“ Me take the mistress’s jewel-case to the Ritz! Oh no, indeed, sir.” Mason’s tones were horrified.

“You left it behind you in the carriage?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Had your mistress many jewels with her, do you know?”

“A fair amount, sir; made me a bit uneasy sometimes, I can tell you, with those nasty tales you hear of being robbed in foreign countries. They were insured, I know, but all the same it seemed a frightful risk. Why, the rubies alone, the mistress told me, were worth several hundred thousand pounds.”

“The rubies! What rubies?” barked Van Aldin suddenly.

Mason turned to him. “I think it was you who gave them to her, sir, not very long ago.”