liberty; and when, as connected with the
conspiracy, she was arrested on a criminal warrant and put into prison,
Diana was the only friend she had. Miss Vrain declared that her
stepmother was innocent, visited her in prison, and engaged a lawyer to
defend her. Lucian could not forbear pointing out the discrepancy
between Diana's past sentiments and her present actions; but Miss Vrain
was quite ready with an excuse.

"I am only doing my duty," she said. "In herself I like Lydia as little
as ever I did, but I think we have suspected her wrongly in being
connected with this conspiracy, so I wish to help her if possible. And
after all," added Diana, "she is my father's wife," as if that fact
extenuated all.

"He has reason to know it," replied Lucian bitterly. "If it had not been
for Lydia, your father would not have left his home for a lunatic
asylum, nor would Clear have been murdered."

"I quite agree with you, Lucian; but some good has come out of this
evil, for if things had not been as they are, you and I would never have
met."

"Egad! that is true!" said Lucian, kissing her. "It's an ill wind that
blows nobody any good."

So Diana played the part of a Good Samaritan towards her stepmother, and
helped her to bear the evil of being thrust into prison. Lydia wrote to
her father in Paris, but received no reply, and therefore was without a
friend in the world save Diana. Later on she was admitted to bail, and
Diana took her to the hotel in Kensington, there to wait for the arrival
of Mr. Clyne. His absence and silence were both unaccountable.

"I hope nothing is wrong with poppa," wept Lydia. "As a rule, he is
always smart in replying, and if he has seen about Ercole's death and my
imprisonment in the papers, I'm sure he will be over soon."

While she was thus waiting for her father, and Link in every way was
seeking evidence against her, Mrs. Clear received an answer to her
message. In the same column of the _Daily Telegraph_, and in the same
cypher, there appeared a message from Wrent that he would meet Mrs.
Clear at No. 13 Geneva Square.

Link was delighted when Mrs. Clear showed him this, and rubbed his hands
with much pleasure. Affairs were about to be brought to a crisis, and as
Link was the moving spirit in the matter, his vanity was sufficiently
gratified as to make him quite amiable.

"We've got him this time, Mr. Denzil," he said, with enthusiasm. "You
and I and a couple of policemen will go down to t