‘You came into the house last night without knowing any of these people?’
She sat there very composedly in her olive-green cashmere and the shaded woollen wrap, her hands folded in her lap, her feet placed neatly side-by-side upon the study carpet. In the interests of accuracy she made a slight correction.
‘I have some acquaintance with Mr. Eversley. Mr. Burdon and Miss Sayle were introduced to me during a musical evening at the Deanery. I had no more than a few formal words with either of them.’
‘And the Miss Benevents?’
‘I met them on the same occasion. My cousin Miss Arnold has known them all her life.’
‘Was Miss Olivia Benevent here when you arrived last night.’
‘No. She had already left when Mr. Eversley rang me up.’
‘You knew that he and Miss Sayle were engaged?’
She gave a small discreet cough.
‘He came round to see myself and Miss Arnold, and I think I may say that it was understood. Miss Arnold at once offered the hospitality of her house.’
‘It was refused?’
‘In the absence of Miss Olivia Benevent Miss Sayle considered herself responsible for the household at Underhill.’
‘And you came out here at once?’
‘As soon as I had packed a suit-case.’
‘Miss Silver, I am going to ask you what impression the household made upon you. None of these people were really known to you – I should like to hear how they struck you.’
As she returned his rather direct look he became aware that he really did want to know what she thought about Candida Sayle, about Derek Burdon, about Stephen Eversley, about Anna Rossi. He wondered whether she was going to tell him. And then she was doing so.
‘I found Miss Sayle very frank and simple. Miss Cara’s death had obviously been a great shock, and so had Miss Olivia’s accusation.’
‘Enough of a shock to frighten her into running away?’
‘I should not have said so. The first impact of the shock was wearing off. She spoke naturally and simply of Miss Cara, who she said had been very kind to her, and for whom she had, I thought, a good deal of affection.’
He said, ‘That sort of thing can be put on, you know.’
She coughed again, this time on a note of reproof.
‘I was for some years engaged in the scholastic profession. I am accustomed to young people. If one has experience, insincerity is not difficult to detect.’
He found himself with a surprised conviction that it would be extremely difficult to tell her a lie, and that if you did so it would be immediately stripped to its bones. Others had, of course, had this feeling before him, but he was not to know about that. He said,
‘And you found Miss Sayle sincere?’
‘That was the impression she made upon me.’
‘No evidence of a guilty conscience.’
‘No, Inspector.’
He was more impressed than he would have been by protestations. He continued,
‘How did Mr. Burdon strike you?’
‘He has a great deal of charm, and he has been accustomed to rely upon it. The Miss Benevents have been very indulgent, and I believe he did what he could to repay their kindness. He spoke of Miss Cara with affection, and of Miss Olivia with surprise and regret at her present attitude. He gave me the impression that he has an easy-going nature, a kind heart, and an indolent disposition.’
Since this agreed not only with what was said in the town but with his own judgment, Rock accepted it without comment.
‘And Mr. Eversley?’ he said.
Miss Silver said in her temperate way,
‘You are probably aware that he is related to my cousin, Miss Arnold. I suppose he may be considered a distant connection of my own. His uncle’s firm enjoys a high reputation, and I believe he does it no discredit. There is no reason to suppose him to be anything but a clever, intelligent young man with a good character and good prospects who is honestly and sincerely in love with Miss Sayle. You may be aware that some part at least of Miss Olivia Benevent’s anger proceeds from the fact that she hoped to make a match between her and Derek Burdon.’
The Inspector said, ‘Yes – ’ in rather an absent-minded tone. He was thinking that Miss Silver appeared to be very well informed. He went on,
‘And Anna Rossi – what do you think of her?’
Miss Silver smiled.
‘She is, of course, Italian by birth. I understand that she came to this country at an early age, and there is very little foreign accent. The foreign temperament is, however, present to a marked degree. She is excitable and emotional, and makes no attempt to restrain the expression of her feelings. I believe her attachment to Miss Cara Benevent to have been genuine, and I think she has become fond of Miss Sayle. She stands a good deal in awe of Miss Olivia and is very much afraid of provoking her anger.’
Rock found himself impressed not only by what she said, but by the manner in which she said it. Ladies, and especially elderly ladies, were often quick to observe, but he had found in the main that their judgment was apt to be swayed by personal feelings. In any case, they usually had too much to say about it. In Miss Silver he found a moderation, a restraint, and an economy of words quite outside his experience. Also, and above all, he was aware of an intelligence which stimulated his own. Miss Silver’s marked success in the schoolroom had been largely due to the fact that, whilst making knowledge seem desirable, she was able to awake in her pupils the consciousness of their ability to attain it. The timid found themselves becoming confident, the intelligent stimulated. All had found themselves capable of more than they supposed. As Frank Abbott once remarked, ‘She strikes sparks out of you.’ Inspector Rock was aware of this, though he could not, perhaps, have put it into words. What he did was to lean forward and say,
‘Miss Silver – what has happened to Miss Sayle?’
Her reply was grave.
‘I do not believe that she has run away.’
‘Then where is she?’
‘I believe her to be somewhere in this house.’
‘What do you mean?’
She told him what Candida had told her. Anna’s niece Nellie waking behind a locked door to hear something that went to and fro in the room and wept, taking refuge for a night with Anna, and going away next day. Candida Sayle waking to see light coming through a crack where bookshelves masked what seemed to be a solid wall and being aware of someone passing through her room with a torch held low. Anna brushing dust from Miss Cara’s slippers and a cobweb from the tassel of her dressing-gown.
‘I think you must see, Inspector, that these things point to the fact that there are concealed passages in this old house. There is a family story about a hidden treasure. It has not been considered lucky for anyone to interfere with it. Miss Sayle repeated a curious old rhyme which she and Derek Surdon had come across while going through some family papers:
‘ “Touch not nor try,
Sell not nor buy,
Give not nor take,
For dear life’s sake.” ’
‘They considered that it referred to the treasure, and she told me of two instances which appear to bear this out. Both occurred in the eighteenth century. In the first, a Benevent was found at his own front door. He had a severe head injury, and it was said that he had fallen or been thrown from has horse. In the second, his grandson was found dead or dying, also quite near to the house. He too had a head injury, and was said to have been set upon by footpads.’
Rock said, ‘What have you got in your mind?’
She continued as if he had not spoken.
‘Both these men were believed to have interfered with the Benevent Treasure. Both were found quite near the house with fatal injuries to the head.’
Rock repeated his question,
‘What have you got in your mind?’
She replied with a question of her own.
‘What have you got in yours, Inspector?’ Then, after a pause during which he remained silent, she continued.