“‘The ring,’ he prompted. ‘You have not told him about the missing ring. A yellow topaz ring that belonged to my mother has also been taken,’ he added, turning to me.

“‘I have explained that already,’ she responded. ‘As I said to you before, I believe I misplaced the topaz ring some time during the last week. Do not worry, Edward, I will have just put it down somewhere, that is all. It will turn up.’

“‘That is nonsense!’ retorted her husband. ‘It was in the top tray of your jewel case on Friday evening. I saw it there myself when we were having that discussion in your dressing room, if you recall.’

“Lady Latchmere’s cheek burned red. ‘Oh,’ said she. ‘Then perhaps it was on Saturday afternoon that I saw it was missing. I distinctly remember noticing some time that it was not in its usual place.’

“Viscount Latchmere’s expression indicated that he was dissatisfied by this suggestion, and he was about to speak again when the door opened once more and the butler entered to announce that Inspector Sturridge of the Hertfordshire Constabulary had arrived.

“‘Inform him that I am engaged at present and cannot see him,’ said Viscount Latchmere in an irritable tone. ‘And take this man with you. He can get on with his work now. Show him whatever he wants to see.’

“He spoke not another word to me, Watson. Indeed, he did not even glance in my direction as I followed the butler from the room. I thought him unconscionably rude, not only to me but, even more so, to his wife – to speak to her in that fashion in front of a perfect stranger – but I had no desire to make an issue of it and was simply relieved to make my exit from what had been a most uncomfortable scene.”

“I can see it must have been dreadfully embarrassing for you to be present when husband and wife were quarrelling like that!” I said. “Viscount Latchmere sounds something of a Tartar!”

“That is certainly one way of describing him!” said Holmes with a chuckle. “He is of the type I generally classify as a gentleman by birth but not by nature. I must admit that I was sorely tempted to leave Latchmere Hall there and then, and leave its unattractive occupants to recover their precious pendant themselves, but the case had begun to intrigue me. It was possible, I thought, that there was more to it than was at first apparent, so, simply for my own professional satisfaction, I decided to prolong my visit and look a little further into the matter.

“At my request, the butler showed me the spot in the garden that lies below Lady Latchmere’s dressing-room window. Then, while he went off to find the policeman, I devoted myself to a close examination of the ivy and other plants on the wall of the house, and of the lawns that surrounded it. You know my methods, Watson; they are founded upon the observation of detail, for it is generally among the smallest details of a case that the truth is to be found. But in this case, I was obliged to admit, after the most careful scrutiny, that I could detect not a single sign anywhere of Saturday night’s thief. Indeed, I began to wonder if I was not, perhaps, on a perfect fool’s errand, looking for something that simply did not exist.

“The butler reappeared after ten minutes, and I asked him to conduct me up to Lady Latchmere’s bedroom, which was on the first floor. I will describe to you the disposition of the rooms, Watson, to try to make it clear to you. At the top of the main staircase, corridors go off to left and right. Along the left-hand corridor lies Lord Latchmere’s own bedroom, and some other rooms which are not in use at present. In the right-hand corridor lies Lady Latchmere’s bedroom, and also the rooms occupied by Lord Latchmere’s guests. On the left-hand side of this corridor, the rooms are, in this order, first, that of Lady Latchmere herself; second, an empty room, which suffers from damp and is not in use at present, and third, the room occupied by Lady Latchmere’s cousin, Miss Matilda Wiltshire. On the right-hand side, the rooms are first, that occupied by the Honourable Miss Arabella Norman; second, that occupied by the Rajah of Banniphur, and third, that occupied by Mr Peter Brocklehurst. A little further beyond these rooms, the corridor leads to another staircase, by which one may descend to the ground floor, or ascend to the floor above.

“Lady Latchmere’s own chamber is a fairly large one. As you enter the room, the bed is over against the right-hand wall, and there are the usual items of furniture – tallboys, chests and so on – against the other walls. Immediately on your left is another door, which gives on to the much smaller dressing room, which contains a dressing table, a tallboy and a small side table. The window in there, like most of the windows in the house, is of the casement type. If it had been left ajar, it would have been very easy for someone to pull it fully open from outside and clamber in. On the side table was what was evidently the jewel case, which was locked, the key being nowhere to be seen. The case was a large, square one, covered in yellow leather, rather like a small chest with a flat top. Lying next to the jewel case was a pair of ladies’ gloves, made out of some soft, grey material, with a little coloured embroidery on the back. I mention these gloves to you, Watson, not because I thought them of any significance at the time, but because of something I was to learn subsequently.

“As I concluded my examination of the dressing room – which I confess had turned up precisely nothing – I asked Yardley if the police had discovered anything there. He shook his head, and said he thought not. I then questioned him about the domestic staff of the household. I will spare you the details, which were not of any great interest, and simply give you a summary of what I learned. There are in total seventeen servants in the house, of the usual varieties. The outdoor staff – gardeners, grooms and so on – of course lodge elsewhere on the estate. With the exception of two of the youngest maids, they have all been there for several years. Having discussed them in some detail with the butler, including questions as to where they sleep, whether the floorboards and stairs creak, and so on, I am satisfied that none of them could have had anything to do with the disappearance of Lady Latchmere’s jewellery. I may, of course, be wrong, but that is certainly my conviction at the moment. Speaking of creaking boards, I should perhaps mention to you that the corridor on which Lady Latchmere’s and the other bedrooms lie creaks alarmingly, especially in the middle, in between the unused room and that occupied by the rajah. It is practically impossible to avoid the creaking parts of the floor altogether, as I discovered by stepping all over it for several minutes.

“I then returned downstairs to interview Viscount Latchmere’s guests, who were all staying to take luncheon there, but were leaving immediately afterwards to take the train back to London. As we descended the stairs, I asked Yardley if there had been any other visitors recently, and he informed me that a Mr James Ellison, who farms a few miles to the north of the Latchmere estate, had called by on Saturday afternoon to discuss some business with Viscount Latchmere. His business concluded, he had stayed to take tea with the family and guests, which, the day being a pleasantly mild one, they had taken out of doors, on the small terrace at the side of the house. I asked the butler if Mr Ellison was a frequent visitor.

“‘Indeed he is, sir,’ said he, ‘in recent months, at least. I believe he is a very humorous gentleman. Whenever he is here, there always seems to be a lot of laughter among Viscount Latchmere’s guests, especially the ladies.’

“Viscount Latchmere’s present guests were in a somewhat more subdued mood, understandably, perhaps, under the circumstances. The Rajah of Banniphur and Mr Peter Brocklehurst were in the morning room, both reading in silence, and Miss Matilda Wiltshire and the Honourable Miss Arabella Norman were seated on the terrace outside in the sunshine, each apparently lost in her own thoughts.