the register of my marriage, but, not knowing theparish in which it had taken place, my search at Somerset House wasfruitless. They told me that the registers were not made up there untilsix months or so after the ceremony."
"You did not apply at Doctors' Commons?"
"No," she responded; "I thought the entry would be at Somerset House."
"What previous knowledge had you of the Major?"
"He was a friend of Ashwicke's, who had been introduced to us one nightin the stalls at Daly's. He afterwards dined several times atGloucester Square."
"But Sir Henry does not know him."
"It was while he was away at the Cape."
"Then you have not the faintest idea of the reason of our extraordinarymarriage, darling?" I asked, holding her hand. "I have told you allthat actually occurred. Can you form no conclusion whatever as to themotive?"
"Absolutely none," she answered. "I am as utterly in the dark asyourself. I cannot understand why you were selected as my husband."
"But you do not regret?" I asked tenderly.
"Regret? No," she repeated, raising her beautiful face to mine, perfectin its loveliness and purity. "I do not regret now, Richard--because Ilove you." And our lips met again in fervent tenderness.
"It is still an absolute mystery," I observed at last. "We know that weare wedded, but there our knowledge ends."
"We have both been victims of a plot," she responded. "If we could butdiscern the motive, then we might find some clue to lead us to thetruth."
"But there is a woman called La Gioia," I said; and, continuing,explained my presence in the park at Whitton, and the conversation I hadoverheard between herself and Tattersett.
Her hand, still in mine, trembled perceptibly, and I saw that I hadapproached a subject distasteful to her.
"Yes," she admitted at last, in a hard, strange voice, "it is true thathe wrote making an appointment to meet me in the park that night. Ikept it because I wished to ascertain the truth regarding my marriage.But he would tell me nothing; he only urged me to secure my own safetybecause La Gioia had returned."
"And who is La Gioia?"
"My enemy--my bitterest enemy."
"Can you tell me nothing else?" I asked in a tone of slight reproach.
"I know nothing else. I do not know who or what she is, or where shelives. I only know that she is my unseen evil genius."
"But you have seen her. She called upon you on that evening atGloucester Square when she assumed the character of your dressmaker, anda few nights ago she was here--in this house."
"Here?" she echoed in alarm. "Impossible!"
Then I related how I had seen her, and how her evil influence had fallenupon me when afterwards I had entered my room.
"The thing is actually beyond belief," she declared. "Do you reallythink you were not mistaken?"
"Most assuredly I was not. It was the woman who called upon you inLondon. But you have not told me the reason you were absent from yourroom that night." She was silent for a few moments, then answered, "Imet Tattersett. He demanded that I should meet him, as he wished tospeak with me secretly. I did so."
"Why did he wish to see you?"
"In order to prove to me that he had no hand in the tragic affair atWhitton. I had suspected all along that he was responsible for theColonel's death, and my opinion has not altered. I begged him to tellme the reason of the plot against me, the motive of my marriage, and theidentity of my husband. But he refused point-blank, telling me to askLa Gioia, who knew everything."
"Have you no idea of her whereabouts?"
"None whatever."
"If we could but find her," I said, "she might tell us something. Ah!if we could but find her."
My love was trembling. Her heart was filled to overflowing with themystery of it all. Yet I knew that she loved me--yes, she loved me.
How long we lingered there upon the terrace I know not, but it was lateere we re-entered the drawing-room. Who among those assembled guestswould have dreamt the truth--we were man and wife!
As I went upstairs I found a letter lying upon the hall table in theplace where the guests' letters were placed. Barton had, I suppose,driven into Corsham and brought with him the mail which would, in theusual course, have been delivered on the following morning. The notewas from Hoefer, a couple of awkwardly scribbled lines asking me to comeand see him without a moment's delay.
Eager to hear whether the queer old fellow had made any discovery, Ideparted next morning by the eight o'clock express for London, havingleft a note with Beryl's maid explaining the cause of my sudden journey,and soon after eleven was seated with the old German in his loftylaboratory. The table was, as usual, filled with various contrivances--bottles of liquids and test-tubes containing fluids of various hues--while before him, as I entered, a small tube containing a bright blueliquid was bubbling over the spirit-lamp, the heat causing the colour togradually fade.
"Ah, my frient," he said, with his strong accent, holding out his bigfat hand encased in a stout leather glove, "I am glad you have come--very glad. It has been a long search, but I haf discovered something,after all. You see these?"--and he indicated his formidable array ofretorts and test-tubes. "Well, I have been investigating at GloucesterSquare, and have found the affair much more extraordinary than Ibelieved."
"And you have discovered the truth?" I demanded.
"Yes," he responded, turning down the flame of the lamp and bendingattentively to the bubbling fluid from which all colour had disappearedwhile I had been watching. "Shall I relate to you the course of myinvestigations?"
"Do. I am all attention."
"Well," he said, leaning both elbows upon the table and resting his chinupon his hands, while the tame brown rat ran along the table andscrambled into his pocket, "on the first evening you sought myassistance I knew, from the remote effects which both of us experienced,that the evil influence of that mysterious visitor in black, was due tosome unknown neurotic poison. It was for that reason that I was enabledto administer an antidote without making an exact diagnosis. Now, asyou are well aware, toxicology is a very strange study. Even commontable-salt is a poison, and has caused death. But my own experimentshave proved that, although the various narcotic poisons produce butlittle local change, their remote effects are very remarkable. Certainsubstances affect certain organs in particular. The remote action of apoison may be said to be due, in every instance, to its absorption intothe veins or lymphatics, except when there is a direct continuity ofeffect traceable from the point where the poison was applied to thepoint where the remote effect is shown. It is remarkable that theagents which most affect the nervous system do not act at all whenapplied to the brain or trunks of nerves. Poisonous effects result fromabsorption of the poisoning body, and absorption implies solution; themore soluble, therefore, the compound is, the more speedy are itseffects. Do you follow me?"
"Quite clearly."
"The rapid, remote effect produced on leaving that room made it plainthat I must look for some powerful neurotic poison that may be absorbedthrough the skin," he went on. "With this object I searchedmicroscopically various objects within and without the room, but for along time was unsuccessful, when, one morning, I made a discovery thatupon the white porcelain handle of the door a little colourless liquidhad been applied. Greater part of it had disappeared by constanthandling, but there was still some remaining on the shaft of the handle,and the microscope showed distinct prism-shaped crystals. All these Isecured, and with them have since been experimenting. I found them tobe a more deadly poison than any of the known paralysants orhyposthenisants, with an effect of muscular paralysis very similar tothat produced by curare, combined with the stiffness about the neck andinability to move the jaws so apparent in symptoms provoked bystrychnia. The unknown substance--a most deadly, secret poison, and, asI have since proved, one of those known to the ancients--had beenapplied to the door-handle on the inside, so that any person in pullingopen the door to go ou
t must absorb it in sufficient quantity to provefatal. Indeed, had it not been for the antidote of chlorine and themixed oxides of iron which I fortunately hit upon, death must haveensued in the case of each of us.
"To determine exactly what was the poison used was an almostinsurmountable task, for I had never met with the substance before; but,after working diligently all this time, I have found that by treating itwith sulphuric acid it underwent no change, yet by adding a fragment ofbichromate of potassium a series of blue, violet, purple, and red tintswere produced, very similar to those seen in the tests for strychnia.The same results were brought about, also, by