"But the money you inherited--"
"That is all bluff also. I never had a brother. I inherit no money. I
know nothing of Pekin, save that a friend of mine sends that scent to me
as a yearly Christmas present. I am an adventuress, but perhaps not so
bad as you think me. Lucy and Donna Inez have heard no wickedness from
my lips. I have always been a good woman in one sense--a moral woman,
that is--and I did wish to marry the Professor and live a happy life.
Seeing that I was at the end of my resources, and that Professor
Braddock expected a legacy with me before marriage, I looked round to,
see how I could get the money. I heard that you were accused by Captain
Hervey, and so last night I wrote that letter and posted it in London,
thinking that you would yield to save yourself from arrest."
Random laughed cynically.
"You must have thought me weak," he muttered.
"I did," said Mrs. Jasher frankly. "To tell you the truth, I thought
that you were a fool. But by tracing that letter and withstanding my
demand, you have proved yourself to be more clever than I took you to
be. Well, that is all. I know nothing of the murder. My letter is sheer
bluff to extort from you five thousand pounds. Had you paid I should
have passed it off to the Professor as the money left to me by my
brother. But now--"
"Now," said Random, rising to go, "I shall tell what you have told me to
the Professor, and--"
"And hand me over to the police," said Mrs. Jasher, shrugging her plump
shoulders, "Well, I expected that. Yet I fancied for old times' sake
that you might have been more lenient."
"We were never anything but acquaintances, Mrs. Jasher," said Random
coldly, "so I fail to see why you should expect mercy after the way in
which you have behaved. You expect to blackmail me, and yet go free.
I must punish you somehow, so I shall tell Professor Braddock, as
you certainly cannot marry him. But I shall not hand you over to the
police."
"You won't?" Mrs. Jasher stared, scarcely able to believe her ears.
"No. Give me a day to think over matters, and I shall arrange what to do
with you. I think there is some good in you, Mrs. Jasher, and so I shall
see if I can't assist you. In the meantime I shall have your cottage
watched, so that you may not run away."
"In that case, you may as well hand me over to the police," she said
bitterly.
"Not at all," rejoined Random coolly. "I can trust my servant, who is
stupid but honest and is devoted to me. I'll see that everything is
kept quiet. But if you attempt to run away I shall have you arrested for
blackmail. You understand?"