“Well—no.”
“Ah! Now did not that ever strike you as a little strange in a man of his age and position in life?”
“I really can’t say that it ever did.” Mr Benham’s face and attitude formed a study. He threw himself back and, with half-closed eyes, looking now at the ceiling, now at the witness, shook his head gently with the blandest of deprecatory smiles.
“Will you kindly tell the Court how long you have been in Holy Orders?”
“Thirty-three years.”
“You have had great experience during that time?”
“I think I may say I have.”
“Varied experience?”
“Decidedly varied experience.”
“At Wandsborough and elsewhere?”