“But we’ll go after her-if you’re worried. She drives a small blue Austin, doesn’t she? If she went through Ledlington, someone will have noticed it. Anyhow we can try. Get your things on.”

The prospect of doing something put heart into Rachel. She nodded, ran upstairs, and was putting on her hat, when she was aware of Louisa behind her looking a good deal like Lot ’s wife. She said as briskly as she could,

“My coat, Louisa-the very thick brown one. I’m going after Miss Caroline.”

Louisa did not move. She stood with folded hands and stared at Rachel’s reflection in the glass.

“Can’t you let well alone?” she said. “Them that’s’ gone from this house, they’d stay gone if you’d let them.”

“Louie!”

Louisa Barnet raised her voice.

“And why did they go, Miss Rachel? Answer me that! Because what they’ve got on their conscience wouldn’t let them stay-that’s why. And no wonder. Who was out on the cliff when you was pushed over? Mr. Richard for one, and Miss Caroline for another. And she come in crying, as Gladys could tell you. And three handkerchiefs soaked through in her clothes-basket that I saw for myself. There isn’t no one cries like that but what they’ve brought it on themselves-you can’t get from it. And why did she faint? Will you tell me that, Miss Rachel? No, you won’t. But Miss Ella, she talked of it free enough-said Miss Caroline just sat there like an image and might have been deaf and dumb whilst you was telling how you was pushed over, but when it came to you being asked whether you had a sight of the one that pushed you and you said, ‘No,’ well, right there and then Miss Caroline fainted.”

Rachel stood up and turned round.

“That will do, Louie. You are hardly in a position to accuse other people, you know. I should like my coat.”

This time Louisa brought it. Her hands shook as she held it for Miss Treherne to slip on. And then she caught a fold of it and spoke in a strained whisper.

“Miss Rachel-you’re not going-to send me away?”

Rachel released herself.

“Where could I send you, Louie?”

The dark eyes flashed.

“To my grave. And that’s the truth, for I’d not live.”

Rachel walked towards the door. Just before she reached it she said without looking round,

“You talk a lot of nonsense, Louie. It isn’t kind, and it isn’t helpful. If you want to stay you mustn’t say everything that comes into your head.”

She went out, and found Cosmo waiting for her.

“Rachel-there’s something I’ve’thought of. Can I speak to you?”

She looked at him doubtfully.

“I’ve been too long already-”

“It’s about Caroline.”

She opened her sitting-room door and went in. “Very well.”

Cosmo Frith shut the door behind him and walked over to the hearth. He stood there, picking up the old-fashioned gilt clock which had belonged to Rachel’s mother and fiddling with the key. He looked troubled and serious. Rachel’s heart sank.

“Cosmo, what is it? Don’t keep me.”

He said, “No, I won’t-I won’t-” But he got no further than that until she made an impatient movement. Then he put down the clock and said, “Don’t, my dear. It’s because it’s so difficult to say.”

“Difficult or easy, I think you must say it, Cosmo.”

He drew a heavy breath that was like a sigh.

“Yes, I know-but one puts off-you will probably be angry-”

“Does that matter?”

He nodded.

“A good deal-to me.”

A bright exasperated color was in Rachel’s cheeks.

“Oh, say it and have done!” she cried.

He gave her a wounded look.

“You see-you are angry already. But I can’t help it. I can’t let you go with that man and not say a word.”

“You said you wanted to see me about Caroline.”

“Yes, but I must say this too. I must beg that you will not go off alone with this man who calls himself Brandon. He is Gale Brent, and if you’ll give me time I’ll prove it. What do you know of him? He was on the cliff when you were pushed over it. Suppose he pushed you. Suppose he had some crazy notion of revenge. Oh, it sounds melodramatic enough, but isn’t your morning paper full of just that sort of crude melodrama? Can’t you believe that a man might grow up under a grudge and nurse it until he was crazy on just that one point? He’d be sane about everything else. He’d look sane-talk, think, and act as sane men do-and all the time there would be that one danger-point.”

“You’re talking nonsense,” said Rachel coldly. “I can’t stop, Cosmo.”

He stood where he was.

“Rachel, this morning you practically accused us all. You called us together, and you called in a stranger, and in front of that stranger you informed us that there had been an attempt on your life. I think we were all under observation. Will you deny that?”

Rachel gave no answer.

“You see,” said Cosmo Frith again. “I say-and you don’t deny it-that we were all under suspicion. Poor little Caroline broke under it. She fainted, and she has run away. I suppose that proves her guilty-”

“Cosmo, stop! I can’t listen to this.”

He said, “I am afraid you will have to. Don’t you see, it’s the fact that you’ve put us all in the pillory which gives me the right to tell you to look elsewhere. My dear, do you really believe that any one of us-It’s too monstrous!”

The phrase which he had used about the morning paper flickered through Rachel’s mind. She could not bring it across her lips. She said mournfully,

“What is the good of this?”

He returned her look with one as sad.

“No good at all. And you want to go, don’t you? Rachel, I only ask that you don’t go alone with him. Don’t risk yourself alone with Gale Brandon.”

Rachel’s chin lifted.

“Is that all, Cosmo? Because if it is-”

“No, it isn’t. There’s still Caroline.”

“Yes?”

He stood aside from the door and opened it.

“I have been thinking it over, and I am sure that she would go to town. You see, she has a key to my flat. I let her have one when she gave up her own flat a month ago. And she spoke of running up there-oh, one day this week, I can’t remember which.”

“Why didn’t you say this before? Why didn’t you tell Richard?”

The concerned look was back on his face.

“I know-that’s what I’ve been saying to myself. But it had gone clean out of my mind. It wasn’t until I came to go over it all-You know, I could go straight up there myself. There’s no need for you-”

She shook her head.

“No-I must go. I must see her.”

She went past him into the passage, and this time he made no attempt to stop her, but as she emerged, the half open door of Caroline’s room was opened wide and Miss Silver appeared.

“Miss Treherne-will you spare me a moment?”

It seemed as if everyone was in a conspiracy to keep her. She said quickly,

“I ought not to. Won’t later do?”

Miss Silver shook her head with a kind of mild obstinacy.

“Oh, no, I am afraid not. I really must beg-”

Rachel resigned herself.

“Cosmo, will you tell Mr. Brandon that I won’t be a moment?”

She went into Caroline’s room, and found evidences of a thorough search. Drawers stood open. The bed had been stripped. On the dressing-table some torn scraps were laid out to form part of a typewritten sheet. Some of the words were damaged, and some of the pieces missing. She leaned with a hand on either side of the table and read what was there to read:

“Better get away at once whilst we are all at lunch. You’ll get a good start. That woman is a detective. If you don’t get away, she’ll make you speak. Take your car to…” Here there was a piece missing from the right-hand side of the paper. The next line began on the left. “I’ll make an excuse and…” The end of the line was gone. Below again was a whole sentence. “We can talk things over and decide what had better be done.”