'But the reason?'
'I know no more than yourself. As executor, I have carried out the terms of the will. I thought that you, as landlord, were entitled to the information which I have given you.'
'As landlord,' said Hugo, 'I object. And I shall demand entrance.'
'On what ground?'
'Under the clause which in all tenancy agreements gives the landlord the right to enter at reasonable times in order to inspect the condition of the premises,' Hugo answered defiantly to the lawyer.
'I had considered that. But I shall dispute the right. You may bring an action. What then? No court will give you leave to force an entrance. An Englishman's furnished flat, just as much as his house, is his castle. I could certainly keep you out for a year.'
'And may I ask why you are so anxious to keep me out, Mr. Polycarp?'
'I am anxious merely to fulfil my duties. May I ask why you are so anxious to get in? Why do you want to thwart the wishes of a dead man?'
'I could not permit that mystery to remain for a whole year in the very middle of my block of flats.'
'What mystery?' Polycarp suavely inquired.