'I will not. Why should I?'
'Well, it seems to me,' said I, with a slight laugh, 'the young man has very definitely checkmated both of you.'
'He has, until I have laid him by the heels, which I am determined to do if he were the brother of twenty Lord Steffenhams.'
'Please answer one more question. Are you determined to put the young man in prison, or would you be content with the return of the emeralds intact?'
'Of course I should prefer to put him in prison and get the emeralds too, but if there's no choice in the matter, I must content myself with the necklace.'
'Very well, my lord, I will undertake the case.'
This conference had detained us in the study till after eleven, and then, as it was a clear, crisp December morning, I went out through the gardens into the park, that I might walk along the well-kept private road and meditate upon my course of action, or, rather, think over what had been said, because I could not map my route until I had heard the secret which the Lady Alicia promised to impart. As at present instructed, it seemed to me the best way to go direct to the young man, show him as effectively as I could the danger in which he stood, and, if possible, persuade him to deliver up the necklace to me. As I strolled along under the grand old leafless trees, I suddenly heard my name called impulsively two or three times, and turning round saw the Lady Alicia running toward me. Her cheeks were bright with Nature's rouge, and her eyes sparkled more dazzlingly than any emerald that ever tempted man to wickedness.
'Oh, Monsieur Valmont, I have been waiting for you, and you escaped me. Have you seen my uncle?'
'Yes, I have been with him since ten o'clock.'
'Well?'