"Possibly I am," agreed T. B.
He bowed slightly to the man, and descended the broad steps to the unkempt lawn in front of the house. He was joined at the gate by the two men he had brought down. One of these was Ela.
"What did you find?" asked that worthy man.
"I found much that will probably be useful to us in the future," said T. B., as he stepped into the fly, followed by his subordinate.
He turned to the third detective.
"You had better wait here," he said, "and report on who arrives and who departs. I shall be back within a couple of hours."
The man saluted, and the fly drove off.
"I have one more call to make," said T. B. Smith, "and I had better make that alone, I think. Tell the flyman to drop me at Little Bradley Rectory."
Lady Constance Dex was not unprepared for the visit of the detective. She had seen him from the window of her room, driving past the rectory in the direction of the Secret House, and he found her expectantly waiting him in the drawing-room.
He came straight to the heart of the matter.