That Infamous Pearl Read Online Free Page A

box he had
specially made for it, just to taunt Brayleigh. It made him furious. And then
one night, when Malcolm was playing in one of those terrible gaming houses, he
lost it to Alfred Ingram."
    "Malcolm
gambled?" asked Rowena.
    "Well, he was
very young, and all young men are occasionally foolish. He was drunk and had
lost all his money, and he pledged the pearl," said Lady Belmont. "Not
that I am excusing him, of course. Still, he meant to redeem it, and went the
next day to do so. But Ingram refused to give it up. He claimed that Malcolm
had pledged the pearl itself, not its value."
    "What a terrible
man," said Rowena calmly. "I trust Malcolm did not allow Ingram to
get away with this?"
    "He was
distraught," continued Lady Belmont. "And then he discovered that
Ingram had kept the pearl because Brayleigh had offered to buy it from him at a
value far above its worth. Malcolm was furious. He remonstrated with Brayleigh,
but Brayleigh would not give way. He was set on having the pearl."
    "What a fuss
over a bit of jewelry," murmured Rowena. "The matter seems to have
been blown out of all proportion."
    "There was
always a rivalry between Malcolm and Brayleigh," admitted Lady Belmont. "Malcolm
was a year younger than the Earl, and eager to show that he was as dashing and
bold. I fear that your brother was sadly hot-headed."
    "Do you mean
that he provoked Brayleigh?" asked Rowena.
    "Of course not,"
answered Lady Belmont, shocked. "Malcolm was simply over-eager, my dear. And
Brayleigh was as cold as an alpine icicle even then. He made Malcolm sadly
frustrated."
    "But how would
Brayleigh buying the pearl from Ingram make Malcolm leave the country? I don't
understand."
    "Well, that is
because there is much more to it." Lady Belmont lowered her voice. Now
that she was telling the story she was enjoying the drama of it. "Malcolm
decided to offer Ingram any sum of money he wanted for the pearl. He was quite
determined that Brayleigh should not have it no matter what the cost. He drove
out to Ingram's house in Merton, and when he arrived, the butler told him
Ingram was walking in the orchard. Malcolm went in search of him, and found him
dead, shot through the head, a pistol on the ground next to him." Lady
Belmont paused for effect.
    "Why would
Ingram commit suicide when he had so much money coming to him?" asked
Rowena curiously.
    "He didn't kill
himself, he was murdered! And of course, as poor Malcolm stood there, the
servants came running up, having heard the shot. They immediately assumed that
Malcolm had fired the weapon, and it looked very bad for him indeed. The
magistrate meant to charge him immediately, and it was all the family could do
to get him out of the country or he would surely have been hung."
    "And the pearl?"
asked Rowena.
    "Gone! Absolutely
gone. Malcolm swore he didn't have it, and it wasn't among Ingram's
possessions. Whoever has it is the murderer, of course. And Malcolm believed
that Brayleigh killed Ingram for it, maddened by the thought that Ingram might
return it to Malcolm."
    "But why would
Brayleigh kill a man to own something that he could never admit to having?"
asked Rowena. "It makes no sense at all. Malcolm may not have killed
Ingram, but I cannot believe Brayleigh would be so foolish."
    "But he is a
collector, child," pointed out Lady Belmont. "It is the ownership
that matters, not the ability to show it. He most likely has it locked away
somewhere, and looks at it only by himself, in the dead of night. The man has a
black heart. Now do you see why you must stay away from him?"
    "But there is no
proof that Brayleigh killed Ingram," protested Rowena. "The man I met
last night was arrogant perhaps, but hardly sinister. Malcolm might have
disliked him, but that isn't evidence that he killed anybody."
    "But there could
have been no motive for the murder except to obtain the pearl," argued
Lady Belmont. "Nothing else was taken. And no one wanted it except Malcolm
and Brayleigh. Unless you prefer to think