Sergeant Cuff

Sergeant Cuff is a former Scotland Yard investigator whose unseen work becomes a crucial source of evidence in the confrontation over Lady Blessington’s past. Hired by Godwin Baxter after Duncan Wedderburn linked Bella Baxter to Victoria Blessington, Cuff investigates the missing woman and provides a report naming potential witnesses against General Sir Aubrey de la Pole Blessington.

Identity and Reputation

Cuff is identified in the exchange as late of Scotland Yard. Seymour Grimes recognizes his name and describes him as a good investigator who charges heavily but gets results, adding that Cuff likes investigating the aristocracy. The remarks establish his reputation through other characters’ assessments rather than through a scene showing him at work.

The Investigation and Its Evidence

Baxter says he employed Cuff the previous month to find out what he could about Lady Blessington. The inquiry followed a letter from Duncan Wedderburn claiming that Bella Baxter was a reincarnation of Victoria Blessington. Cuff’s report names people who, Baxter says, will testify against the General in court; most are servants who resigned or were dismissed from the General’s service soon after Lady Blessington disappeared.

The report matters because Baxter uses it to answer the solicitor’s challenge to his allegations. The solicitor warns that claims about the General’s past will be costly unless supported by credible eyewitnesses, and doubts that former servants will carry much weight in an English court. Baxter insists that these witnesses will be believed and gives the solicitor a copy of Cuff’s report to discuss privately with the General.

Narrative Role

Cuff never appears in the exchange, but his investigation brings a hidden history into the present dispute as documented testimony rather than unsupported accusation. His report links Wedderburn’s claim about Bella’s identity to the question of what happened after Lady Blessington disappeared, and gives Baxter a means to pressure the General through the possibility of court testimony. The evidence establishes the report’s role in that confrontation, but does not disclose Cuff’s methods or the eventual legal outcome.