jessie's prevailing feeling was not one of fear; rather was she moved by an intense, overpowering curiosity. she lingered behind the palm wondering what was going to happen next. she could see between the graceful hanging leaves the puzzled expression on lady merehaven's face.
"but, my dear doctor, what you say is absurd," she was saying. "i saw vera pass not five minutes ago. and if she had met with an accident and been conveyed to charing cross hospital, why—— but the thing is out of the question."
"and yet i feel perfectly certain of my facts," dr. varney persisted. "it is true that i was in a hurry, and that the young lady i allude to was fast asleep—at any rate, nearly asleep. my dear lady, seeing that i was present at vera's birth, and that all these years i have known her so intimately——"
jessie came leisurely into sight. it was impossible to let this matter go any further. by chance the doctor had learnt something, and his mouth must be closed if possible. she came along with a smile and a hand outstretched.
"you are very late, doctor," she said. "i have been looking forward to a chat with you."
for once in his life dr. varney was genuinely astonished. he looked at jessie in a vague, dreamy kind of way, though fortunately lady merehaven did not glance up and notice his face.
"there, you unbelieving man!" she cried. "vera does not look as if she had met with anything serious in the way of an accident."
dr. varney pulled himself together promptly and took jessie's outstretched hand. there was a twinkle in his shrewd eyes as he held the girl's fingers.
"extraordinary mistake of mine, wasn't it?" he said. "could have sworn that i saw you lying half asleep in one of the wards of charing cross hospital. case of shock and injured ankle. people said the patient called herself harcourt, but could not recollect her address. young girls have such queer escapades nowadays that——"
"but surely you know me better than that?" jessie forced herself to say.
"i'm not quite so sure that i do," varney chuckled. "however, the girl was very like you. come and give me a sandwich and a glass of claret, and we'll talk of old times."
jessie expressed herself as delighted, but inwardly she was praying for some diversion. she was quite convinced that the doctor was by no means satisfied; she could see that he was a shrewd, clever man of the world, and that he meant to question her adroitly. if once the conversation drifted to old times, she felt that she must be discovered.
but varney ate his sandwich and sipped his claret and water with no reference to the past. he looked at jessie once or twice in an abstracted kind of way. she felt that she must talk, that she must say something to start a safe conversation.
"what are you thinking about, doctor?" she asked.
"i am thinking," was the startling reply, "that[80] you are one of the finest actresses i have ever seen. the stage is the poorer for your absence."
jessie's heart sank within her; there was no mistaking the dry significance of the speech. this man was sure of his ground; he had found her out. and yet there was a kindly look on his face, not as if he were dealing with an impostor at all.
"what do you mean?" jessie asked. "i do not in the least understand you."
"oh yes, you do; you understand me perfectly well. i don't know who you are, but i most assuredly know who you are not, and that is vera galloway. mind, i am not accusing you of being a type of the mere vulgar impostor. i would trust you against the world."
"it is very good of you to say so," jessie gasped. "you are not going to assume that—that——"
"that you are here for any evil purpose? with a face like yours the idea is impossible. as i was passing through the wards of the hospital just now, to my surprise i saw vera galloway there. i knew her not only by her face and figure, but by the dimples round her wrists. now your wrists are very long and slender, and you have no dimples at all. many men would have let out the whole thing, but not so me. i find that the patient has given the name of harcourt, and that she has forgotten her address. forgive me if i scented a scandal. that is why i led up so carefully to lady merehaven. but when you came on the scene i guessed exactly what had happened. you were engaged to play vera's part when she was up to something elsewhere. i confess i am not altogether without sorrow that so charming a girl——"
"indeed, i am quite sure that there was nothing[81] really wrong," jessie cried. "from what i have seen of miss galloway i am quite sure that she is not that class of girl. but for this unfortunate accident.... dr. varney, you will not betray me?"
"well, i won't," varney cried, "though i am no doubt an old fool for my pains. it's very lucky that a clear head like mine has been imported into the business. now, in the first place, tell me who you are and what you are doing here. i know you will be candid."
"i will tell you everything," jessie said. she was utterly thankful that the case was no worse. "my name is jessie harcourt, and up to a few hours ago i was a shop-girl in bond street."
"that sounds quite romantic. a shop-girl in bond street and a lady by birth and breeding, too. which branch of the family do you belong to?"
"the kent harcourts. my father was colonel harcourt, of the royal galways."
"really now!" varney exclaimed. "i knew your father quite well years ago. i was an army doctor myself for a long time. your father was an extravagant man, my dear—always was. and he left you poor?"
"he left my sister and myself penniless. we were fit for nothing either. and that is why i found my way into a bond street shop. i was discharged because i was supposed to have flirted with the son of a customer. my indignant protest that the cowardly cad tried to kiss me counted for nothing. as the complaining customer was the princess mazaroff——"
"and her son the culprit," varney said, with a queer gleam in his eyes. "my dear child, you have[82] done well to confide in me. but go on, tell me everything."
jessie proceeded to relate her story at length, from the time that she met vera galloway down to the existing moment. and the romantic side of the royal story was not suppressed. nor could jessie feel that she had not an interested listener.
"this is one of the most remarkable stories that i have ever heard," varney said. "and as a doctor in a large way of practice, i have heard some singular ones. i fancy that i can see my way clear now. and i know what you don't know—that vera is taking a desperate step for the sake of a man she loves. it is quite plain to me why you are here. well, well! i am doing quite wrong, but i am going to keep your secret."
"that is indeed good of you," jessie said gratefully. "but there is more to be done. my dear doctor, i can see my way to important information without which it is impossible for me to sustain my present rôle until miss galloway comes home again. it is imperative that i should have a few words with her. you can give me a permit for the hospital authorities. after that the rest is easy."
"i quite see your point," varney said thoughtfully. "you are as clever as you are courageous. but how are you going to manage this without being missed?"
"i am going to make use of another," jessie laughed. all her courage had come back to her now. "i am going to make use of a gentleman known as pongo. he is supposed to be very fond of me as vera galloway. he does not seem to be a very harmful individual."
"honourable george lascelles," varney muttered.[83] "there is a good deal of good in pongo, though he assumes the rôle of an ass in society. once he marries and settles down he will be quite different. but how do you propose to enlist him in the service?"
jessie proceeded to explain the silly business of the motor-car in the lane behind the house.
"i shall get him to take me to charing cross hospital," she said. "you may be quite certain that vera galloway is not asleep. a few minutes with her will be quite enough for my purpose. and i shall be back again before i am missed. do you approve?"
"i have to whether i like it or not," varney grumbled, "though this is a nice predicament for a man in my position and my time of life. i'll go as far as the library and scribble out that permit, though what the college of physicians would say if they only knew——"
and varney strode off muttering as he went. but the twinkle was in his eyes still.
