CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
LOISETTE IS VINDICATED
Ailsa caught her breath with a faint, little, sobbing sigh at this, andeven if the moon had not chosen just then to slip out from the screen ofthe enveloping clouds and throw a dusk of silver over everything, sothat he could see her face and the deep look of relief in her upliftedeyes, he still would have known what a load his declaration of theGeneral's innocence had lifted from her mind.
"Oh, I am so glad," she said fervently; "so very, very glad! Do youknow, I made sure from the manner in which you spoke that, horrible asit seemed, it must surely be he; that you must certainly have discoveredsomething which left no room for doubt in your own mind; otherwise youwould not have told me all these terrible things regarding the forgedletter and the drugged drink and his meeting with Lady Clavering at thewall door. And now to know that you do not suspect him, that you aresure it was not he that killed De Louvisan, ah, I can't tell you howglad I am."
"How loyal you are to your friends," he said admiringly. "You needn'tassure me of your gladness; I can read it in your voice and face. No,General Raynor is not guilty, although I am very positive that he notonly was out last night, but was actually at Gleer Cottage; but I amabsolutely certain his was not the hand that killed De Louvisan. I willeven go further, and say that it would not surprise me to learn that hewas not even present at the time of the killing, though there is, ofcourse, always the possibility, in the light of my theory of the whysand wherefores of the case, that he was."
"You have a theory regarding it, then?"
"Yes. I had a vague one in the beginning that became more pronouncedwhen I heard Lady Clavering speak of 'letters' in her interview with theGeneral at the wall door to-night. She also spoke of Margot, recollect.And I have said from the first that a woman was in it."
"And you think that she--that Margot--did it?"
"Did what--the murder? No, I do not. As a matter of fact, I am beginningto believe that the presence of that crafty female in England, and inthis particular neighbourhood at this particular time, may possibly haveled me to leap to a conclusion which is a long way from the truth. Thatshe meant to see De Louvisan, and, with the aid of her band, deal prettyharshly with him--give him the 'traitor's spike,' in fact--I feel verynearly positive; but I am now beginning to realize there is apossibility that the scrap of pink gauze may not have come from Margot'sdress, and that she may not have been at Gleer Cottage last night,after all. In other words, that the woman in the case is not Margot."
"Who then? Lady Clavering?"
"Possibly. There is, however, a chance that it is not even she."
All in a moment Ailsa flamed up.
"You are leaving only Kathie," she said with spirit. "And if you were anangel from heaven you could not make me believe it is she. I know youdeclare that she was at Gleer Cottage last night; that you say Geoffswears he met her there; but even so----"
"Oh, thank you for reminding me of that dear boy," interjected Cleek,whipping out his watch and glancing at it. "If he keeps his promise, ashe doubtless will, he'll be at the lodge gates in exactly twelveminutes, Miss Lorne. And there is another 'dear boy' to consider too, mypoor Dollops, who's probably waiting at the wall angle for me to explainmy change of tactics with regard to the arrest and release of Sir PhilipClavering. Will you pardon me if I rush off and see him for a fewminutes? I'll be back here to join you as quickly as I can, and then, ifyou will honour me, we'll be off together to the lodge gates to meetGeoff Clavering."
He did not wait for her to reply; did not stop to make any comment uponher remarks regarding Lady Katharine. Moving off as briskly as if hewere endeavouring to evade that subject, he slipped soundlessly awaythrough the shrubbery and was gone before she could speak. He was absentfor something like eight or ten minutes; then, as silently and asabruptly as he had left her side he issued from the bushes and returnedto it.
"Shall we go to meet Geoff?" he asked; and again scarcely waiting forher to reply, led the way in silence.
It was on the tip of Ailsa's tongue to ask him if, after so oftenexpressing his conviction of Lady Katharine's innocence and admittingto-night that he had changed his opinion with regard to one woman's partin this elusive riddle, he had suddenly changed it regarding her, too,when, without preface of any sort, he looked round at her.
"Rum how we English stick to precedent, isn't it?" he said. "Ever remarkhow faithfully old footmen cling to their 'calves' and old valets cleaveto their little black side-whiskers? And, I say, Miss Lorne! what's thefashion in evening petticoats these days? Coloured ones, I mean. Do theyhave to match the dress that's worn with them or not?"
"Certainly they don't," said Ailsa, looking round at him in surprise."Good gracious, Mr. Cleek, whatever in the world are you thinkingabout?"
"I? Oh, nothing in particular. There we are at the lodge gates at last;and here's our man. Come in, bonny boy, come in."
Geoff came up out of the shadow of the two big trees at the entrance andmoved swiftly toward the gates.
"Wait a bit," went on Cleek. "I've got a skeleton key handy, and in twoshakes of a ram's tail----Told you so! In with you, my lad. Miss Lorne'shere with me; and if Loisette wasn't a dreamer and I'm not a fool,you'll be the happiest chap in England to-night. Sh-h-h! don't speak.Walk on your toes, take to the grass, keep in the shadow of the hedge,and get over there to that shrubbery as quickly and as noiselessly asyou can. With you in a minute, my boy."
He was. Stopping just long enough to relock the gates and to motionAilsa to accompany him, he travelled like a fleet-moving shadow acrossthe lawn, and was again with Geoff Clavering.
"Well, here I am as you requested, you see, Mr. Barch," said Geoff. "Idon't know what in the world you meant when you told me that thing overthe telephone; but whatever it is that's going to make Kathie and me ashappy as you promised, I'm ready enough to hear it, God knows."
"Yes, God does know; you're right there, my boy. He knows that LadyKatharine did call you into Gleer Cottage last night, and did send youinto the room where that dead man's body hung; and--oh, yes, she did,Miss Lorne. He'll tell you that just as he told me; won't you,Clavering, eh?"
"Yes," said Geoff, and did forthwith, giving all the details just as hehad given them to Cleek hours earlier in the General's famous ruin.
"Will you believe now, Miss Lorne?" said Cleek, and then paused and gavea little, shaky, half-suppressed laugh. For, of a sudden, a cuckoo'snote had risen softly over the stillness, sounding thrice in rapidsuccession, as if the bird had mistaken the moon's glamour for the sheenof day dawn, and had sent forth this untimely call.
Hearing it, Cleek knew that what he had so fervently hoped might come topass really _had_ come to pass, and that the theory of Loisette wasabout to be vindicated.
"Or, if you will not," he said, taking up the sentence just where thebird note had broken off, "come with me and find proof of it foryourself. Come quickly. Hold your breath. Walk on your toes. Don't makea sound on your lives. This way. Quickly. Come."
He took them each by the hand and, leading the way, passed on tiptoewith them out of the shrubbery and down the hedged path to the mimicruin. The figure of Dollops rose out of the shadow of it as they cameupon the place, moved fleetly and quietly to Cleek's side, and then asquietly slipped round behind him into the shade of the trees.
"All right, gov'ner," he whispered softly. "Over to the left there. Giveyou the signal the minute I spotted her. Lie low, all of you. Here shecomes!"
"Here who comes?" Ailsa and Geoff spoke in concert.
"Lord, I dunno, miss," replied Dollops in a whisper. "Gov'ner said,'Look sharp for a lady in white, and "cuckoo" when she appears.' Dunnono more than that."
Ailsa flashed round and looked at Cleek.
"Yes, Miss Lorne," he said, answering that look. "Lady KatharineFordham! She did steal out of the house last night, and-- Loisette isright. The mirror of to-night, reflecting the counterpart of yesterday,is duplicating events. Her ladyship is stealing out of the house a
gain,and on the selfsame mission: to visit Gleer Cottage. She will certainlywear a cloak, though not an ermine one, to-night. I looked out to seethat one was placed in the anteroom, to make sure of that. Quiet, quiet,all of you! Not a sound, not a breath! Look sharp! You'll see herpresently!"
They saw her even then. Of a sudden a footstep sounded, the rustle ofmoved leaves disturbed the stillness, then the figure of Lady Katharinerounded the angle of the ruin, and advanced toward them with greatdeliberation. A long dark cloak covered her almost to the feet, the hoodof it being drawn up over her head until its loose frill framed herface; but it was easy to see, as she advanced, that under that cloak shewore a gown of white satin and slippers with sparkling buckles on thetoes. She came into view so suddenly, and was walking so rapidly, thatshe was upon them almost as they saw her, walking straight to them,walking straight by them, within touch of them, yet seeming not to careor even to notice, and taking the path which led to the stable gate, tothe waste land beyond, and thence to Gleer Cottage. It was then, whenshe had deliberately walked past them, then, and then only, that Ailsaunderstood.
"Dear God!" she said in a shaking whisper as she plucked at Cleek'ssleeve. "She does not know, she does not understand. She is asleep, Mr.Cleek!"
"Yes," he made answer. "You know now why she looked so haggard and wearythis morning, despite her assurance that she had slept well. Poor littlewoman; poor unhappy little woman! A sleep-walker, Clavering--and goingback where her heart leads her: to the cottage where she had often spentthose happier days when she was so sure of love and of you!"