āWell, there must be an opposite. What do you call the heads whose breadth is more than 75 percent of their length.ā
āBrachycephalic,ā I murmured unwillingly.
āThatās it. I thought that was what you said.ā
āDid I? It was a slip of the tongue. I meant dolichocephalic,ā I said with all the assurance I could muster.
Suzanne looked at me searchingly. Then she laughed.
āYou lie very well, gipsy girl. But it will save time and trouble now if you tell me all about it.ā
āThereās nothing to tell,ā I said unwillingly.
āIsnāt there?ā said Suzanne gently.
āI suppose I shall have to tell you,ā I said slowly. āIām not ashamed of it. You canāt be ashamed of something that justā āhappens to you. Thatās what he did. He was detestableā ārude and ungratefulā ābut that I think I understand. Itās like a dog thatās been chained upā āor badly treatedā āitāll bite anybody. Thatās what he was likeā ābitter and snarling. I donāt know why I careā ābut I do. I care horribly. Just seeing him has turned my whole life upside down. I love him. I want him. Iāll walk all over Africa barefoot till I find him, and Iāll make him care for me. Iād die for him. Iād work for him, slave for him, steal for him, even beg or borrow for him! Thereā ānow you know!ā
Suzanne looked at me for a long time.
āYouāre very un-English, gipsy girl,ā she said at last. āThereās not a scrap of the sentimental about you. Iāve never met anyone who was at once so practical and so passionate. I shall never care for anyone like thatā āmercifully for meā āand yetā āand yet I envy you, gipsy girl. Itās something to be able to care. Most people canāt. But what a mercy for your little doctor man that you didnāt marry him. He doesnāt sound at all the sort of individual who would enjoy keeping high explosive in the house! So thereās to be no cabling to Lord Nasby?ā
I shook my head.
āAnd yet you believe him to be innocent?ā
āI also believe that innocent people can be hanged.ā
āHm! yes. But, Anne dear, you can face facts, face them now. In spite of all you say, he may have murdered this woman.ā
āNo,ā I said. āHe didnāt.ā
āThatās sentiment.ā