"No thank you, Durban," she replied absently, and setting down the empty cup; then, seeing that he was about to withdraw, she recalled her scattered thoughts and made him pause, with a question. "What is the Black Patch?" asked Beatrice, facing round to observe the man's dark face.
Durban spread out his hands in quite a foreign way, and banished all emotion from his dark features. "I do not know."
"My father appeared to be startled by the words."
"He did, missy, he did!"
"Do you know the reason?"
"I am not in your father's confidence, missy."
"That is strange, seeing that you have been with him for over twenty years, Durban."
"For twenty-four years, missy."
"You never told me the exact time before, Durban."
The man shrugged his shoulders. "You never asked me, missy."