“Not very long,” I said cautiously.

But caution is useless with a woman, the more you hold back, the more she presses forward. Anne Beddingfeld made no bones about it.

“How long?” she asked bluntly.

“Well⁠—er⁠—I engaged him just before I sailed. Old friend of mine recommended him.”

She said nothing more, but relapsed into a thoughtful silence. I turned to Race with the feeling that it was my turn to display an interest in his story.

“Who is Sir Laurence’s next of kin, Race? Do you know?”

“I should say so,” he replied, with a smile. “I am!”