第37期:失而复得(8)

"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Now, I knew that it was not you who had brought it down, so there only remained your niece and the maids.

But if it were the maids, why should your son allow himself to be accused in their place? There could be no possible reason.

As he loved his cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should retain her secret the more so as the secret was a disgraceful one.

When I remembered that you had seen her at that window, and how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture became a certainty. And who could it be who was her confederate?

A lover evidently, for who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must feel to you? I knew that you went out little, and that your circle of friends was a very limited one.

But among them was Sir George Burnwell. I had heard of him before as being a man of evil reputation among women. It must have been he who wore those boots and retained the missing gems.

Even though he knew that Arthur had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he was safe, for the lad could not say a word without compromising his own family."