The Chink in the Armour Read online

  CHAPTER IX

  A quarter of an hour's sharp driving brought Sylvia and Madame Wachner tothe door of the Casino. They found Madame Wolsky in the hall waiting forthem.

  "I couldn't think what had happened to you!" she exclaimed in an anxioustone. "But here is your membership card, Sylvia. Now you are free of theBaccarat tables!"

  Monsieur Wachner met his wife with a frowning face. He might be pleasedto see Madame Wachner, but he showed his pleasure in an odd manner. Soon,however, the secret of his angry look was revealed, for Madame Wachneropened the leather bag hanging from her wrist and took out of it ahundred francs.

  "Here, Fritz," she cried, gaily. "You can now begin your play!"

  Sylvia Bailey felt very much amused. So poor "Ami Fritz" was not allowedto gamble unless his wife were there to see that he did not go too far.No wonder he had looked impatient and eager, as well as cross! He hadbeen engaged--that was clear--in putting down the turns of the game, andin working out what were no doubt abstruse calculations connected withhis system.

  The Club was very full, and it was a little difficult at that hour of thelate afternoon to get near enough to a table to play comfortably; but astranger had kindly kept Anna Wolsky's place for her.

  "I have been quite lucky," she whispered to Sylvia. "I have made threehundred francs, and now I think I will rest a bit! Slip in here, dear,and I will stand behind you. I do not advise you to risk more than twentyfrancs the first time; on the other hand, if you feel _en veine_, if theluck seems persistent--it sometimes is when one first plays withgold--then be bold, and do not hesitate!"

  Sylvia, feeling rather bewildered, slipped into her friend's place, andAnna kept close behind her.

  With a hand that trembled a little, she put a twenty-franc piece down onthe green table. After doing so she looked up, and saw that the Comte deVirieu was standing nearly opposite to her, on the other side of thetable.

  His eyes were fixed on her, and there was a very kind and indulgent, ifsad, smile on his face. As their glances met he leant forward and alsoput a twenty-franc piece on the green cloth close to where Sylvia's moneylay.

  The traditional words rang out: "_Faites vos jeux, Messieurs, Mesdames!Le jeu est fait! Rien ne va plus!_"

  And then Sylvia saw her stake and that of the Count doubled. There werenow four gold pieces where two had been.

  "Leave your money on, and see what happens," whispered Anna. "After allyou are only risking twenty francs!"

  And Sylvia obediently followed the advice.

  Again there came a little pause; once more the words which she had notyet learnt to understand rang out in the croupier's monotonous voice.

  She looked round her; there was anxiety and watchful suspense on all theeager faces. The Comte de Virieu alone looked indifferent.

  A moment later four gold pieces were added to the four already there.

  "You had better take up your winnings, or someone may claim them,"muttered Anna anxiously.

  "Oh, but I don't like to do that," said Sylvia.

  "Of course you must!"

  She put out her hand and took up her four gold pieces, leaving those ofthe Count on the table. Then suddenly she put back the eighty francs onthe cloth, and smiled up at him; it was a gay little shame-faced smile."Please don't be cross with me, kind friend,"--that is what Sylvia'ssmile seemed to say to Paul de Virieu--"but this is so _very_ exciting!"

  He felt stirred to the heart. How sweet, how confidingly simple shelooked! And--and how very beautiful. He at once loved and hated to seeher there, his new little "_amie Anglaise_!"

  "Are you going to leave the whole of it on this time?" whispered Anna.

  "Yes, I think I will. It's rather fun. After all, I'm only risking twentyfrancs!" whispered back Sylvia.

  And once more she won.

  "What a pity you didn't start playing with a hundred francs! Think of howrich you would be now," said Anna, with the true gambler's instinct. "Butit is clear, child, that you are going to do well this evening, and Ishall follow your luck! Take the money off now, however."

  Sylvia waited to see what the Count would do. Their eyes asked andanswered the same question. He gave an imperceptible nod, and she took upher winnings--eight gold pieces!

  It was well that she had done so, for the next deal of the cards favouredthe banker.

  Then something very surprising happened to Sylvia.

  Someone--she thought it was Monsieur Wachner--addressed the croupierwhose duty it was to deal out the cards, and said imperiously, "_A Madamela main!_"

  Hardly knowing what she was doing, Sylvia took up the cards which hadbeen pushed towards her. A murmur of satisfaction ran round the table,for there lay what even she had learnt by now was the winning number,a nine of hearts, and the second card was the king of clubs.

  Again and again, she turned up winning numbers--the eight and the ace,the five and the four, the six and the three--every combination whichbrought luck to the table and confusion to the banker.

  Eyes full of adoring admiration, aye and gratitude, were turned on theyoung Englishwoman. Paul de Virieu alone did not look at her. But hefollowed her play.

  "Now put on a hundred francs," said Anna, authoritatively.

  Sylvia looked at her, rather surprised by the advice, but she obeyed it.And still the Comte de Virieu followed her lead.

  That made her feel dreadfully nervous and excited--it would be soterrible to make him lose too!

  Neither of them lost. On the contrary, ten napoleons were added to thedouble pile of gold.

  And then, after that, it seemed as if the whole table were followingSylvia's game.

  "That pretty Englishwoman is playing for the first time!"--so the wordwent round. And they all began backing her luck with feverish haste.

  The banker, a good-looking young Frenchman, stared at Sylvia ruefully.Thanks to her, he was being badly punished. Fortunately, he could affordit.

  At the end of half an hour, feeling tired and bewildered by her goodfortune, Mrs. Bailey got up and moved away from the table, the possessorof L92. The Comte Virieu had won exactly the same amount.

  Now everybody looked pleased except the banker. For the first time asmile irradiated Monsieur Wachner's long face.

  As for Madame Wachner, she was overjoyed. Catching Sylvia by the hand,she exclaimed, in her curious, woolly French, "I would like to embraceyou! But I know that English ladies do not like kissing in public. It issplendid--splendid! Look at all the people you have made happy."

  "But how about the poor banker?" asked Sylvia, blushing.

  "Oh, 'e is all right. 'E is very rich."

  Madame Wolsky, like the Count, had exactly followed her friend's play,but not as soon as he had done. Still, she also had made over L80.

  "Two thousand francs!" she cried, joyfully. "That is very good for abeginning. And you?" she turned to Monsieur Wachner.

  He hesitated, and looked at his wife deprecatingly.

  "L'Ami Fritz," said Madame Wachner, "_will_ play 'is system, Mesdames.However, I am glad to say that to-day he soon gave it up in honour of ourfriend here. What 'ave you made?" she asked him.

  "Only eight hundred francs," he said, his face clouding over. "If you hadgiven me more than that hundred francs, Sophie, I might have made fivethousand in the time."

  "Bah!" she said. "That does not matter. We must not risk more than ahundred francs a day--you know how often I've told you that, Fritz." Shewas now speaking in French, very quickly and angrily.

  But Sylvia hardly heard. She could not help wondering why the Count hadnot come up and congratulated her. The thought that she had brought himluck was very pleasant to her.

  He had left off playing, and was standing back, near one of the windows.He had not even glanced across to the place where she stood. Thisaloofness gave Sylvia a curious little feeling of discomfiture. Why,several strangers had come up and cordially thanked her for bringing themsuch luck.

  "Let us come out of this place and 'ave some ices," exclaimed MadameWach
ner, suddenly. "When l'Ami Fritz 'as a stroke of luck 'e often treats'is old wife to an ice."

  The four went out of the Casino and across the way to an hotel, which,as Madame Wachner explained to her two new friends, contained the bestrestaurant in Lacville. The sun was sinking, and, though it was stillvery hot, there was a pleasant breeze coming up from the lake.

  Sylvia felt excited and happy. How wonderful--how marvellous--to makenearly L100 out of a twenty-franc piece! That was what she had done thisafternoon.

  And then, rather to her surprise, after they had all enjoyed ices andcakes at Madame Wachner's expense, Anna Wolsky and l'Ami Fritz declaredthey were going back to the Casino.

  "I don't mean to play again to-night," said Sylvia, firmly. "I feeldreadfully tired," and the excitement had indeed worn her out. Shelonged to go back to the Hotel du Lac.

  Still, she accompanied the others to the Club, and together with MadameWachner, she sat down some way from the tables. In a very few minutesthey were joined by the other two, who had by now lost quite enough goldpieces to make them both feel angry with themselves, and, what was indeedunfair, with poor Sylvia.

  "I'm sure that if you had played again, and if we had followed your play,we should have added to our winnings instead of losing, as we have done,"said Anna crossly.

  "I'm so sorry," and Sylvia felt really distressed. Anna had never spokencrossly to her before.

  "Forgive me!" cried the Polish woman, suddenly softening. "I ought not tohave said that to you, dear little friend. No doubt we should all havelost just the same. You know that fortune-teller told me that I shouldmake plenty of money--well, even now I have had a splendid day!"

  "Do come back with me and have dinner at the Villa du Lac," said Sylviaeagerly.

  They shook hands with the Wachners, and as they walked the short distancefrom the Casino to the villa, Sylvia told Anna all about her visit to theChalet des Muguets.

  "They seem nice homely people," she said, "and Madame Wachner was reallyvery kind."

  "Yes, no doubt; but she is a very strict wife," answered Anna smiling."The poor man had not one penny piece till she came in, and he got soangry and impatient waiting for her! I really felt inclined to lend hima little money; but I have made it a rule never to lend money in aCasino; it only leads to unpleasantness afterwards."

  In the hall of the Villa du Lac the Comte de Virieu was standing readinga paper. He was dressed for dinner, and he bowed distantly as the twoladies came in.

  "Why, there is the Comte de Virieu!" exclaimed Anna, in a low, and farfrom a pleased tone. "I had no idea he was staying here."

  "Yes, he is staying here," said Sylvia, blushing uneasily, and quicklyshe led the way upstairs. It wanted a few minutes to seven.

  Anna Wolsky waited till the door of Sylvia's room was shut, and then,

  "I cannot help being sorry that you are staying in the same hotel as thatman," she said, seriously. "Do not get to know him too well, dear Sylvia.The Count is a worthless individual; he has gambled away two fortunes.And now, instead of working, he is content to live on an allowance madeto him by his sister's husband, the Duc d'Eglemont. If I were you,I should keep on very distant terms with him. He is, no doubt, alwayslooking out for a nice rich woman to marry."

  Sylvia made no answer. She felt she could not trust herself to speak; andthere came over her a feeling of intense satisfaction that Anna Wolskywas not staying here with her at the Villa du Lac.

  She also made up her mind that next time she entertained Anna she woulddo so at the restaurant of which the cooking had been so highly commendedby Madame Wachner.

  The fact that Madame Wolsky thought so ill of the Comte de Virieu madeSylvia feel uncomfortable all through dinner. But the Count, though heagain bowed when the two friends came into the dining-room, did not comeover and speak to them, as Sylvia had felt sure he would do this evening.

  After dinner he disappeared, and Sylvia took Anna out into the garden.But she did not show her the _potager_. The old kitchen-garden alreadyheld for her associations which she did not wish to spoil or even todisturb.

  Madame Wolsky, sipping M. Polperro's excellent coffee, again mentionedthe Count.

  "I am exceedingly surprised to see him here at Lacville," she said in amusing voice, "I should have expected him to go to a more _chic_ place.He always plays in the winter at Monte Carlo."

  Sylvia summoned up courage to protest.

  "But, Anna," she exclaimed, "surely the Comte de Virieu is only doingwhat a great many other people do!"

  Anna laughed good-humouredly.

  "I see what you mean," she said. "You think it is a case of 'the potcalling the kettle black.' How excellent are your English proverbs, dearSylvia! But no, it is quite different. Take me. I have an income, andchoose to spend it in gambling. I might prefer to have a big house, orperhaps I should say a small house, for I am not a very rich woman. Butno, I like play, and I am free to spend my money as I like. The Comte deVirieu is very differently situated! He is, so I've been told, a clever,cultivated man. He ought to be working--doing something for his country'sgood. And then he is so disagreeable! He makes no friends, noacquaintances. He always looks as if he was doing something of whichhe was ashamed. He never appears gay or satisfied, not even when heis winning--"

  "He does not look as cross as Monsieur Wachner," said Sylvia, smiling.

  "Monsieur Wachner is like me," said Anna calmly. "He probably made afortune in business, and now he and his wife enjoy risking a little moneyat play. Why should they not?"

  "Madame Wachner told me to-day all about their poor friend who wasdrowned," said Sylvia irrelevantly.

  "Ah, yes, that was a sad affair! They were very foolish to become sointimate with him. Why, they actually had him staying with them at thetime! You see, they had a villa close to the lake-side. And this youngRussian, it appears, was very fond of boating. It was a mysteriousaffair, because, oddly enough, he had not been out in the town, or evento the Casino, for four days before the accident happened. There was anotion among some people that he had committed suicide, but that, Ifancy, was not so. He had won a large sum of money. Some thought the goldweighed down his body in the water--. But that is absurd. It must havebeen the weeds."

  "Madame Wachner told me that quite a lot of money was found in his room,"said Sylvia quickly.

  "No, that is not true. About four hundred francs were found in hisbed-room. That was all. I fancy the police made themselves ratherunpleasant to Monsieur Wachner. The Russian Embassy made inquiries, andit seemed so odd to the French authorities that the poor fellow could notbe identified. They found no passport, no papers of any sort--"

  "Have you a passport?" asked Sylvia. "Madame Wachner asked me if I hadone. But I've never even seen a passport!"

  "No," said Anna, "I have not got a passport now. I once had one, but Ilost it. One does not require such a thing in a civilised country! But aRussian must always have a passport, it is an absolute law in Russia. Andthe disappearance of that young man's passport was certainly strange--infact, the whole affair was mysterious."

  "It must have been terrible for Monsieur and Madame Wachner," said Sylviathoughtfully.

  "Oh yes, very disagreeable indeed! Luckily he is entirely absorbed in hisabsurd systems, and she is a very cheerful woman."

  "Yes, indeed she is!" Sylvia could not help smiling. "I am glad we havegot to know them, Anna. It is rather mournful when one knows no one atall in a place of this kind."

  And Anna agreed, indifferently.