his nerves. During the rest of the story he occupied a chair, and amused himself with looking out. All the same he lost nothing of what passed. For such observation had he been asked by Arnold to be present at the interview.
"From the diary, which begins with her married life, it appears that Mrs. Brand was very happy with her husband," went on Calvert. "She met him at some open-air entertainment, where she was in danger of being crushed by the crowd. Brand rescued her, and afterwards called on Flora, who was then living with her mother. He called himself Adolphus Brand."
"Was that not his name?"
"It is hard to say. When he first came to see Flora he told her his name was Wentworth. She related her life, and how she expected to inherit a fortune from an uncle called Arthur Brand who lived in Australia. Wentworth thereupon said that he also had a cousin called Brand, from whom he expected money. It was probable, he said, that if he did get this money he would have to change his name. A few months later he proposed to marry Flora, but could not do so until he got the money."