"A clever woman that," I muttered coolly. "You may congratulate yourself, Sir Charles, on her assistance. But for her I would long ago have been in France."
He smiled ironically. "You praise her too much!" he replied. "She has served me well, it is true; but for the last fortnight you have been practically my prisoner."
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
"What I say. Do you remember Miss Le Mar calling you to her room one certain evening and asking you questions of your race and parentage?"
"Yes."
"Had you left the house that evening, even the very second she dismissed you, and indeed at any moment since, you would have been arrested on the instant."
"By whom?"
"By my detectives!"
"What, did you commit yourself with the police?"
He smiled again. "Oh, no! Nevertheless, you would have been arrested, Mr. Hume, and you would have thought—by the police!"