“Oh, the usual sort; a head and four pairs of fingers, you know. This particular one, they said, was a rather large man. Have you seen a rather large strange man round the house lately?”
William cogitated deeply.
“I ’ave an’ all.”
“Have you, though? When?”
William cogitated again. “It ’ud be a matter of ha’-past eight last night,” he announced at last. “Ha’-past eight it ’ud be, as near as anything. I was a-settin’ out in front o’ the lodge, an’ up he walks, bold as brass, an’ nods at me an’ goes on up the drive.”
Roger exchanged glances with Alec.
“Yes, William?” he said warmly. “A man you’d never seen before? A fairly large man?”
“A very large man,” William corrected meticulously.
“A very large man. Excellent! Go on. What happened?”
“Well, I says to the missus, ‘Oo’s that?’ I says. ‘A-walkin’ up the drive as if he owned the place.’ ” William pondered. “ ‘As if he owned the place,’ I says,” he repeated firmly.