The Second Latchkey | Page 9

only he would insist on paying.
"That's the story, if you can call it a story, for Mr. Ruthven Smith isn't a
bit exciting nor interesting. When he appears--generally quite
suddenly--he finds his room ready. He has his breakfast sent up, and
lunches out at his club or somewhere. He mostly dines out, too, but he
has a standing invitation to dine with Mrs. Ellsworth, and we always
have good dinners when he is staying, to be ready in case of the worst."
The man smiled, rather a charming smile, Annesley could not help
noticing.
"In case of the worst!" he repeated. "He must be deadly if his society
bores you more than that of an old lady on whom, I suppose, you dance
attendance morning, noon, and night. Now, my situation is
so--er--peculiar that I ought to be thankful to exchange identities with
any man. But I wouldn't with Mr. Ruthven Smith for all his money and
jewels."
Annesley opened her eyes. "Did I say anything about jewels?" she
asked.
"No, you didn't," the man assured her, "except in mentioning the name
of Ruthven Smith. Anybody who has lived in America as long as I have,
associates jewels with the name of Ruthven Smith. His 'Ruthven' lifts
him far above the ruck of a mere Smith--like myself, for instance"; and
he smiled again.
Annesley began curiously to feel as if she knew him well. This made
her more anxious to give him help--for it would not be helping a
stranger: it would be helping a friend.
"I've heard, of course, that he's something--I'm not sure what--in a firm
of jewellers," she said. "But I'd no idea of his being so important."

"He's third partner with Van Vreck & Co.," her companion explained.
"I've heard he joined at first because of his great knowledge of jewels
and because he's been able to revive the lost art of making certain
transparent enamels. The Van Vrecks sent for him from England years
ago. He buys jewels for the firm now, I believe. No doubt that's why
he's in such a funk about burglars."
"Fancy your knowing more about Mr. Smith than I know! Perhaps
more than Mrs. Ellsworth knows!" exclaimed Annesley, forgetting the
strain of expectation--the dread that a pair of mysterious, nightmare
men might break up the dreamlike dinner-party for two.
"I don't know more about him than half America and Europe knows,"
laughed the man. "It's lucky I do know something, though, as I may
have to be mistaken for Ruthven Smith, and add an 'N' to his initials. I
suppose he's not in England now by any chance?"
"No. It must be six or seven months since he was here last," said
Annesley. "I don't think Mrs. Ellsworth has heard from him. She hardly
ever does until a day or two before he's due to arrive; neither do his
cousins."
"A peculiar fellow, it would seem," remarked her companion. And then,
out of a plunge into thought, "You say you've never seen the Mr. Smith
you came to meet at the Savoy? How can you be sure it isn't old 'R. S.'
as they call him at Van Vreck's, wanting to play you a trick--give you a
surprise?"
Annesley shook her head. "If you knew Mr. Ruthven Smith, you'd
know that would be impossible. Why, I don't believe he remembers
when I'm out of sight that I exist."
"Still more peculiar! Miss Grayle, I haven't any right to ask you
questions. But I shouldn't be a man if I weren't forgetting my own
affairs--in--in curiosity, if you want to call it that (I don't!), about yours.
No! I won't let it pass for ordinary curiosity. Can't you understand
you're doing for me more than any woman ever has done, or any man
would do? That does make a bond between us. You can't deny it. Tell

me about this Mr. Smith whom you don't know and never saw, yet
came to the Savoy Hotel to meet."
CHAPTER III
WHY SHE CAME
Surprised by the abruptness of his question, Annesley's eyes dropped
from the eyes of her host, which tried to hold them. She felt that she
ought to be angry with him for taking advantage of her generosity--for
it amounted to that! Yet anger would not come, only shame and the
desire to hide a thing which would change his gratitude to contempt.
"Don't let's waste time talking about me," she said. "We haven't
arranged----"
"We've arranged everything as well as we can. For the rest, I must trust
to luck--and you. Do tell me why you came here, why you thought you
came here, I mean; for I'm convinced you were sent for my sake by any
higher powers there may be. I felt that, the minute I saw you.