onia: "A thousand apologies, mademoiselle."

He handed the cloak to her. Sonia took it and turned to go. She took a
step towards the door, and tottered.

The Duke sprang forward and caught her as she was falling.

"Do you feel faint?" he said in an anxious voice.

"Thank you, you just saved me in time," muttered Sonia.

"I'm really very sorry," said Guerchard.

"Thank you, it was nothing. I'm all right now," said Sonia, releasing
herself from the Duke's supporting arm.

She drew herself up, and walked quietly out of the room.

Guerchard went back to M. Formery at the writing-table.

"You made a clumsy mistake there, Guerchard," said M. Formery, with a
touch of gratified malice in his tone.

Guerchard took no notice of it: "I want you to give orders that nobody
leaves the house without my permission," he said, in a low voice.

"No one except Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, I suppose," said M. Formery,
smiling.

"She less than any one," said Guerchard quickly.

"I don't understand what you're driving at a bit," said M. Formery.
"Unless you suppose that Mademoiselle Kritchnoff is Lupin in disguise."

Guerchard laughed softly: "You will have your joke, M. Formery," he
said.

"Well, well, I'll give the order," said M. Formery, somewhat mollified
by the tribute to his humour.

He called the inspector to him and whispered a word in his ear. Then he
rose and said: "I think, gentlemen, we ought to go and examine the
bedrooms, and, above all, make sure that the safe in M.
Gournay-Martin's bedroom has not been tampered with."

"I was wondering how much longer we were going to waste time here
talking about that stupid pendant," grumbled the millionaire; and he
rose and led the way.

"There may also be some jewel-cases in the bedrooms," said M. Formery.
"There are all the wedding presents. They were in charge of Victoire."
said Germaine quickly. "It would be dreadful if they had been stolen.
Some of them are from the first families in France."

"They would replace them ... those paper-knives," said the Duke,
smiling.

Germaine and her father led the way. M. Formery, Guerchard, and the
inspector followed them. At the door the Duke paused, stopped, closed
it on them softly. He came back to the window, put his hand in his
pocket, and drew out the packet wrapped in tissue-paper.

He unfolded the paper with slow, reluctant fingers, and revealed the
pendant.

CHAPTER XIII

LUPIN WIRES

The Duke stared at t