Part 18 (1/2)
”Was your door locked?”
”No.” She laughed nervously. ”But it has been locked every night since then!”
”And these sounds were repeated on other nights?”
”Yes, I have often heard them, Mr. Knox. What makes it so strange is that all the servants sleep out in the west wing, as you know, and Pedro locks the communicating door every night before retiring.”
”It is certainly strange,” I muttered.
”It is horrible,” declared the girl, almost in a whisper. ”For what can it mean except that there is someone in Cray's Folly who is never seen during the daytime?”
”But that is incredible.”
”It is not so incredible in a big house like this. Besides, what other explanation can there be?”
”There must be one,” I said, rea.s.suringly. ”Have you spoken of this to Madame de Stamer?”
”Yes.”
Val Beverley's expression grew troubled.
”Had she any explanation to offer?”
”None. Her att.i.tude mystified me very much. Indeed, instead of rea.s.suring me, she frightened me more than ever by her very silence. I grew to dread the coming of each night. Then-” she hesitated again, looking at me pathetically-”twice I have been awakened by a loud cry.”
”What kind of cry?”
”I could not tell you, Mr. Knox. You see I have always been asleep when it has come, but I have sat up trembling and dimly aware that what had awakened me was a cry of some kind.”
”You have no idea from whence it proceeded?”
”None whatever. Of course, all these things may seem trivial to you, and possibly they can be explained in quite a simple way. But this feeling of something pending has grown almost unendurable. Then, I don't understand Madame and the Colonel at all.”
She suddenly stopped speaking and flushed with embarra.s.sment.
”If you mean that Madame de Stamer is in love with her cousin, I agree with you,” I said, quietly.
”Oh, is it so evident as that?” murmured Val Beverley. She laughed to cover her confusion. ”I wish I could understand what it all means.”
At this point our tete-a-tete was interrupted by the return of Madame de Stamer.
”Oh, la la!” she cried, ”the Colonel must have allowed himself to become too animated this evening. He is threatened with one of his attacks and I have insisted upon his immediate retirement. He makes his apologies, but knows you will understand.”
I expressed my concern, and:
”I was unaware that Colonel Menendez's health was impaired,” I said.
”Ah,” Madame shrugged characteristically. ”Juan has travelled too much of the road of life on top speed, Mr. Knox.” She snapped her white fingers and grimaced significantly. ”Excitement is bad for him.”
She wheeled her chair up beside Val Beverley, and taking the girl's hand patted it affectionately.