Over these she pored for quite an hour. The clock struck nine before she looked up from this unpleasant task, and she found her financial position anything but satisfactory. With a weary sigh she rose and stared at herself in the mirror over the fireplace, frowning as she did so.
"Unless I can marry the Professor at once, I don't know what will happen to me," she mused gloomily. "I have managed very well so far, but things are coming to a crisis. These devils," she alluded to her creditors, "will not keep off much longer, and then the crash will come. I shall have to leave Gartley as poor as when I came, and there will be nothing left but the old nightmare life of despair and horror. I am getting older every day, and this is my last chance of getting married. I must force the Professor to have a speedy marriage. I must! I must!" and she began to pace the tiny room in a frenzy of terror and well-founded alarm.
As she was trying to calm herself and succeeding very badly, Jane entered the room with a card. It proved to he that of Sir Frank Random.
"It is rather a late hour for a visit," said Mrs. Jasher to the servant. "However, I feel so bored, that perhaps he will cheer me up. Ask him to come in."When Jane left, she stood still for a moment or so, trying to think why the young man had called at so untoward an hour. But when his footsteps were heard approaching the door, she swept the books and the bills and the letters into the desk and locked it quickly. When Random appeared at the door, she was just leaving the desk to greet him, and no one would have taken the smiling, plump, well-preserved woman for the creature who lately had looked so haggard and careworn.
"I am glad to see you, Sir Frank," said Mrs. Jasher, nodding in a familiar manner. "Sit down in this very comfortable chair, and Jane shall bring you some coffee and kummel.""No, thank you," said Random in his usual stiff way, but very politely. "I have just left the mess, where I had a good dinner."Mrs. Jasher nodded, and sank again on the couch, which was opposite the chair which she had selected for her visitor.
"I see you are in mess kit," she said gayly; "quite a glorified creature to appear in my poor little parlor. Why are you not with Donna Inez? I have heard all about your engagement from Lucy. She was here today with Senorita De Gayangos.""So I believe," said Random, still stiffly; "but you see I was anxious to come and see you.""Ah!" said Mrs. Jasher equably, "you heard that I was ill. Yes;I have been in bed ever since yesterday afternoon, until a couple of hours ago. But I am now better. My dinner has done me good.
Pass me that fan, please. The fire is so hot."Sir Frank did as he was told, and she held the feather fan between her face and the fire, while he stared at her, wondering what to say.
"Don't you find this atmosphere very stuffy?" he remarked at length. "It would be a good thing to have the windows open."Mrs. Jasher shrieked.
"My dear boy, are you mad? I have a touch of the influenza, and an open window would bring about my death. Why, this room is delightfully comfortable.""There is such a strong perfume about it," sniffed Random pointedly.
"I should think you knew that scent by this time, Sir Frank. Iuse no other and never have done. Smell!" and she passed a flimsy handkerchief of lace.
Random took the handkerchief and placed it to his nostrils. As he did so a strange expression of triumph crept into his eyes.
I think you told me once that it was a Chinese perfume," he said, returning the handkerchief.
Mrs. Jasher nodded, well pleased.
"I get it from a friend of my late husband who is in the British Embassy at Pekin. No one uses it but me.""But surely some other person uses it?"
"Not in England; and I do not know why you should say so. It is a specialty of mine. Why," she added playfully, "if you met me in the dark you should know me, by this scent.""Can you swear that no one else has ever used this perfume?"asked Random.
Mrs. Jasher lifted her penciled eyebrows.
"I do not know why you should ask me to swear," she said quietly, "but I assure you that I keep this perfume which comes from China to myself. Not even Lucy Kendal has it, although she greatly desired some. We women are selfish in some things, my dear man. It's a most delicious perfume.""Yes," said Sir Frank, staring at her, "and very strong.""What do you mean by that?"'
"Nothing. Only I should think that such a perfume would be good for the cold you contracted by going to London last night."Mrs. Jasher turned suddenly pale under her rouge, and her hand clenched the fan so tightly as to break the handle.
"I have not been to London for quite a month," she faltered.
"What a strange remark!"
"A true one," said the baronet, fumbling in the pocket of his jacket. "You went to London last night by the seven o'clock train to post this," and he held out the anonymous letter.
The widow, now quite pale, and looking years older, sat up on the couch with' a painful effort, which suggested fold age.
"I don't understand," she said, trying to speak calmly. "I was not in London, and I did not post any letter. If you came here to insult me - ""There can be no insult in asking a few questions," said Random, throwing aside his stiffness and speaking decisively. "Ireceived this letter, which bears a London postmark, by the mid-day post. The handwriting is disguised, and there is neither address nor signature nor date. You manufactured your communication very cleverly, Mrs. Jasher, but you forgot that the Chinese perfume might betray you.""The perfume! the perfume!" Mrs. Jasher gasped and saw in a moment how the late conversation had led her to fall into a trap.
