“I suppose so,” said Gimblet, “but I’ll see him presently and let you know. There’s still Miss Turner to account for, but I daresay she’s at Boulogne too.”
“As likely as not,” agreed his companion. “It’s just the sort of little detail they’d forget to mention.”
“Well, we shall soon know,” was Gimblet’s only comment.
At Fianti’s they sent up their cards by the detective of the regular force who was always in attendance on the Prince and Princess of Targona, with a request for the favour of an audience. They had not long to wait, and were very graciously received by Prince Felipe, who listened with grave attention to the explanation of the object of their visit, and read the note presented for his inspection by Gimblet with a lively curiosity.
No, His Highness was afraid he could not assist them in this matter. The writing paper was certainly his—how obtained he could offer no suggestion—the writing was of course a forgery, if that could be called a forgery which made absolutely no pretence of resembling the original. He had no notion to whom the appellation of Madame Q. might refer. No doubt more than one lady whose name began with that initial had been presented to him on different occasions, but he could not for the moment recall.... Possibly some of his suite could be of more assistance.
But no one of the Prince’s household could give them any help. In the matter of the writing paper, it was suggested that the hotel servants might know something as to how it was obtained, but nothing definite could be found out about it.
The Prince sent for them again before they left, but it was only to say that they had his best wishes for the success of their investigations, and to ask a few questions as to points of English police procedure in which he appeared to be interested.
“Truly, a strange country!” he murmured from time to time on receiving the answers to his inquiries.
Before they were dismissed, Gimblet once more produced the crumpled paper which bore the Targona arms over the Prince’s name, and asked the Prince if he could detect a certain odour which clung about it.