第15部分(第5/7 頁)

　made　the　acquaintance　of　this　te　de　la　Roche。　You　have　heard　of　him；　perhaps？〃

The　missary　and　Poirot　nodded　in　assent。

〃He　calls　himself　the　te　de　la　Roche；〃　continued　Van　Aldin；　〃but　I　doubt　if　he　has　any　right　to　the　title。〃

〃You　would　not　have　found　his　name　in　the　Almanac　de　Gotha；〃　agreed　the　missary。

〃I　discovered　as　much；〃　said　Van　Aldin。　〃The　man　was　a　good…looking；　plausible　scoundrel；　with　a　fatal　fascination　for　women。　Ruth　was　infatuated　with　him；　but　I　soon　put　a　stop　to　the　whole　affair。　The　man　was　no　better　than　a　mon　swindler。〃

〃You　are　quite　right；〃　said　the　missary。　〃The　te　de　la　Roche　is　well　known　to　us。　If　it　were　possible；　we　should　have　laid　him　by　the　heels　before　now；　but　to　foil　…　it　is　not　easy；　the　fellow　is　cunning；　his　affairs　are　always　conducted　with　ladies　of　high　social　position。　If　he　obtains　money　from　them　under　false　pretences　or　as　the　fruit　of　blackmail；　eh　bien！　naturally　they　will　not　prosecute。　To　look　foolish　in　the　eyes　of　the　world；　oh　no；　that　would　never　do；　and　he　has　an　extraordinary　power　over　women。〃

〃That　is　so；〃　said　the　millionaire　heavily。　〃Well；　as　I　told　you；　I　broke　the　affair　up　pretty　sharply。　I　told　Ruth　exactly　what　he　was；　and　she　had；　perforce；　to　believe　me。　About　a　year　afterwards；　she　met　her　present　husband　and　married　him。　As　far　as　I　knew；　that　was　the　end　of　the　matter；　but　only　a　week　ago；　I　discovered；　to　my　amazement；　that　my　daughter　had　resumed　her　acquaintance　with　the　te　de　la　Roche。　She　had　been　meeting　him　frequently　in　London　and　Paris。　I　remonstrated　with　her　on　her　imprudence；　for　I　may　tell　you；　gentlemen；　that；　on　my　insistence；　she　was　preparing　to　bring　a　suit　for　divorce　against　her　husband。〃

〃That　is　interesting；〃　murmured　Poirot