"I was not. I went to explore the unfinished house on behalf of Lord Caranby. I was ghost-hunting. Do you remember how you asked me next day why I wore an overcoat and I explained that I had a cold—"
"Yes. You said you got it from sitting in a hot room."
"I got it from hunting round the unfinished house at Rexton. I did not think it necessary to explain further."
Juliet put her hand to her head. "Oh, how I suffered on that day," she said. "I was watching for you all the afternoon. When you came I thought you might voluntarily explain why you were at Rexton on the previous night. But you did not, and I believed your silence to be a guilty one. Then, when the letter arrived—"
"When did it arrive?"
"A week after the crime was committed."
"Well," said Cuthbert, rather pained, "I can hardly blame you. But if you loved me—"
"I do love you," she said with a passionate cry. "Have I not proved my love by bearing—as I thought—your burden? Could I do more? Would a woman who loves as I do accuse the man she loves of a horrible crime? I strove to shield you from your enemies."
"I thought you were shielding Basil. Jennings thought so also."
Juliet drew back, looking paler than ever. "What do you know of him."