Page:The Fate of Fenella (1892).djvu/110

Rh On the first day of the inquest the coroner asked why Lord Francis Onslow was not present. The question created an expectant hush, which was maintained while Mr. Jarrow Cook, of the firm of Cook, Son & Lovett, the family lawyers of the Onslows, explained that Lord Francis was somewhere abroad—where, they did not know.

"When did Lord Francis quit the hotel where the count was killed?" asked the foreman of the jury.

"I do not know," was the lawyer's reply.

"I believe he left very early and suddenly for London, and then went on to Paris. Is that so?"

"I really cannot say," was the lawyer's answer.

"I do not know that these questions are in order, Mr. Foreman," said the coroner.

"May be not, Mr. Coroner," replied the foreman, "but there is a good deal, it strikes me, in the conduct of Lord Francis Onslow in this matter that requires explanation."

"Mr. Coroner," said the lawyer, "if you will permit me to say so. Lord Francis will, I am quite sure, be quite ready to answer any questions that this honorable court may desire to ask him ; but I think in his absence that——"

"Certainly," said the coroner, interrupting Mr. Jarrow Cook, of the firm of Cook, Son & Lovett. "I am sure the foreman will feel that it is not within our province at the moment to refer to the conduct of Lord Francis Onslow. His lordship