"Rubbish. Let's get back to the subject of ghosts."
"All right" Jenny answered unexpectedly, "I will. Ricky, your mother's been very upset all afternoon."
Into Martin's head came an image of Aunt Cicely, with her tear-reddened eyelids, seen through a brass telescope from a bedroom window. But mention of Aunt Cicely seemed to act on Ricky as mention of Grandmother Brayle acted on Jenny, though in a different way.
"I know! I ought to have been at home in the afternoon!"
"No, Ricky. It wasn't that Have you ever heard of a man named Stannard?"
"I don't think so. Why?"
"He's one of the guests. He and Ruth came down by an earlier train than they'd expected to. Ruth said she ought to keep an eye on Martin—"
(Here Ricky turned a surprised face, but Martin was looking at Jenny.)
"— and they got here about lunch-time. During lunch, Mr. Stannard started talking about the day your father… died." Ricky took the pipe out of his mouth. "Blast his impudence!" Ricky shouted. "I honestly don’t think it was impudence." "No? It always upsets mother, though." "You see," Jenny frowned, "Mr. Stannard said to Aunt Cicely something like, I’m afraid we've met before, Lady Fleet' Aunt Cicely laughed and said, That's not very complimentary.' Then Mr. Stannard said, 'Forgive me: I only meant I was at Fleet House on the day your unfortunate husband met his death.'" "What did mother say?"
"Well, Ruth Callice tells me it wasn't a very merry lunch." "Damn him!"