“Did you see anyone, or hear anyone, in the plantation?”

“No, it seemed to be all still and quiet when I passed through it.”

I waited for a moment to consider. Was this third person, supposed to have been secretly present at the interview, a reality, or the creature of Anne Catherick’s excited fancy? It was impossible to determine. The one thing certain was, that we had failed again on the very brink of discovery⁠—failed utterly and irretrievably, unless Anne Catherick kept her appointment at the boathouse for the next day.