“You need not tell me that: I have met him. Will you think me fanciful if I say that I have a strong feeling that he is truly at the bottom of all Ludovic’s troubles?”
“No, I think it myself. The difficulty will be to prove it.”
“If you cannot find the ring what is to be done?”
She saw his mouth harden. He had evidently considered this question, for he replied at once: “If the worst come to the worst, the truth will have to be got out of him by other methods.”
Miss Thane, looking at Sir Tristram’s powerful frame, and observing the grimness in his face, could not help feeling sorry for the Beau if the worst should come to the worst. She replied lightly: “Would—er—other methods answer, do you suppose?”
“Probably,” said Sir Tristram. “He has very little physical courage. But until we have more to go upon than conjecture, we need not consider that.”
She sat thinking for a few moments, and presently said: “In one way it might not be so bad a thing if he did suspect Ludovic’s presence here. If he suspected it he must, I imagine, realize that you have been convinced of Ludovic’s innocence. I have frequently observed that when people are a little alarmed they are apt to behave with less than common sense. Your cousin has been so secure until now that it has been easy to act with coolness and presence of mind.”
“Very true,” he conceded. “I have thought of that, but the risks outweigh the advantages. If it were not for one circumstance I should seriously consider removing Ludovic from this country.”
“He seems very determined. I don’t think that he would consent to go,” said Miss Thane.
“I shouldn’t ask his consent,” replied Shield.