"I don't know. I only tried it for f-fun, at first! Only I felt so marvellous afterwards - It's my nerves!"
"It precious soon would be, if you went on at that game!" said Hemingway dryly. "What made Mr.. Seaton-Carew give it to you at all?"
"Oh, I don't know! It was the night of the Gem Ball, and I felt so bloody, and I looked haggish, and my head was splitting, and Dan was utterly divine to me! Actually, he always rather bored me before - I mean, definitely old, and uncle-ish, besides being Mummy's boy-friend, which made me choke him off, on account of its being so dim to get a Thing about one's Mother's boy-friend! Of course, I just didn't know him properly, because really he utterly understood about my nerves, and always being tired to death, and he was too cherishing!" Her eyes filled. "It's awful now he's dead! I can't bear it! Mummy never understood a bit, but Dan did!"
"When did he give you that powder-compact?"
"Oh, it was a Christmas present! He made me promise not to use it unless I felt absolutely finished, and he swore he wouldn't refill it till Easter, but I expect he would have, if I'd been nice to him, because, if you want to know, he had a complete yen for me!"
"I don't doubt it," Hemingway said, more dryly still. "When did your mother discover that you were taking drugs, Miss Haddington?"
"Mummy never knew a thing about it!" she exclaimed. "She couldn't have known!"
He gave her an appraising look. "No! Well, when did you lose the compact, miss?"
"It was the day of that ghastly Bridge-party. I don't know when Mummy found it, because she hadn't the least idea - reallyy she hadn't! I can't think why she locked it up in her jewel-box! Unless she wanted to get back on me for going out with Lance Guisborough, when she said I wasn't to, which is quite likely, because she simply loathed him, God knows why!"
"I see. Now, I understand that Dr Westruther called here yesterday, at lunch-time, miss. Did you see him?"