‘Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet
you?’ I continued.
Mrs. Lyons flushed with anger again.
‘Really, sir, this is a very extraordinary question.’
‘I am sorry, madam, but I must repeat it.’
‘Then I answer, certainly not.’
‘Not on the very day of Sir Charles’s death?’
The flush had faded in an instant, and a deathly face
was before me. Her dry lips could not speak the ‘No’
which I saw rather than heard.
‘Surely your memory deceives you,’ said I. ‘I could
even quote a passage of your letter. It ran ‘Please, please, as