Blind Man's Breakfast

Part 2 The Counsel Of A Friend

The problem was what to do. If he were to blurt the story to the police, a very public scandal would be sure to follow. That is, if he would be believed in the first place. They would think him strange at best when he claimed he had overheard a whispered conversation from fifteen paces away. This was an extraordinary ability he did not want broadcast to the entire Quarter.

"No, Devlin is the answer", he muttered.

Charles Devlin, he reasoned, was a man of the world, the kind of person who would know how to handle the affair, who to call. And most importantly, he would be gentleman enough not to reveal De La Ronde's penchant for eavesdropping. He walked down Chartres to Ursulines to Devlin's apartments. He found him in the center courtyard talking cotton, rice and politics with several friends after breakfast and made polite conversation until they left.

"What's eating at you, Giles? I've never seen you sit silently through an after breakfast discussion about the current price of Delta cotton."

"I wish I knew. I am concerned by a conversation I overheard at Brennan's."

"Hah! Eavesdropping again. You should be ashamed. So what juicy gossip do you have today? And what is the great concern?"

"Are we alone?"

"Yes. Have some wine my young friend. It’s at 3 o'clock."

De La Ronde reached forward as Devlin poured and found the wine glass, tested its aroma, then tasted. "A French Alsatian, a nice wine considering its current price. Not as good as the Montrachet I wasted at Brennan's this morning."

"My God, this sounds serious."

"I'm afraid it might be." De La Ronde turned his head, listening. “Are you sure we are alone?"

"Yes, of course. I have already said so."

De La Ronde drank the wine, and told Devlin briefly of the two conversations at Brennan's.

"There is, perhaps, one woman of your description in the Quarter, Giles. The girl with the long blonde hair sounds rather like Justine Holmes. She is due to marry Jean De Laussat. The Laussats are known to you, of course. Young Jean found her in Switzerland last summer."

"My God! He is a distant cousin. Then this whole bizarre tale could be true? We must do something."

"Calm down, Giles. She is the most closely guarded possession Jean has. Besides she is an extremely proper young lady with an impeccable Boston society background. She would never have the opportunity or the inclination to indulge in such an outrageous adventure in the first place."

"I hope you are right. I suppose I could find some excuse to visit the Laussats. Perhaps I could assure myself that things are as you say."

"Do it, Giles. The whole thing sounds too impossible to take seriously in this day and age." De La Ronde did nothing. The Laussat marriage was to be one of the biggest social events of the year. He could not be sure that the Holmes girl was the same one the mysterious woman had described to Sandeval. It seemed impossible that such a thing could be true. He did toy with the idea of calling the Lassat home on some pretense. He was, after all, high on the invitation list. By the following morning he was still pondering this ploy as he walked from his apartments on Conti. The thought of breakfast was no longer appealing, especially at Brennan's. He would of course eat there the next day. That was when the woman was supposed to tell Sandeval of the completion of her plan. It would be best, he thought, to eat elsewhere until then.

Next: 3 A Plan Is Set