“That’s all very well,” said Ingrain bluntly, “but if your visit to Father was so damned innocent, why did Raymond deny that he’d seen you here?”
Phineas’s eyes snapped, and a muscle quivered in his cheek. “The foolish fellow! Now, why should he do that. I wonder? Can he have thought that I didn’t want my little project to leak out? No doubt that would be it!”
“You know, I do feel that we’ve all under-rated Uncle Phin!” said Aubrey, looking round appealingly.
Happily for Phineas, Raymond chose this moment to walk into the room. He checked at sight of the visitors. and his brow began to lower. “What the devil… ?” he demanded, in anything but a welcoming tone.
Delia got up, dropping her handbag, and moved towards him, her eyes suffused suddenly with tears, and her lower lip quivering. “Ray, dear! I — we had to come to tell you how sorry — see if there is anything — I mean, if we could be of the least help in this sad time...”
“Very kind of you, but there’s nothing you can do, thanks. You’d have done better to have stayed away.”
She whitened, and her hand fell from his sleeve. Aubrey said brightly: “Isn’t it strange, Eugene dear, how often quite unintelligent persons, like Ray, manage to put into clear, concise language what others, like you and me, who are much cleverer, don’t you agree, feel to be the inexpressible?”
“That’ll be all from you, thanks!” said Raymond harshly.
“Ray, dear old fellow!” said Phineas, rising from his chair, and advancing towards his nephew. “I have just been learning from your brothers of your absurdly quixotic behaviour in regard to my stupid affairs! Did I say that I was anxious my little deal should not be noised abroad? I did not mean by requesting your silence to embroil you with the police, my boy!”
“Oh!” said Raymond, glancing round the room. “Pity some of you can’t think of something better to do than to poke your noses into my affairs! I’ll have a word with you about that little deal of yours, Uncle, if you’ve no objection.”