Tales of Mystery & Suspense: 25+ Thrillers in One Edition. E. Phillips Oppenheim

      “I must plead guilty to the surprise,” the Duke confessed courteously. “There is something exceedingly familiar about your face, sir, but I cannot remember having had the privilege of meeting you.”

      “You see,” Caroline observed, “I am not the only one, Everard, who did not accept you upon a glance. This is Everard Dominey, Henry, returned from foreign exile and regenerated in every sense of the word.”

      “How do you do?” Dominey said, holding out his hand. “I seem to be rather a surprise to every one, but I hope you haven’t quite forgotten me.”

      “God bless my soul!” the Duke exclaimed. “You don’t mean to say that you’re really Everard Dominey?”

      “I am he, beyond a doubt,” was the calm assurance.

      “Most amazing!” the Duke declared, as he shook hands. “Most amazing! I never saw such a change in my life. Yes, yes, I see—same complexion, of course—nose and eyes—yes, yes! But you seem taller, and you carry yourself like a soldier. Dear, dear me! Africa has done wonderfully by you. Delighted, my dear Everard! Delighted!”

      “You’ll be more delighted still when you hear the rest of the news,” his wife remarked drily. “In the meantime, do present your friend.”

      “Precisely so,” the Duke acquiesced, turning to the young man in the background. “Most sorry, my dear Captain Bartram. The unexpected return of a connection of my wife must be my apology for this lapse of manners. Let me present you to the Duchess. Captain Bartram is just back from Germany, my dear, and is an enthusiastic supporter of our cause.—Sir Everard Dominey.”

      Caroline shook hands kindly with her husband’s protege, and Dominey exchanged a solemn handshake with him.

      “You, too, are one of those, then, Captain Bartram, who are convinced that Germany has evil designs upon us?” the former said, smiling.

      “I have just returned from Germany after twelve months’ stay there,” the young soldier replied. “I went with an open mind. I have come back convinced that we shall be at war with Germany within a couple of years.”

      The Duke nodded vigorously.

      “Our young friend is right,” he declared. “Three times a week for many months I have been drumming the fact into the handful of wooden-headed Englishmen who have deigned to come to our meetings. I have made myself a nuisance to the House of Lords and the Press. It is a terrible thing to realise how hard it is to make an Englishman reflect, so long as he is making money and having a good time.—You are just back from Africa, Everard?”

      “Within a week, sir.”

      “Did you see anything of the Germans out there? Were you anywhere near their Colony?”

      “I have been in touch with them for some years,” Dominey replied.

      “Most interesting!” his questioner exclaimed. “You may be of service to us, Everard. You may, indeed! Now tell me, isn’t it true that they have secret agents out there, trying to provoke unsettlement and disquiet amongst the Boers? Isn’t it true that they apprehend a war with England before very long and are determined to stir up the Colony against us?”

      “I am very sorry,” Dominey replied, “but I am not a politician in any shape or form. All the Germans whom I have met out there seem a most peaceful race of men, and there doesn’t seem to be the slightest discontent amongst the Boers or any one else.”

      The Duke’s face fell. “This is very surprising.”

      “The only people who seem to have any cause for discontent,” Dominey continued, “are the English settlers. I didn’t commence to do any good myself there till a few years ago, but I have heard some queer stories about the way our own people were treated after the war.”

      “What you say about South Africa, Sir Everard,” the young soldier remarked, “is naturally interesting, but I am bound to say that it is in direct opposition to all I have heard.”

      “And I,” the Duke echoed fervently.

      “I have lived there for the last eleven years,” Dominey continued, “and although I spent the earlier part of that time trekking after big game, lately I am bound to confess that every thought and energy I possess have been centered upon money-making. For that reason, perhaps, my observations may have been at fault. I shall claim the privilege of coming to one of your first meetings, Duke, and of trying to understand this question.”

      His august connection blinked at him a little curiously for a moment behind his glasses.

      “My dear Everard,” he said, “forgive my remarking it, but I find you more changed than I could have believed possible.”

      “Everard is changed in more ways than one,” his wife observed, with faint irony.

      Dominey, who had risen to leave, bent over her hand.

      “What about my dinner party, sir?” she added.

      “As soon as I return from Norfolk,” he replied.

      “Dominey Hall will really find you?” she asked a little curiously.

      “Most certainly!”

      There was again that little flutter of fear in her eyes, followed by a momentary flash of admiration. Dominey shook hands gravely with his host and nodded to Bertram. The servant whom the Duchess had summoned stood holding the curtains on one side.

      “I shall hope to see you again shortly, Duke,” Dominey said, as he completed his leave-taking. “There is a little matter of business to be adjusted between us. You will probably hear from Mr. Mangan in a day or two.”

      The Duke gazed after the retreating figure of this very amazing visitor. When the curtains had fallen he turned to his wife.

      “A little matter of business,” he repeated. “I hope you have explained to Everard, my dear, that although, of course, we are very glad to see him back again, it is absolutely hopeless for him to look to me for any financial assistance at the present moment.”

      Caroline smiled.

      “Everard was alluding to the money he already owes you,” she explained. “He intends to repay it at once. He is also paying off the Dominey mortgages. He has apparently made a fortune in Africa.”

      The Duke collapsed into an easy-chair.

      “Everard pay his debts?” he exclaimed. “Everard Dominey pay off the mortgages?”

      “That is what I understand,” his wife acquiesced.

      The Duke clutched at the last refuge of a weak but obstinate man. His mouth came together like a rat-trap.

      “There’s something wrong about it somewhere,” he declared.

      CHAPTER VI

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      Dominey spent a very impatient hour that evening in his sitting-room at the Carlton, waiting for Seaman. It was not until nearly seven that the latter appeared.

      “Are you aware,” Dominey asked him, “that I am expected to call upon the Princess Eiderstrom at seven o’clock?”

      “I have your word for it,” Seaman replied, “but I see no tragedy in the situation. The Princess is a woman of sense and a woman of political insight. While I cannot recommend you to take her entirely into your confidence, I still think that a middle course can be judiciously pursued.”

      “Rubbish!” Dominey exclaimed. “As Leopold Von Ragastein, the Princess has indisputable claims upon me and my liberty, claims which would altogether interfere with the career of Everard Dominey.”

      With methodical neatness, Seaman laid his hat,