The ruddy face of the housekeeper blanched suddenly.
"Not--not--the secret?" she stammered.
"Not the secret you know of," replied Dora. "I am still ignorant of the bar to our marriage."
"Then what has Mr. Allen told you?" asked Mrs. Tice, reassured on this point.
"Ah, that's my secret. If you will not confide in me, I do not see why I should confide in you."
"Mr. Allen could have said nothing very dreadful," was Mrs. Tice's reply; "we had a talk together on the evening he returned from London, and he told me everything then."
"No doubt," said Dora, who was pleased to stimulate the housekeeper's curiosity, "but he did not tell you some things, for the simple reason that 'some things' had not happened. Remember, Mrs. Tice, the night of Allen's return was the night of the murder."
"The murder!" repeated Mrs. Tice in a scared tone.
"Yes. Allen did not tell you what he knew about that," said Dora, and left the room.