Read Online The Numbered Account by Ann Bridge - Free Book Online Page B

them.
    â€˜The authorisations are quite adequate,’ he said at length. ‘But I am a little surprised that my god-daughter’s lawyers did not come to deal with this matter themselves.’ He looked up at her, with a shrewd gaze.
    â€˜For one thing, I’m not sure that they even knew of the existence of this numbered Konto till they were told,’ Julia said bluntly.
    â€˜Who told them, then?’ he asked quickly.
    â€˜Aglaia, I imagine.’
    He tapped on the table, thinking; then he gave a sudden laugh.
    â€˜And if they do not know, how do
you
know? And why did they authorise you?’
    Julia laughed too—she liked him so much. But as she laughed she was thinking. Yes, obviously she must come out into the open—nothing could be done without him.
    â€˜Oh, why indeed?’ she said cheerfully. ‘Monsieur de Ritter, it’s no good my fencing with you. In fact there is more to this than Aglaia’s fortune.’
    â€˜The oil question, I suppose?’ he said. ‘Oh dear yes, that was bound to come up. But again’—he looked at her,in her cool summer frock of lime-green silk, sitting so beautiful and relaxed in the shabby leather chair—‘Why you? Are you a very close friend of Aglaia’s?’
    â€˜No. I told you a lie about that—I’m sorry. I’ve never even met her,’ Julia said candidly.
    â€˜Tiens! De plus en plus drôle!
Well, there must be a reason—even for your telling a lie! What is it?’
    â€˜Her fiancé is a cousin of mine, and as I was coming out here, he asked me to undertake this errand.’
    The Pastor pounced on the fiancé aspect.
    â€˜Your cousin, you say, is her fiancé? What is he like? Is he well-off?—rich?’
    â€˜Yes, he’s quite well-off; he has a very large property in Scotland. He doesn’t need Aglaia’s money in the least, Monsieur de Ritter,’ Julia said crisply.
    He smiled at her disarmingly.
    â€˜Très-bien!
You see I have to make these enquiries; there is now no one but myself to guard the interests of this child—the aunt she lives with, her poor father’s sister, is a kind woman, but
peu capable
. And your cousin directs his
bien
, his property, himself, as my sons-in-law do?’
    â€˜No, not at the moment. His sister and her husband are running it for him.’
    â€˜Oh?
Pourquoi?’
    â€˜Because he has a job that keeps him abroad a good deal of the time,’ Julia said carefully.
    The Pastor considered, again tapping the table; then he gave her a look so shrewd as to be almost sly.
    â€˜Abroad. And you say he assigned this task to you? Including the oil affair?’ Julia nodded—but the Pastor’s next remark came like a bomb-shell. ‘Is your cousin by any chance an agent of your Government?’
    Julia had to take a lightning decision. She had seen enough of Colin and Hugh Torrens to know that in their job Rule I is never to admit to Secret Service activities, if it is at all possible to avoid this. But here speed was essential, and de Ritter was the key to the whole thing; she was really at the point of no return. To cover her hesitation she laughed.
    â€˜Monsieur de Ritter, what a man you are!’
    â€˜Yes, but is he?’ the Pastor insisted. ‘You see, when Aglaia was staying here last year she confided to my daughter Marguerite that she had recently met a young man who acted as a British Government agent, and that they were much drawn to one another. So naturally I am wondering; is this individual and your cousin the same person?’
    â€˜Yes, undoubtedly,’ Julia said, thinking what a clot Aglaia must be to have spilt these particular beans, and what an even greater clot Colin was not to have told her not to! ‘But to put your mind at rest, my cousin Colin is much more worried about the official side of this affair than about your god-daughter’s fortune.’ She carefully