下载辰思小说免费APP
“Reasonable！“Sheturneduponhimwithflashingeyes。“IwonderhowyoueverdaredtoimaginethatIcouldtolerateyouforonemomentasaloverorahusband。Wipeitoutofyourmindonceandforall。Youarerepellenttome。PositivelytheonlywishIhaveinconnectionwithyouisnevertoseeyourfaceagain。Asformyduty，Ihavedoneit。Myconscienceisclear。Ishallleavethishouseto-day。“
“Ihope，“thePrincesaidsoftly，“thatyouwilldonothingrash！“
“Inanhour，“shesaid，“IshallbeattheCarltonwithmyhusband。
Iwilltrusttohimtoprotectmefromyou。“
ThePrinceshookhishead。
“Youtalkrashly，“hesaid。“Youdonotthink。Youareforbiddentoleavethishouse。Youareforbiddentojoinyourhusband。“
Shelaughedscornfully，butunderneathwasatremorofuneasiness。
“YousummonedmefromAmerica，“shesaid，“andIcame……Iwasforcedtoleavemyhusbandwithoutevenawordoffarewell。Ididit！Yousetmeatask-Ihaveaccomplishedit。IclaimthatI
havekeptmybond，thatIhaveworkedoutmyownfreedom。Ifyourequiremoreofme，Isaythatyouareoversteppingyourauthority，andIrefuse。Settheblackcrossagainstmynameifyouwill。I
willtaketherisk。“
ThePrincecamealittlenearertoher。Sheheldherownbravelyenough，buttherewasalookinhisfacewhichterrifiedher。
“Lucille，“hesaid，“youforcemetodisclosesomethingwhichI
havekeptsofartomyself。Iwishedtospareyouanxiety，butyoumustunderstandthatyoursafetydependsuponyourremaininginthishouse，andinkeepingapartfromallassociationwith-yourhusband。“
“Youwillfinditdifficult，“shesaid，“toconvincemeofthat。“
“Onthecontrary，“hesaid，“Ishallfinditeasy-tooeasy，believeme。Youwillremembermyfindingyouatthewine-shopofEmilSachs？“
“Yes！“
“Yourefusedtotellmetheobjectofyourvisit。Itwasfoolish，forofcourseIwasinformed。YouprocuredfromEmilasmallquantityofthepowderpreparedaccordingtotherecipeofHerrEstentrauzen，andforwhichwepaidhimtenthousandmarks。Itisthemostsilent，themostsecret，themostswiftpoisonyetdiscovered。“
“Igotitformyself，“shesaidcoldly。“TherehavebeentimeswhenIhavefeltthatthepossessionofsomethingofthatsortwasanabsolutenecessity；“
“Idonotquestionyouastothereasonforyourgettingit，“heanswered。“VeryshortlyafterwardsyouleftyourcarriageinPallMall，andwithoutevenaskingforyourhusbandyoucalledathishotel-youstoleupintohisroom。“
“Itooksomerosesthereandleftthem，“shesaid“Whatofthat？“
“OnlythatyouwerethelastpersonseentoenterMr。Sabin’sroomsbeforeDusonwasfoundtheredead。AndDusondiedfromadoseofthatsamepoison，apacketofwhichyouprocuredsecretlyfromEmilSachs。Anemptywineglasswasbyhisside-itwasonegenerallyusedbyMr。Sabin。IknowthattheEnglishpolice，whoarenotsofoolishaspeoplewouldhaveonebelieve，aresearchingnowforthewomanwhowasseentoenterthesitting-roomshortlybeforeMr。
SabinreturnedandfoundDusontheredead。“
Shelaughedscornfully。
“Itisingenious，“sheadmitted，“andperhapsalittleunfortunateforme。Buttheinferenceisridiculous。WhatinteresthadIintheman’sdeath？“
“None，ofcourse！“thePrincesaid。“But，Lucille，inallcasesofpoisoningitisthewifeofwhomonefirstthinks！“
“Thewife？Ididnotevenknowthatthecreaturehadawife。“
“Ofcoursenot！ButDusondrankfromMr。Sabin’sglass，andyouareMr。Sabin’swife。Youarelivingapartfromhim。Heisoldandyouareyoung。Andfortheotherman-thereisReginaldBrott。
Yournameshavebeencoupledtogether，ofcourse。Seewhatanexcellentcasestandsthere。Youprocurethepoison-secretly。
Youmakeyourwaytoyourhusband’sroom-secretly。Thefataldoseistakenfromyourhusband’sWineglass。Youleavenonote，nomessage。ThepoisonofwhichthemandiedisexactlythesameasyouprocuredfromSachs。Lucille，afterall，doyouwonderthatthepolicearelookingforawomaninblackwithanerminetoque？
Whatamercyyouworeathickveil！“
Shesatdownsuddenly。
“Thisishideous，“shesaid。
“Thinkitover，“h
