"I did not look for such a web of deceit," he murmured. "The papyrus
was genuine, and I sought no other proof of honesty. You say Mrs.
Haxton and my granddaughter are in this pact of silence. Let us have
their testimony."
Irene, as might be expected, indignantly disclaimed any sympathy with
von Kerber's methods.
"I heard, by chance, of the part Mr. Royson took in the affair at
Marseilles," she said. "My maid told me. It was the gossip of the ship.
Yet, when I questioned Mr. Royson himself, he refused to discuss the
matter, owing to some pledge of secrecy drawn from him by Baron von
Kerber. You forget, grandad, how often you have told me that I did not
understand this undertaking sufficiently to justify my hostility to it.
I have never believed in it, not for one moment. If you wish to know
what happened at Marseilles, why not ask Mr. Royson himself?"
"Yes," said Mr. Fenshawe quietly, "that will be well. Send for him,
Irene."
It was noteworthy that he addressed no question to Mrs. Haxton. That
lady, nervous and ill-at-ease, could not guess how far the rupture
between von Kerber and his patron had gone.
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