“Mr. Ives said yes, and Mrs. Ives said that in that case she would go to the movies with the Conroys, who had asked her before dinner. Mr. Ives asked her if he couldn’t drop her there, and she said no—that it was only a short walk and that she needed the exercise. She went straight out of the front door, I think. I heard it slam behind her.”
“What did you do then?”
“I said, ‘Your wife has gone to meet Stephen Bellamy.’ ”
“And then what happened?”
“Mr. Ives said, ‘Don’t be a damned little fool.’ ”
Miss Page smiled meekly and appreciatively at the audible ripple from the other side of the railing.
“Did you say anything to that?”
“I simply repeated the telephone conversation.”
“Word for word?”
“Word for word, and when I’d finished, he said, ‘My God, somebody’s told her.’ ”