means, but not very much—no, please don’t answer now. I know what your answer would be. But in case I went away suddenly I just wanted you to know—that I care.”
She was shaken—touched. His manner was so gentle and appealing.
“There’s one thing more. I just wanted to say that if—if you are ever in trouble, anything that I can do—”
He took her hand in his, held it tightly for a minute, then dropped it and walked rapidly away towards the Casino without looking back.
Katherine sat perfectly still, looking after him. Derek Kettering—Richard Knighton—two men so different—so very different. There was something kind about Knighton, kind and trustworthy. As to Derek—
Then suddenly Katherine had a very curious sensation. She felt that she was no longer sitting alone on the seat in the Casino gardens, but that someone was standing beside her, and that that someone was the dead woman, Ruth Kettering. She had a further impression that Ruth wanted—badly—to tell her something. The impression was so curious, so vivid, that it could not be driven away. She felt absolutely certain that the spirit of Ruth Kettering was trying to convey something of vital importance to her. The impression faded. Katherine got up, trembling a little. What was it that Ruth Kettering had wanted so badly to say?