“Oh-I don’t know-”
“Well, Mrs. Ambrose, it couldn’t have been pleasant for any of you. I expect Mr. Ambrose thought it would be better to break the party up.”
“Oh, I don’t know-”
He said briskly,
“Mr. Paradine came straight here from the dining-room and didn’t appear again. He didn’t come into the drawing-room, did he?”
“No-he didn’t-”
“It must have been very trying for you.”
“Oh, it was!”
If a shade of triumph entered his thought, his manner gave no sign of it. He leaned a little towards Irene across the table and said,
“Now, Mrs. Ambrose-I wonder whether you would tell me just how it all struck you. Different people get different impressions of the same thing. I would very much like to have your version of what happened in your own words, if you don’t mind.”
Irene went through the process which she called thinking. A number of unco-ordinated and confused impressions strayed to and fro in her mind. Frank must have told the Superintendent about last night- somebody must have told him-if it wasn’t Frank, Frank would be angry… The straying thoughts were not really as formulated as this. She did nothing to formulate them. She let them stray.
She said in a hesitating manner,
“Oh, I don’t know that I can-”
“Will you try, Mrs. Ambrose? Just begin at the beginning. What started it?”
“Well, I don’t know-it just seemed to happen. He stood up, and we thought he was going to give us a toast-at least I did, I don’t know about the others-but it wasn’t that at all.”
“I see. Now I wonder how much you remember of what followed. Just give it to me in your own words.”
She said, “Oh, I don’t know-”
“You mean you don’t remember?”
“Oh-I remember-”
“Then just see if you can help me. How did he begin?”
Irene looked doubtful.
“I can’t remember it all. He said we shouldn’t be bored-and then he said it wouldn’t be pleasant- and then he said things about our all being related, or connected by marriage, and families had to hold together, and all that sort of thing-”
“And after that?”
“Well, I don’t know if I ought to say-I don’t think-”
He said quietly, “I am afraid I must ask you to go on. Just tell me what you can remember.”
“Well, he used a lot of long words-I can’t remember them. And I don’t know-”
“Please, Mrs. Ambrose-just what you remember.”
Sitting there in her fur coat, Irene shivered. She began to feel sure that Frank was going to be angry. She didn’t see what she could do about it. If you didn’t answer the police they would think you had something to hide. But she didn’t like having to answer, because now when the actual words came crowding back they weren’t the sort of words you want to repeat to the police or to anyone else. She faltered as she repeated them.
“He said-someone-had been-disloyal. He said someone had-betrayed-the family interests. He said it was-one of us-”
The blood came up behind Vyner’s tan. His thoughts shouted, “By gum, he did-by gum!” He looked down at the blotting-pad and saw a little leather-covered diary lying there-just one of those pocket diaries, bright blue, with 1943 stamped upon the cover in gold. He looked at it because he wanted to keep his eyes from Mrs. Ambrose. Mustn’t startle her-mustn’t startle her… He managed his voice and said,
“Did he say who this person was?”
“Oh, no, he didn’t.”
“Do you think he knew?”
“Oh, yes-he said so.”
“He said someone had betrayed the family interests, and that he knew who the person was?”
“Yes, that’s what he said.”
He was looking at her again now.
“You are doing very well, Mrs. Ambrose. What else did he say?”
Irene had now arrived at feeling some pleasurable excitement. She was doing well-she was being praised-it wasn’t as difficult as she had thought it was going to be. She said in quite a complacent voice,
“It was dreadful. I’m sure I didn’t know where to look. And I was sitting next to him. It really was dreadful. We all thought he must have gone out of his mind.”
“Did he seem to be excited?”
“Oh, no. That’s what made it so dreadful-he was absolutely calm. I don’t know how he could be when you think of the things he was saying, but he was.”
“Will you go on telling me what he said.”
“Well, all that sort of thing. And then he said he would wait in the study till twelve o’clock, and if anyone had anything to-to confess, he would be there, and-well, I can’t remember exactly, but-I think he meant that he wouldn’t be too hard on anyone if they confessed. I think that’s what he meant, but he did say something about punishment too.”
“Can you remember what he said?”
Irene looked vague.
“No-I don’t think I can. It was something about the person being punished.”
“I see. It must have been quite a relief when the party broke up.”
“Oh, it was!”
“You didn’t see Mr. Paradine again?”
“Oh, no.”
“None of your party saw him to say goodnight?”
“Oh, no.”
“You all went home together?”
“Oh, yes.”
“You must have got home at about a quarter to ten. As far as you know, did any of the party go out again?”
The colour came into her face. Her eyes opened widely. She said, “Oh!”
Vyner said in his own mind, “By gum-I’ve got something!” He looked at her hard and said,
“Which of you went out?”
She was flustered, but not unduly so.
“Well, it was because of Rena-my little girl you know-I couldn’t wake her.”
He experienced a slight feeling of stupefaction.
“Why did you want to wake her?”
“Well, I didn’t, you know-not really. I mean I was very pleased at first when I got home to find she was sleeping so soundly, and then-well, I was talking to my sister for some time, and when I got back and began to go to bed I thought perhaps she was sleeping too soundly.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I got frightened. My sister doesn’t know anything about children. I did try to get my husband to come and look at her, but he only said ‘Stuff and nonsense!’ He thinks I’m fussy. But when I picked her up and her head just fell over and she went on sleeping, I got dreadfully frightened, and I tried to ring up Dr. Horton, but the telephone was out of order-I’d forgotten about that. So when I couldn’t get on I thought I’d go and fetch him-it’s not any distance really-so I did.”
“You went and fetched Dr. Horton?”
She was looking vague again.
“Well, I didn’t really, because when I got there he was in his car just starting out somewhere. I ran and called after him, but he didn’t hear me.”
“So you came home again?”
“Well, I didn’t-not at once. I thought perhaps he wouldn’t be long. I walked up and down a bit. I didn’t like to ring the bell, because Mrs. Horton always tells you how she brought up eight children and never fussed over any of them.”
Vyner’s face was as expressionless as he could make it.
“How long did you wait, Mrs. Ambrose?”
“About half an hour. And then I got frightened again, wondering what was happening to Rena, so I went home. I ran all the way, but she was quite all right.”
“And was she still asleep?”
“Oh, yes. My husband was so angry.”
“He had missed you?”
“Oh, yes. He was out looking for me when I got back. Then he came in and was frightfully angry.”
“What time did he get in?”
“I don’t know-it must have been getting late-I know I was longing to get to bed.”
“Did your husband say where he had been?”
“He said he had been looking for me.”
“He didn’t say where?”
“Oh, no.”
“He just said he had been looking for you?”
Irene coloured brightly.