Mr Pickering withdrew his gaze reluctantly from Bill.
'Gone upstairs.'
I'll go and tell her that you're here, Mr--You never told me your
name.'
Bill came to life with an almost acrobatic abruptness. There were
many things of which at that moment he felt absolutely incapable,
and meeting Claire was one of them.
'No; I must be going,' he said, hurriedly. 'Good-bye.'
He came very near running out of the room. Lady Wetherby regarded
the practically slammed door with wide eyes.
'Quick exit of Nut Comedian!' she said. 'Whatever was the matter
with the man? He's scorched a trail in the carpet.'
Mr Pickering was trembling violently.
'Do you know who that was? He was the man!' said Mr Pickering.
'What man?'
'The man I caught looking in at the window that night!'
'What nonsense! You must be mistaken. He said he knew Claire quite
well.'
'But when you suggested that he should meet her he ran.'
This aspect of the matter had not occurred to Lady Wetherby.
'So he did!'
'What did he tell you that showed he knew Claire?'
'Well, now that I come to think of it, he didn't tell me anything.
I did the talking. He just sat there.'
Mr Pickering quivered with combined fear and excitement and
inductive reasoning.
'It was a trick!' he cried.
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