ong ago. That he had not unravelled it yet was
quite certain.

"The diamonds not in the box!" said the duke.

"Then she must have known it," said Madame Goesler.

"That doesn't quite follow, Madame Max," said Lady Glencora.

"But why shouldn't the diamonds have been in the box?" asked the
duke. As this was the first intimation given to Lady Glencora of any
suspicion that the diamonds had not been taken with the box, and as
this had been received by telegraph, she could not answer the duke's
question with any clear exposition of her own. She put up her hands
and shook her head. "What does Plantagenet think about it?" asked the
duke. Plantagenet Palliser was the full name of the duke's nephew and
heir. The duke's mind was evidently much disturbed.

"He doesn't think that either the box or the diamonds were ever worth
five farthings," said Lady Glencora.

"The diamonds not in the box!" repeated the duke. "Madame Max, do
you believe that the diamonds were not in the box?" Madame Goesler
shrugged her shoulders and made no answer; but the shrugging of her
shoulders was quite satisfactory to the duke, who always thought that
Madame Goesler did everything better than anybody else. Lady Glencora
stayed with her uncle for the best part of an hour, and every word
spoken was devoted to Lizzie and her necklace; but as this new idea
had been broached, and as they had no other information than that
conveyed in the telegram, very little light could be thrown upon it.
But on the next morning there came a letter from Barrington Erle to
Lady Glencora, which told so much, and hinted so much more, that it
will be well to give it to the reader.

Travellers', 29 Jan., 186--

MY DEAR LADY GLENCORA,

I hope you got my telegram yesterday. I had just seen
Mackintosh,--on whose behalf, however, I must say that
he told me as little as he possibly could. It is leaking
out, however, on every side, that the police believe that
when the box was taken out of the room at Carlisle, the
diamonds were not in it. As far as I can learn, they
ground this suspicion on the fact that they cannot trace
the stones. They say that, if such a lot of diamonds had
been through the thieves' market in London, they would
have left some track behind them. As far as I can judge,
Mackintosh thinks that Lord George has them, but that her
ladyship gave them to him; and that this little game of
the robbery at Carlisle w