She Came Back by Patricia Wentworth Read Free Book Online Page A

and he doesn’t want me. I want to save our marriage if I can. Won’t you help?”
    He made no reply in words, only lifted his hand and let it fall again upon his knee. He was actually a good deal moved.
    After a moment she said in a different tone,
    “Mr. Codrington—what am I to do? I haven’t any money. I can’t sign that receipt, but can’t you let me have some of the money? You see, it’s really mine whichever way you look at it.”
    “Not quite, I am afraid.”
    “Well, what happens next? It’s all so strange. I never thought of anything like this, and I don’t know what to do. Is there anything I could do in—in a legal way?”
    “You could bring a suit against Philip in respect of Anne Jocelyn’s property.”
    She looked distressed.
    “Oh, I wouldn’t do that.”
    He was watching her keenly.
    “Or Philip might bring a suit against you in respect of those pearls you are wearing, and any other jewelry which belonged to his wife. In either case the verdict would depend on whether you were able to establish your identity as Anne Jocelyn.”
    The look of distress deepened. She drew at her cigarette.
    “Would Philip do that?”
    “He might.”
    “It would be horrid. It would be in the papers. Oh, we couldn’t do anything like that! I thought—”
    “Yes? What did you think?”
    “I thought—oh, Mr. Codrington, couldn’t it be settled privately? That’s what I thought. Couldn’t we get the family together and let them decide? Like the conseil de famille in France.”
    “There would be no legal value in such a decision.”
    Her colour had risen. She was pretty and animated.
    “But if we were all agreed, there would be no need of any legal decision. You do not have to go into a court of law to prove that you are Mr. Codrington. It is only because Philip keeps on saying that I am not his wife that there is any talk about going to law.”
    Mr. Codrington put up a hand and stopped her.
    “Wait a minute—wait a minute—Anne Jocelyn is legally dead. Even if Philip recognized you, there would be certain formalities—”
    She interrupted him eagerly.
    “But you could see to all that. There wouldn’t have to be a case about it, and a lot of publicity. It would just be that I came back after everyone thought I was dead.”
    “Something like that—if Philip recognized you and no one else raised the question.”
    She said quickly, “Who else would be likely to raise it?”
    “Philip’s next of kin—the next heir to the title and estates.”
    “That would be Perry Jocelyn. Would he be likely to do that?”
    “I can’t tell you what anyone would be likely to do. It would depend upon whether he believed that you were Anne.” In his own mind he didn’t see Perry raising trouble for anyone, but it wasn’t for him to say so.
    She was asking with some anxiety,
    “Where is he? Can you get at him? He’s not abroad?”
    “No—I believe he’s somewhere near London. He is married you know—two years ago, to an American girl. So you see he is a good deal concerned.”
    She nodded.
    “I see—it would be to his advantage if Philip was married and separated from his wife.”
    Mr. Codrington said drily, “I really can’t imagine such an idea coming into Perry’s head.”
    She said, “Oh, well—” There was a graceful movement of the cigarette. She laughed a little. “I thought we were talking from the legal point of view. You mustn’t make it a personal matter. Let us get back to the family council. Get all the family together—Perry, and his wife, and anyone else you can lay hands on, and let them say whether they recognize me. If they do, it seems to me there’s an end of it, and I think Philip must stop being so obstinate, because no one in any case would believe him against all the rest of the family. But if they are on Philip’s side, well, then I will go away and call myself something else. But I will not call myself Annie Joyce, because I am Anne Jocelyn and no one can take that