Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/319

 gone to Paris, where he has many friends. His only explanation was that a legacy of a hundred thousand pounds had come to him, and he was tired of office routine. The new secretary finds his affairs in a state of great confusion, and we are now engaged in disentangling them."

"A hundred thousand pounds!" echoed Stranleigh, his brows contracting.

"Yes. The lieutenant, I am sorry to say, is rather wild, and a confirmed gambler. I'm afraid the money won't last him long in Paris. Still," concluded the Ambassador with a sigh, "Gustav is not too scrupulous, and generally wins more than he loses."

"We will say no more of him for the present," remarked Stranleigh, "but there is one other piece of information I should like to obtain. Was there in attendance on the Baroness, since she came to England, a tall, elegantly formed, and very beautiful young woman, who speaks English to perfection?"

Count Hammerstein gazed searchingly at the young man, an expression of trouble on his face. After a long pause the Ambassador said:

"Why do you ask that question?"

"There is such a person, then? I'll tell you why I ask the question when I have received such particulars about her as you may be willing to give."