“Certainly.”
“You asked just now who killed Lord Reckavile—I did.”
If a bombshell had exploded in the room there could not have been a greater sensation.
“At last,” said Sinclair, and there was a note of triumph in his voice. “Thank you, Giles. That is what we wanted. Mr. Cook, I offer you a profound apology for the bad moment we gave you, but it was the only way to get a confession from him. That was why the whole meeting was arranged. It was Mr. Halley’s idea, and you know he has been on the stage.”
Then turning sternly to Giles, he said. “I have to warn you that anything you say may be used as evidence against you, but I know most of the story, and I do think a frank confession is your best chance.”
“I have no desire to keep anything back, nor do I regret what I have done. An hour ago I wanted to live for one thing, to complete what I had begun, but after what I have heard of all the suffering of Mr. Halley and his mother, that desire has gone.”
“But we are all in the dark …” began Fletcher.
“You shall know,” said Sinclair. “First, Giles is not his name; he once bore another, is that not so, Mr. Wheatland?”
Giles started. “That is so, though how you know it I cannot guess. I am an old man, and I know my days are numbered, so I do not care what happens to me. They can hang me if they like, though I am sorry for Mrs. Giles for she has been a good wife to me.
“Well, here is my story. Mr. Sinclair has told you my real name. After the shame and disgrace of the divorce, and the loss of my wife, whom I loved dearly,” his voice broke for a moment, “I lived for one thing only, to be revenged on the man who had robbed me. I was too much of a coward to fight him, but when he married Winnie and then deserted her, I swore to kill him. My business went to pieces, and I seemed to lose heart in it. I sold it up, and brooded over my wrongs. Then I determined to destroy the last of this accursed breed, and waited for him to come to England, and the next thing I heard was that he had been drowned. That would have ended it for me, but Winnie had a son, and I determined that the whole hated race should come to an end, for the blood was rotten. I waited and watched for years, and at last I heard that Winnie was dying, and hurried down to see her.