"Very good, Iris. I shall meet you at six o'clock at The Herne Arms and take you over."
"And in the meantime--?"
"I intend to find out Brent, and force him to confess the truth."
This arrangement having been come to, Paul left Poverty Villa, and went off in the direction of the village. On his way towards the market-place, where he expected to find Brent--for it was market-day in Barnstead, and the town was full of farmers and labourers--Mexton remembered that the ploughman had confessed to being with one Jane Bilway in the Winding Lane. If this were so, the woman must have seen as much as the man; and if she had not been bribed also, it was more likely that he would be able to extract the truth from her. Mexton knew most people, high and low, in Barnstead, amongst these Jane Bilway, who was a servant at The Chequers, a little public-house on the outskirts of the village. Thither he turned his steps to see what he could learn from the woman.
Jane was a broad, squat wench with a healthy red face and dull eyes. She had about as much intelligence as a cow, and was only useful in doing rough work and common drudgery. She was, at the moment of Paul's arrival, cleaning the front windows of The Chequers, and recognised him with a friendly grin. At once Mexton began to ask her questions on the subject which was uppermost in his mind.
"Jane," he said, quietly, "you are to marry Giles Brent, they say?"
"Yes, Mr. Mexton. We've bin keepin' company since Christmas."
"You see him occasionally?"
"Most ivery day. He comes here a lot; he's inside now, havin' a wet," said Jane, pointing to the window of the tap-room.
This was better news than Paul expected, for it gave him the chance of an immediate conversation with Brent. But before entering the public-house, he pursued his plan of gaining information from Jane.