Antony waited eagerly.

“Naturally they met. Possibly he might have⁠—I don’t know. But my duty as a mother was clear, Mr. Gillingham.”

Mr. Gillingham made an encouraging noise.

“I told him quite frankly that⁠—how shall I put it?⁠—that he was trespassing. Tactfully, of course . But frankly.”

“You mean,” said Antony, trying to speak calmly, “that you told him that⁠—er⁠— Mr. Ablett and your daughter⁠—?”

Mrs. Norbury nodded several times.