"I suppose," said White, his colour darkening, "you're hinting that I happen to owe Wally a bit of money. You needn't be afraid, Mrs. Carter: naturally I shall pay it back to you. As a matter of fact, it isn't due till Wednesday, but of course if you're anxious about it you can have it before. It was just a loan to help me over a temporary embarrassment. That's what I liked about Wally. He was open-handed."
"Yes, it's very easy to be open-handed with other people's money!" said Ermyntrude. "Not that anyone's ever called me mean, and as for my hinting about it, such a notion never entered my head, and I'm sure I'm not worrying about being paid back, so don't think it!"
Matters seemed to be becoming a trifle strained. Mary said: "Perhaps you wonder at Mrs. Carter's asking you that question, Mr. White, but the fact is that my cousin said something that led us to believe that he was contemplating some sort of a business deal."
"He may have been, for all I know. I suppose I'm not the only person he could do business with?"
"There's no need for you to be offended," said Ermyntrude, incensed by the sneering note in his voice. "Considering you've time and again led poor Wally into investing money in schemes which never turned out to be a bit of good '
"Look here, Mrs. Carter, you've never liked me, and you needn't think I haven't known it. I'm sure I don't blame you; it's a free world, and you can like whom you damned well please. I don't know what you think you're getting at with all this talk about my having a secret deal on with Wally, but if you've got some notion of dragging me into the poor chap's murder, and making out it was in some way connected with a business deal which I was leading him into, you can drop it, because you're a long way off the mark. And if that's all you wanted to see me about, I'll say, good night! You needn't trouble to show me out!"
Ermyntrude took him at his word, but Mary rose to her feet, and accompanied him to the front-door. When she came back into the drawing-room, Vicky said: "I thought he was awfully fallacious, didn't you?"
"No, I don't think I did, really. After all, you were rather impossible, Aunt Ermy!"
"If you ask me," said Ermyntrude darkly, "he was up to something. Ten to one, if Wally hadn't been shot, he'd have been up to his neck in a plan to lose a lot of money by this time."
"Five hundred pounds," said Vicky. "Do let's tell the Inspector, Mary!"