sts were here now--they were not
likely to be. A polite manager was saying something to the bride, but
she did not seem to heed.

"Mr. Marius is talking to you," Mark said. "He wants to know if he can
do anything."

"Mr. Marius is very kind," Beatrice said wearily. "I should like to see
the doctor. I suppose that he is still here? May I see him at once?"

The doctor had not gone yet. Mark procured a small plate of dainty
sandwiches and a glass of port wine which he forced Beatrice to take. To
her great surprise she found that she was hungry. Breakfast she had had
none; now that the crisis had passed, her natural healthy appetite had
returned. The feeling of faintness that she had struggled against for so
long passed away.

The doctor came in, rubbing his hands softly together. He regretted the
unfortunate occasion, but when he had been called in, Sir Charles was
long past mortal aid. Evidently he had been dead for some hours.

"You are in a position to be quite sure of that?" Beatrice asked.

"Oh, quite," Dr. Andrews replied. "One's experience tells that. Sir
Charles was quite stiff and cold. I should say that he had been dead
quite four hours when the door was broken down."

Just for an instant the doctor hesitated and his easy manner deserted
him.

"I must see Sir Charles's regular medical man before I can be quite
definite on that point," he said. "I have no doubt that death was caused
by natural means, at least I see no reason at present to believe
anything to the contrary. Indeed, if any doubt remains after that, there
must be a _post mortem_, of course. But still I hope that such a course
will not be necessary."

In a vague way Beatrice felt uneasy. If this gentleman was not actually
concealing something, he was not quite so satisfied as he assumed to
be.

"I should like to see my father, if I may," Beatrice said quietly.

The doctor led the way to the bedroom and closed the door softly behind
the girl. His face was a little grave and anxious as he walked down the
stairs.

"You appear to be a friend of the family," he said to Mark as he stood
in the hall. "There are symptoms about the case which frankly I don't
like. There was no occasion to lacerate Miss Darryll's feelings unduly,
but I must see the family doctor at once. It is just possible that you
may happen to know who he is."

Mark was in a position to supply the desired information, and Dr.
Andrews drove off, his face still very grave and t