"He has found out that Bernard is alive," said Alice.
"That's impossible!" cried Durham, waking up and sitting apparently on thorns. "He doesn't know Bernard is at this Castle."
"Alice has put the matter wrongly," said Bernard, taking out the letter of Beryl. "She received this from Julius. He says he saw me in the streets of London. That means he saw Michael Gilroy."
"Ah! And made the mistake, as everyone else seems to have done."
"I doubt that, Alice," said Miss Plantagenet, "I doubt that very much. It seems to me that Beryl—drat him!—knows a great deal more than we do. It's my opinion," added the old lady, looking round triumphantly, "that Beryl has used Michael as an instrument."
"I think so also," said Durham, quickly, "and it comes to this, that if I accidentally met Michael, or if he called at my office representing himself as Bernard, I should accept him as such."
"What for?" asked Bernard, angrily.
"There you go with your temper," said Miss Berengaria. "Durham is quite right and shows more sense than I expected from him. The only way to get at the truth—which this Michael with his mother knows—is to give him a long enough rope to let him hang himself. I daresay if Durham won his confidence, the man might presume on his being accepted as Bernard, and might give us a clue. What do you say, Alice? Don't sit twiddling your thumbs, but answer."
Miss Malleson laughed. "I agree with you, aunt."
"Of course you do. Am I ever wrong? Well?" She looked round.