George, "and I am often there." "We know as they have your
lordship's name to paper," said Mr. Bunfit,--thanking Lord George,
however, for his courtesy. It may be understood that all this would
be unpleasant to Lord George, and that he should be indignant almost
to madness.

But Mr. Erle's information, though certainly defective in regard to
Lord George de Bruce Carruthers, had been more correct when he spoke
of the lady. An interview that was very terrible to poor Lizzie did
take place between her and Mr. Bunfit in Mrs. Carbuncle's house on
Tuesday, the 30th of January. There had been many interviews between
Lizzie and various members of the police force in reference to the
diamonds, but the questions put to her had always been asked on the
supposition that she might have mislaid the necklace. Was it not
possible that she might have thought that she locked it up, but
have omitted to place it in the box? As long as these questions had
reference to a possible oversight in Scotland,--to some carelessness
which she might have committed on the night before she left her
home,--Lizzie upon the whole seemed rather to like the idea. It
certainly was possible. She believed thoroughly that the diamonds had
been locked by her in the box,--but she acknowledged that it might be
the case that they had been left on one side. This had happened when
the police first began to suspect that the necklace had not been in
the box when it was carried out of the Carlisle hotel, but before
it had occurred to them that Lord George had been concerned in
the robbery, and possibly Lady Eustace herself. Men had been sent
down from London, of course at considerable expense, and Portray
Castle had been searched, with the consent of its owner, from the
weathercock to the foundation-stone,--much to the consternation of
Miss Macnulty, and to the delight of Andy Gowran. No trace of the
diamonds was found, and Lizzie had so far fraternised with the
police. But when Mr. Bunfit called upon her, perhaps for the fifth
or sixth time, and suggested that he should be allowed, with the
assistance of the female whom he had left behind him in the hall, to
search all her ladyship's boxes, drawers, presses, and receptacles in
London, the thing took a very different aspect. "You see, my lady,"
said Mr. Bunfit, excusing the peculiar nature of his request, "it may
have got anywhere among your ladyship's things, unbeknownst." Lady
Eustace and Mrs. Carbuncle were at the ti