Vass wriggled uneasily in his seat. "Am I obliged to answer that question, Mr. Torry?"
"Not unless you like; not unless Donna Maria came here for a purpose of which she was ashamed."
The detective said this purposely to insult Donna Maria, so that he might discover if Vass loved her, but the secretary never changed colour or lost his temper; so Torry was convinced that he had not given his heart to the beautiful Spaniard.
"Donna Maria never does anything to be ashamed of," he replied in calm tones. "If you wish to know the reason of her visit I can tell you. She came at the request of Mr. Grent, to get his travelling tickets."
"Oh, the tickets, the two tickets for Italy?"
"Yes. Mr. Grent left them here by mistake, and Donna Maria called for them. I found them, gave them to her, and I believe she visited her uncle in Duke-street to deliver them to him."
This, then, explained Miss Sandoval's visit to Duke-street, and the reason was apparently an innocent one; so innocent, indeed, that Torry wondered why the girl had not confessed it. "Unless," thought he, "This is a lying explanation arranged for between Donna Maria and Vass to quiet my suspicions."
He was about to ask a few questions with a view to discover if his suspicions were correct, when there was a knock at the door, and almost immediately it opened to admit Manuel. The Spaniard seemed greatly excited, and advanced towards Vass, but stopped short when he saw Torry.
"The policeman!" he said. "Aha, very good; so much the better. I wish to see you."
"What is the matter?" asked Torry and Vass together.