“She is prepared to do whatever is essential to prevent a miscarriage of justice. She is naturally extremely reluctant to take the stand.”
“Is she in court?”
“She is.”
“Miss Dunne will be good enough not to leave the courtroom without the Court’s permission. You may proceed, Mr. Phipps.”
“We arrived at Orchards at a little after eight,” said Mr. Phipps. “Miss Dunne took the half-past-seven bus from Rosemont, left it a short distance beyond Orchards, and walked back to the spot where I had arranged to meet her, just inside the gate. We did not arrive together, as I was apprehensive that it might cause a certain amount of gossip if we were seen together.”
“How had you come to choose Orchards, Mr. Phipps?”
“Miss Dunne had on several occasions commented on the beauty of the place and expressed a desire to see it more thoroughly, and it was in order to gratify that desire that the party was planned. As I say, we met at the gate and walked on up the drive past the lodge and the little driveway that leads to the gardener’s cottage to a small summerhouse, about five hundred feet beyond the cottage itself. It contained a little furniture—a table and some chairs and benches—and it was there that we decided to have our supper. Miss Dunne had brought a luncheon box with her containing fruit and sandwiches, and we spread it on the table and began to eat. Neither of us was particularly hungry, however, and we decided to keep what remained of the food—about half the contents of the box, I think—in case we wanted it later, and to do some reading before it got too dark to see. I had brought with me the Idylls of the King, with the intention of reading it aloud.”
“The book is of no importance, Mr. Phipps.”
“No,” said Mr. Phipps, in a tone of slight surprise. “No, I suppose not. You are probably quite right. Well, in any case, we read for quite a while, until it began to get too dark to see, and after that we sat there conversing.”
The fluent voice with its slightly meticulous pronunciation paused, and Lambert moved impatiently. “And then, Mr. Phipps?”