Berry took up the running.
"You say the merchant was prodding the ground?" he said.
"That's right. It sounds silly, but——"
"Not at all," said Berry excitedly. "He was looking for something. It's as clear as daylight." He turned to the picture. "That's William Pleydell, isn't it, Vandy? Seventeenth-century bloke. The one Pepys mentions."
My cousin nodded abstractedly. With unseeing eyes he was staring out of a window. It was patent that Adèle's recital had affected him strangely....
Berry laid a hand on his arm.
"Where's the book you wrote?" he said gently. "That may throw some light on it."
One of our hostesses turned, as though she would fetch the volume.
"It went to be rebound yesterday," cried Vandy in a strained, penetrating voice.
His sister stopped and stood still in her tracks. A moment later she had turned back and was murmuring a confirmation.