Anna the Adventuress

"Ennison here thought he saw her in London," Meddoes remarked.

Drummond nodded.

"Very likely. The two sisters were very fond of one another, I

believe. Perhaps Sir John is going to take the other one under his

wing. Who's for a rubber of whist?"

Ennison made so many mistakes that he was glad to cut out early in the

evening. He walked across the Park and called upon his sister.

"Is Lady Lescelles in?" he asked the butler.

"Her ladyship dined at home," the man answered. "I have just ordered a

carriage for her. I believe that her ladyship is going to Carey House,

and on to the Marquis of Waterford's ball," he added, hastily

consulting a diary on the hall table.

A tall elegantly dressed woman, followed by a maid, came down the

broad staircase.

"Is that you, Nigel?" she asked. "I hope you are going to Carey

House."

He shook his head, and threw open the door of a great dimly-lit

apartment on the ground floor.

"Come in here a moment, will you, Blanche," he said. "I want to speak

to you."

She assented, smiling. He was her only brother, and she his favourite

sister. He closed the door.

"I want to ask you a question," he said. "A serious question."

She stopped buttoning her glove, and looked at him.

"Well?"

"You and all the rest of them are always lamenting that I do not

marry. Supposing I made up my mind to marry some one of good enough

family, but who was in a somewhat doubtful position, concerning whose

antecedents, in fact there was a certain amount of scandal. Would you

stand by me--and her?"

"My dear Nigel!" she exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

"You know very well that I should never joke on such a subject. Mind,

I am anticipating events. Nothing is settled upon. It may be, it

probably will all come to, nothing. But I want to know whether in such

an event you would stand by me?"

She held out her hand.

"You can count upon me, Nigel," she said. "But for you Dad would never

have let me marry Lescelles. He was only a younger son, and you know

what trouble we had. I am with you through thick and thin, Nigel."

He kissed her, and handed her into the carriage. Then he went back to

his rooms and lit a cigar.

"There are two things to be done," he said softly to himself. "The

first is to discover what she is here for, and where she is staying.

The second is to somehow meet Lady Ferringhall. These fellows must be

right," he added thoughtfully, "and yet--there's a mystery somewhere."