On the top of this revelation, Lady Lushington wasquick in pressing her niece to make a further one, and at last Mabeladmitted that she thought, but was not at all sure, that Mr Manchuri,the old Jewish gentleman who had been staying at the Hotel Belle Vue,knew something about the necklace.
"It is quite safe; I am certain it is quite safe," said Mabel; "but Ithink he knows about it. Had not we better write and ask Annie?"
"We will do nothing of the kind," said Lady Lushington. "Mabel, I amdisgusted with you. You can go away to your room. You are my niece, orI would never speak to you again; but if I do not get to the bottom ofthis mystery, and pretty quickly, too, my name is not HenriettaLushington."
"Oh dear," thought poor Mabel, "what awful mischief I have done! Anniewill be wild. Still, all is not known. I don't think Aunt Henriettacan think the very worst of me even if she does learn the story of thenecklace; that won't tell her how I won the prize, and that won'texplain to her the true story of Mrs Priestley's bill."
As Mabel was leaving the room, very downcast and fearfully miserable,Lady Lushington called her back.
"I am disgusted with you," she repeated. "Notwithstanding; justice isjustice. I never wish you to have anything more to do with AnnieBrooke; you never shall speak to her again, if I can help it. But inone thing she was right. I have received Mrs Priestley's bill thinmorning with all due apologies, and begging of me to forgive her forhaving, through a most gross error, and owing to the fault of one of herassistants, added another lady's account to mine. Your bill forclothes, therefore, Mabel, only amounts to forty pounds, which is high,but allowable. As you are not going back to the school we shall neverrequire Mrs Priestley's services again. I will send her a cheque to-dayfor forty pounds, and that closes my transactions with the woman, whom,notwithstanding apologies, I do not consider too straight."
Even this small consolation was better than nothing to Mabel. She wentaway to her room feeling very queer and trembling, and Lady Lushingtontook those immediate steps which she was fond of doing when reallyaroused. She did not know Mr Manchuri's private address, but she waswell aware that he was a wealthy Bond Street jeweller. She wrote,therefore, straight to his place of business, and her letter, when itreached him, electrified the good man to such an extent that he scarcelyknew what he was doing. Fortunately for himself, he had not yet soldthe necklace. Having read the letter, he sank down into a chair andgazed before him. Well did he remember the scene when Annie, lookingsweet, innocent, and charming, had told him with a little pride of herknowledge with regard to gems, and had shown him with extreme diffidencethe valuable necklace, and asked him what it was worth.
"What a fool I was to snap at it!" he said to himself. "I might haveknown that no honest girl of the class of Annie Brooke would have fortypounds to spend on jewellery. But just that hateful desire to makemoney came over me, and I grabbed at the thing. Now what is to bedone?"
Mr Manchuri returned home early that day. Lady Lushington's letter wasburning a hole all the time in his pocket.
"What a comfort it is," he said to himself, "that that dear, nicePriscilla is still in the house! She certainly told me nothing aboutthe necklace. That little horror of an Annie Brooke begged and imploredof me to keep the whole thing a secret. But the time has come, my youngmiss, when I fed absolutely absolved from my promise. I must consultPriscie. Priscie has as wise a head on her shoulders as even my ownbeloved Esther had."
The old man entered the house; and Priscilla, who was busily reading inthe library, hearing the click of the latch-key in the lock, ran outinto the hall. Her face had improved during the last few days. Thelook of great anxiety had left it. She had, in short, made up her mind,but even Mr Manchuri did not quite know what Priscilla was going to do.
"You are in early," she said, running to meet him and helping him offwith his overcoat and putting his stick in the stand.
"Yes, Priscilla," he answered; "and I am right glad you are in. Thefact is, I came back to consult you, my dear."
"You will have some tea first," said Priscilla. "Now that is exactlywhat Esther would have said," was the old man's response. "What a fussshe did make about me, to be sure! And you are going to make a fool ofme now. I was a young man when my Esther was there, and I am an old mannow, but the difference seems bridged over, and I feel young once morewith you so kind to me, Priscilla. But there, there, my child, there isno tea for me until I relieve my mind. Where were you sitting, my dear,when you heard me come into the house?"
"In the library. I had just discovered the most glorious edition of_Don Quixote_, and was revelling in it."
"We will go back to the library, Priscilla, if you have no objection."
Priscilla turned at once; Mr Manchuri followed her, and they entered thegreat library full of books of all sorts--rare editions, old folios,etc,--as well as a few really valuable pictures.
"Priscilla," said Mr Manchuri, "you know all about Annie Brooke?"
"Yes," said Priscilla, her face turning _very_ pale. "I wanted to writeto Annie; her dear uncle is dead."
"You told me so a few days ago. You can write or not, just, as youplease. In the meantime, can you explain this?"
As Mr Manchuri spoke he took Lady Lushington's letter from his pocketand handed it to Priscilla. Priscilla read the following words:
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"Dear Sir,--I regret to have to trouble you with regard to a smallcircumstance, but I have just to my unbounded astonishment, beeninformed by my niece, Mabel Lushington, that you can throw light on thedisappearance of an old-fashioned pearl necklace set in silver which Ibought for her at Interlaken the day before we left. I was assisted inthe purchase by a girl who was of our party--a Miss Brooke. Sheprofessed to have a knowledge of gems, and took me to Zick's shop in theHigh Street where I bought the trinket. I paid forty pounds for it,believing it to be a bargain of some value. At present the necklace isnot forthcoming, and there has been an idea circulated in the hotel thatit was stolen on our journey from Interlaken to Zermatt. My niece,however, now with great reluctance mentions your name, and says that shethinks you can explain the mystery. Will you be kind enough to do sowithout a moment's loss of time?--Yours sincerely, HenriettaLushington."
When Priscilla had finished this letter she raised a white and startledface. Her eyes saw Mr Manchuri's, who, on his part, was trying to readher through.
"What do you make of it?" he said.
"I never heard of the necklace," she said.
"Well, perhaps you heard something else or you noticed something else.Were you sitting in the garden of the Hotel Belle Vue just before_dejeuner_ on the day that you and I left Interlaken?"
"Yes," said Priscilla.
"I remember quite well now," considered the old man, "that I noticed youfrom where I myself was sitting on the terrace. I saw Miss Brooke go upto you, and presently you went away. Then I joined Miss Brooke."
"Yes," said Priscilla.
"You have not the least idea what occurred, have you, Priscilla, whenMiss Brooke and I were alone?"
"I have not the faintest idea," said Priscilla.
"Well, I will tell you," said the old man.
He crossed the room as he spoke, opened the door, and went out, butpresently returned with something in his hand. This something he laidon the table before Priscilla.
"Have you ever seen that before?"
"Never," said Priscilla. "It is rather pretty."
"It is a valuable old ornament," said Mr Manchuri. "It was bought atZick's shop in the High Street at Interlaken. I gave Annie Brooke onehundred pounds for it."
"Mr Manchuri!"
"She told me it was her own, and asked if I would buy it. I knew it wasworth a good deal more than the sum I paid her; now it seems that shetook me in, I have purchased Lady Lushington's necklace; it neverbelonged to Annie Brooke. What is to be done?"
Priscilla sat, white as death, with her hands clasped before he
r.
"Did you ever," she said at last after a very long pause, "notice in allyour knowledge of mankind how from the beginning of a little act ofdeceit great and awful things take place? If I had not yielded to atemptation which was put before me at Mrs Lyttelton's school, Anniewould never have been a thief; there would have been no need--no need!Mr Manchuri, I feel that I am responsible for this."
"Nothing of the kind, child. Please don't take on in that way! It istoo dreadful to hear you."
Priscilla's lips trembled.
"We must, we must save Annie Brooke," she said. "She is in trouble.Her uncle is dead;