"No; but later he corroborated the maid's story; as did also his wife and his son."
"What is Lord Leconbridge's attitude?" asked Quarles.
"He is extremely irritated, rather at the annoyance caused to his wife than at the loss of the jewels, I fancy."
"Were I Lady Leconbridge I should be something more than annoyed," Zena remarked.
"Ah! that's not the point, my dear," and the professor picked up an evening paper. "At the end of a column of stuff dealing with this robbery there is this paragraph: 'Before her marriage Lady Leconbridge was Miss Helen Farrow, an actress, who was rapidly making a reputation. Not long ago, it will be remembered, she played Lady Teazle at a command performance of Sheridan's masterpiece. Her last part was that of Mrs. Clare in Brickell's play, which was such a success at the St. George's Theater, and her charming impersonation of the heroine will be fresh in the public mind. Her marriage came as a great surprise, both to the theatrical and social world.'
"A short paragraph," Quarles went on, "but with a sting in the tail of it. People talked a great deal at the time of the marriage three years ago. Leconbridge was called an old fool for going to the stage for a second wife, and it was suggested that, if he must marry an actress, he might have made a better choice. When this kind of thing is said about a beautiful woman there are plenty of evil-minded persons to make the worst of it. You see, Zena, there is some reason for Lord Leconbridge's irritability."
"I do not believe there was the slightest foundation for the gossip," I said. "Lady Leconbridge is a most charming person."
"I know nothing about her," said Quarles, tapping the paper; "but I am certain that this affair will revive the old gossip."
"I wonder why the duchess noticed the diamonds so particularly that evening," said Zena.
"Probably because she had not seen them before," I answered. "Mr. Lester told me they were seldom worn—suggested, indeed, that their size and setting were so conspicuous as to make them rather vulgar."