Her eyes slowly turned towards him again. "Mr. Herriard was annoyed about the party."
"In what way?"
"He didn't want a party."
"But if he didn't want it, why did he have it?"
"It was my husband's doing. He is not at all like his brother. He thought it would be a good thing. But Mr. Herriard very much disliked Miss Dean, and that upset him."
The Inspector pricked up his ears. "He disliked Miss Dean? He didn't want his nephew to marry her?"
"No. But I don't suppose he will. I always thought he had made a mistake. I expect he stuck to it to annoy his uncle."
This seemed fantastic to the Inspector. "Stuck to it to annoy his uncle?"
"He likes annoying people," said Maud.
This matter-of-fact opinion, stated with a simplicity that could not but carry weight, confused the Inspector's mind. He began to perceive that he had to deal with extraordinary people, and it was with misgiving that he presently confronted Mathilda Clare.