“It is from Miss Turner. I was able to get this form from the post office and to compare it with a specimen of her handwriting,” said Gimblet. “The absence of signature alone looks as if a good deal of intimacy exists between her and Sidney, though the name may possibly have been omitted accidentally.”
“But what could she mean?”
“Her meaning is plain enough. She promises Sidney that the money he wants shall be forthcoming. I do not know how much he requires, but he told me that the sum is a large one. Now, how was she going to get a large sum by Wednesday?”
“She might raise something on the legacy from old Vanderstein, in which his widow has a life interest,” suggested the baronet.
“I don’t know the exact conditions of the will; but, supposing she dies before Mrs. Vanderstein, what happens?”
“I don’t know,” Sir Gregory confessed.
“If it reverts to Mrs. Vanderstein, there wouldn’t be much security to borrow money on. In any case, there is little difference between the ages of the two ladies, and rates would be very high. She might not be able to raise nearly enough, even if she could get any at all,” said Gimblet.
“It would be too terrible if a girl like that so much as lifted a finger against one who has been the soul of kindness to her,” Sir Gregory repeated.
“Ah, Sir Gregory, terrible indeed! But terrible things happen every day. Let a crisis arise, and you never know who may not surprise and horrify you by showing the cloven hoof. I hope that Miss Turner is entirely innocent of all knowledge of this affair, but there are two points which are against her.”
“And what are they?”