“I cannot tell exactly. But I think it was soon after eight.”
“And during that time that you were in the dining-room by yourself, did you hear her moving about in the kitchen?”
“I don’t remember noticing. I was thinking of the fire. It would not burn up.”
“Altogether, then, I gather from what you have said, quite three-quarters of an hour elapsed between the time you left Miss Claris at the back door and the time she brought in the tea?”
“About that, I should think.”
“You did not see her or remember hearing her during that time?”
“I certainly did not see her. I don’t remember hearing her.”
There was another intent pause.
“When you did see her next—when she brought in the tea, that is to say—did she seem agitated, or was she calm?”
“She was very much agitated. She had been crying all the time, I think she told me.”