further questioning and to give them a more thorough searching. The woman is wearing a very handsome bracelet on her upper arm under a heavy sleeve. It might be the diamond bracelet, but she claims it is rhinestones and that you gave it to her."
"No!" said Eden. "I never gave her anything."
"I have not seen it yet," went on Lorrimer. "We will have it examined, of course, by an expert. Just how she would have gotten possession of it if the young man stole it during the night we have not yet figured out, but it might have been done. The list names some unmounted jewels, three emeralds, a ruby, and four sapphires, one a star sapphire. They seem to have been a part of your grandmother's dowry. We have tried to find them in the bank, but they are not there.
They are things that can be easily hidden in clothing. I suppose there will have to be a trial, I am not sure. But be assured we will do our best to keep you out of this whole matter, so please do not worry."
Eden turned away from the telephone at last with a degree of peace in her heart. At least she was assured that her affairs were in safe hands, and she could rest on that. And after all, what were jewels? She could live without them. She had been happy before she knew of their existence. Of course, she would like to have articles of value that belonged to her family, but why should she make herself miserable over their loss? She found herself exceedingly weary of the whole matter. So telling Janet she was going to take a nap, she went up to her room and, curling up on her bed, fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 5
Â
Caspar Carvel turned up before dinner after all. He had been used to barging into their house whenever he liked to a meal, when he was a lad, and he figured that times hadn't changed even if there had been a war.
Eden was in the big living room curled up in a chair, reading a book she had found among some mail that had come to her father since his death. She had unwrapped it and sat down to find out what it was, when the door opened and Caspar walked in, just as if it were yesterday that he went away.
"Hello, lovely!" he said. "My buddy took an earlier train than he had expected; he went up to New York to get his boat, and so that let me out. I figured perhaps you'd be here anyway, so I came. Think they'll have dinner enough for me, too, or will I have to take you out to a restaurant?" He finished with his well-known grin, and suddenly it did seem only yesterday that he had gone away.
Eden looked up smiling, trying to put a note of cheer into her voice, for surely that was what he, a returned soldier, deserved. He must have seen plenty of hardships and sorrow and horror and was just trying to put it all out of his thoughts, as of course he ought to do if he was to return to living.
"Come in," she said brightly, holding out her hand to greet him. "Of course there'll be enough dinner for you. Did you ever get turned away hungry from this house?"
"No," he responded heartily. "I never did!" And he grasped the hand she held out, possessively. Before she knew what was going on he had drawn her close within his arms and kissed her most thoroughly on either cheek, her eyes, and then her mouth, as if he had all the rights in the world, as if she had been his always. He did not seem to notice that her lips did not respond to his in the kiss. He was the master of the situation and was entirely satisfied with the way he was conducting the scene.
But Eden gasped and struggled back away from him.
"Caspar! Don't! Please don't!" And she turned her head away from his attempted repetition of the kiss.
"Why, what's the matter, beautiful? Aren't you glad to see me? Don't tell me you don't like to be kissed. Every girl likes that. And I have a reputation for being good at it." His possessive hands reached out to draw her close again, but Eden in quick alarm backed off definitely from him and drew herself to her full height."
"I do not like it," she said
"No!" said Eden. "I never gave her anything."
"I have not seen it yet," went on Lorrimer. "We will have it examined, of course, by an expert. Just how she would have gotten possession of it if the young man stole it during the night we have not yet figured out, but it might have been done. The list names some unmounted jewels, three emeralds, a ruby, and four sapphires, one a star sapphire. They seem to have been a part of your grandmother's dowry. We have tried to find them in the bank, but they are not there.
They are things that can be easily hidden in clothing. I suppose there will have to be a trial, I am not sure. But be assured we will do our best to keep you out of this whole matter, so please do not worry."
Eden turned away from the telephone at last with a degree of peace in her heart. At least she was assured that her affairs were in safe hands, and she could rest on that. And after all, what were jewels? She could live without them. She had been happy before she knew of their existence. Of course, she would like to have articles of value that belonged to her family, but why should she make herself miserable over their loss? She found herself exceedingly weary of the whole matter. So telling Janet she was going to take a nap, she went up to her room and, curling up on her bed, fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 5
Â
Caspar Carvel turned up before dinner after all. He had been used to barging into their house whenever he liked to a meal, when he was a lad, and he figured that times hadn't changed even if there had been a war.
Eden was in the big living room curled up in a chair, reading a book she had found among some mail that had come to her father since his death. She had unwrapped it and sat down to find out what it was, when the door opened and Caspar walked in, just as if it were yesterday that he went away.
"Hello, lovely!" he said. "My buddy took an earlier train than he had expected; he went up to New York to get his boat, and so that let me out. I figured perhaps you'd be here anyway, so I came. Think they'll have dinner enough for me, too, or will I have to take you out to a restaurant?" He finished with his well-known grin, and suddenly it did seem only yesterday that he had gone away.
Eden looked up smiling, trying to put a note of cheer into her voice, for surely that was what he, a returned soldier, deserved. He must have seen plenty of hardships and sorrow and horror and was just trying to put it all out of his thoughts, as of course he ought to do if he was to return to living.
"Come in," she said brightly, holding out her hand to greet him. "Of course there'll be enough dinner for you. Did you ever get turned away hungry from this house?"
"No," he responded heartily. "I never did!" And he grasped the hand she held out, possessively. Before she knew what was going on he had drawn her close within his arms and kissed her most thoroughly on either cheek, her eyes, and then her mouth, as if he had all the rights in the world, as if she had been his always. He did not seem to notice that her lips did not respond to his in the kiss. He was the master of the situation and was entirely satisfied with the way he was conducting the scene.
But Eden gasped and struggled back away from him.
"Caspar! Don't! Please don't!" And she turned her head away from his attempted repetition of the kiss.
"Why, what's the matter, beautiful? Aren't you glad to see me? Don't tell me you don't like to be kissed. Every girl likes that. And I have a reputation for being good at it." His possessive hands reached out to draw her close again, but Eden in quick alarm backed off definitely from him and drew herself to her full height."
"I do not like it," she said
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