Read "The Mysterious Three" by William le Queux online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Rarely have I felt more put out, or more bitterly disappointed, than I did when I hurried into my flat, expecting to come face to face with Vera, my beloved, and longing to take her in my arms to kiss and comfort her.
Instead, I was confronted by a spinster aunt of Vera's whom I had met only three times before, and to whom I had, the first time I was introduced to her -- she insisted upon never remembering me either by name or by sight, and each time needing a fresh introduction -- taken an ineradicable dislike.