The duke alone did not gasp. He laughed slightly.
“We've just got here. He came down from London with me, and Sir Ormsby Galloway.” And he said it not to Palliser but to Palford and Grimby.
“The Sir Ormsby Galloway?” It was an ejaculation from Mr. Palford himself.
T. Tembarom stood square and gave his explanation to the lot of them, so to speak, without distinction.
“He's the big nerve specialist. I've had him looking after the case from the first—before I began to suspect anything. I took orders, and orders were to keep him quiet and not let any fool butt in and excite him. That's what I've been giving my mind to. The great stunt was to get him to go and stay at Sir Ormsby's place.” He stopped a moment and suddenly flared forth as if he had had about enough of it. He almost shouted at them in exasperation. “All I'm going to tell you is that for about six months I've been trying to prove that Jem Temple Barholm was Jem Temple Barholm, and the hardest thing I had to do was to get him so that he could prove it himself.” He strode over to the hearth and rang a bell. “It's not my place to give orders here now,” he said, “but Jem commissioned me to see this thing through. Sir Ormsby'll tell you all you want to hear.”
He turned and spoke solely to the duke.
“This is what happened,” he said. “I dare say you'll laugh when you hear it. I almost laughed myself. What does Jem do, when he thinks things over, but get some fool notion in his head about not coming back here and pushing me out. And he lights out and leaves the country—leaves it—to get time to think it over some more.”
The duke did not laugh. He merely smiled—a smile which had a shade of curious self-questioning in it.
“Romantic and emotional—and quite ridiculous,” he commented slowly. “He'd have awakened to that when he had thought it out `some more.' The thing couldn't be done.”
Burrill had presented himself in answer to the bell, and awaited orders. His Grace called Tembarom's attention to him, and Tembarom included Palliser with Palford and Grimby when he gave his gesture of instruction.