‘I see. At what hour did you reach the house in the mornings?’

‘About seven o’clock. I called him at half-past seven and he had breakfast at eight.’

‘And about what hour did you leave?’

‘I could hardly be sure, sir. About half-past ten or eleven, or maybe later.’

‘Can you remember the Wednesday of that week? I suppose you were at St. Malo at ten o’clock?’

‘I was, sir. I was never left by ten any morning.’

‘Quite so. Now what I want to know is this: on that Wednesday morning was Mr. Felix in the house at ten o’clock?’

‘So far as I know, he was, sir.’

‘Ah, but I want to be sure. Can you say positively he was there?’

‘Well, not to be certain, sir, I couldn’t.’