"She did not come on board."
"Oh!" Ronald was disappointed; were all his suspicions groundless, after all?
"No; she was confined to her room all the evening with a headache."
This statement, as Ronald knew, tallied with Mrs. Dexter's diary, and he felt that, after all, it might be the truth, and that Mrs. Verschoyle had not been on board; in which case--who was the assassin?
Vassalla saw the expression of disbelief flitting across Ronald's expressive face, and arose to his feet.
"In order to convince you," he said, quickly, "I will show you the letter I received from my cousin."
"There is no need," began Ronald, but Vassalla interrupted him.
"Pardon me, there is," he said coldly; "I wish you to be thoroughly convinced that Mrs. Verschoyle was not on board, and could not have either seen her husband or have had anything to do with his death."
"I did not say she had," interrupted Ronald, hastily.
"No, but you thought so," retorted the Marchese, as he left the room.