"Ah!" ejaculated Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, suddenly interested; "so soon—that was clever of you."
"He told me, in regard to Sims, madame, he merely left the fort——"
Mrs. Beecher Monmouth nodded indifferently; she was disappointed.
"Is that all you learned, Cecily?"
"No, madame. I learned also that Lieutenant Treves, who was supposed by us to be staying with his father, was, however, at that time acting as one of the officers at Heatherpoint."
This was the first Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had heard of John's presence at the fort. She was at first inclined to disbelieve it. Then, when Cecily proved circumstantially that the statement was true, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth felt inclined to dismiss the matter as of no moment. If Treves had been at Heatherpoint, he was there evidently with the knowledge of von Kuhne, and possibly was acting in von Kuhne's interests, and, for her part, she was not in the least inclined to doubt John—he was one of her admirers. A more resourceful and more attractive man than Parkson, and, nevertheless, equally a victim of her charms. She flattered herself she could do a great deal with Bernard Treves. As for his attempting to deceive her, that seemed out of the question. She pointed out to Cecily that Treves's stay at Heatherpoint Fort did not mean that the young man had betrayed the German secret service, which was rewarding him so handsomely.
Cecily, however, had a further and more serious statement to make.
"When I am suspicious, madame," she said, "I am thinking not so much of Mr. Treves's visit to the fort——"
She was at Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's back now, hooking her dress, and a silence fell.
"Well?" demanded her mistress shortly.