hand coldly. “You understand that, on the other hand, having come across a circumstance which needs explaining, I think it should be brought to the notice of the authorities.”
“Does it concern Mrs. Lestrange?” I asked.
“Why should it?” demanded Mrs. Price Ridley coldly.
She had me at a disadvantage there.
“It’s a very simple matter,” she continued. “My maid, Clara, was standing at the front gate, she went down there for a minute or two— she says to get a breath of fresh air. Most unlikely, I should say. Much more probable that she was looking out for the fishmonger’s boy—if he calls himself a boy—impudent young jackanapes, thinks because he’s seventeen he can joke with all the girls. Anyway, as I say, she was standing at the gate and she heard a sneeze.”