Hugo paused before he replied.
"It is rather an odd question, certainly," he said, with a temporising smile. "May I ask what you want to know for?"
"I was told that he came to the house under a feigned name: that's all."
"Who told you so?"
"Oh, a person who knew him."
"An Italian? A priest?"
Hugo was thinking of the possibility of Father Christoforo's having made his way to England.
"Yes," said Percival, dubiously. "A Benedictine monk, I believe. He hinted that you knew Stretton's real name."
"Quite a mistake," said Hugo. "I know nothing about him. But your priest sounds romantic. An old fellow, isn't he, with grey hair?"
"Not at all: young and slight, with dark eyes and rather a finely-cut face. Calls himself Dino Vasari or some such name."