He greeted Mr. Flexen warmly and beamed on him. Then he demanded tea. But
Mr. Flexen rose, declared that he must be going, and in spite of Mr.
Manley's protests went. It had flashed on him that he might just catch
Mr. Carrington at his office.
CHAPTER XVI
Mr. Flexen did find Mr. Carrington at his office, and Mr. Carrington's first words were:
"Well, have you found the mysterious woman?"
"I've found the mysterious woman, and she's now Mrs. Herbert Manley," said Mr. Flexen.
Mr. Carrington stared at him, then he said softly: "Well, I'm damned!"
"It does explain several things," said Mr. Flexen dryly. "We know now why she was so hard to find—why there was no trace of her relations with Lord Loudwater, no trace of Shepherd's managing the Low Wycombe property among his papers, why there were no pass-books."
Mr. Carrington flushed and said: "The young scoundrel had us on toast all the while."
"Toast is the word," said Mr. Flexen.
"I never did like the beggar. I couldn't stand his infernal manner. But it never occurred to me that he was a bad hat. I merely thought him a pretentious young ass who didn't know his place," said Mr. Carrington.