Look at this!" He held up
a little note with a coat-of-arms upon the envelope. "That
belongs to -- well, perhaps it is hardly fair to tell the name
until to-morrow morning. But at that time it will be in the
hands of the lady's husband. And all because she will not find
a beggarly sum which she could get by turning her diamonds into
paste. It IS such a pity. Now, you remember the sudden end of
the engagement between the Honourable Miss Miles and Colonel
Dorking? Only two days before the wedding there was a
paragraph in the MORNING POST to say that it was all off.
And why? It is almost incredible, but the absurd sum of twelve
hundred pounds would have settled the whole question.
Is it not pitiful? And here I find you, a man of sense,
boggling about terms when your client's future and honour are
at stake. You surprise me, Mr. Holmes."
"What I say is true," Holmes answered. "The money cannot be
found. Surely it is better for you to take the substantial sum
which I offer than to ruin this woman's career, which can profit
you in no way?"
"There you make a mistake, Mr. Holmes. An exposure would profit
me indirectly to a considerable extent.
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