was not received very
amiably by that gentleman, who proved to be in a somewhat bad temper. He
was not altogether pleased with Lucian finding out more about the case
than he had discovered himself, and also--to further ruffle his
temper--the clever Lydia had given him the slip. He had called at her
Mayfair house with a warrant for her arrest, only to find out
that--having received timely warning from Ferruci's servant--she had
fled. In vain the railway stations had been watched. Lydia, taking the
hint given to her by Lucian, had baffled that peril by taking the Dover
train at a station outside London.

Lucian heard what Link had to say on the subject, but did not reveal the
fact that Lydia had paid a visit to Diana, or had gone to meet her
father at Dover. He did not want to give the little woman up to justice,
as he was beginning to believe her innocent; and that, in all truth, she
had known nothing of the Ferruci-Wrent conspiracy.

Therefore, giving no information to Link as to the little woman's
whereabouts, Denzil told--as coming from himself--his idea that Wrent
might fall into a trap set for him in the Pimlico House by means of Mrs.
Clear's cypher. Link listened to the tale attentively, and decided to
adopt the idea.

"It is a good one," he admitted generously, "and I'm not jealous enough
to cut off my nose to spite my face. You have had the better of me all
through this case, Mr. Denzil, and we have had words over it; but I'll
show you that I can appreciate your cleverness by adopting your plan."

"I am greatly obliged to you for your good opinion," said Lucian drily,
for he saw with some humour that Link was only too anxious to benefit by
the very cleverness of which he pretended to be so jealous. "And you
will see Mrs. Clear?"

"Yes; I'll see her at once, and get her to invite Wrent to Pimlico by
that cypher, with a threat that she will betray the whole plot if he
does not come."

"I daresay he knows already that Mrs. Clear is a traitress?"

"Impossible!" replied Link quickly. "I have kept Mrs. Clear's name out
of the papers. It is known that Ferruci is dead, and that Mrs. Vrain is
likely to be arrested in connection with her supposed husband's murder.
But the fact of Mrs. Clear putting the real Vrain into the asylum is not
known, nor, indeed, anything about the woman. If Wrent thinks she'll
tell tales, he'll meet her in their own hunting grounds in Geneva
Square, to make his terms. Hitherto he has not