"She was tired," said the Saint.
"Had you quarrelled with her?"
"Bitterly. I may be old fashioned, Claud, but one thing I will not allow anybody to do is to be rude about my friends. They may have figures like sacks of dough and faces like giant tomatoes, but beauty is only skin deep and kind hearts are more than coronets and all that sort of thing, and just because a bloke is a policeman is no reason why any girl should make fun of him. That's what I told her. I said: 'Look here, Lady Valerie, just because poor old Claud Eustace has fallen arches and a bay window like the blunt end of the Normandie—"
"Will you shut up?" roared the detective.
Simon shut up.
Mr Teal took a fresh grip on his gum.
"Why was Lady Valerie frightened of you?" he barked.
The Saint did not answer.
"Had you been threatening her?"
Simon remained mute. He made helpless clownish motions with his hands.