"No," she said numbly, amazed at him.
"Well, where did you put it? Did you leave it about - as you left your gun about, by the way? Try and think; it's important. Your would-be assassin knew that you had it. Felicity let that out, damn her. That's why you had to be got rid of."
"Felicity?" she echoed. "How could she possibly have known?"
"She didn't. But she knew my uncle had left the book in your hands the day he borrowed it from Fountain and she said so."
She put her hand up to her head, pushing the hair off her face. "I can't grasp it. I can't make out how you knew about the book. Who can have told you?"
"No one told me. You must give me credit for some intelligence, my dear girl. Greythorne was twice burgled for that book. I naturally assumed it was the hiding-place Collins had chosen. Only it wasn't there. Owing to your absurd reticence I've been entirely at sea over that half. I only heard today that my uncle had left it behind for ten minutes at the Boar's Head. Where was it?"
She answered like one mesmerised: "In the back, pushed down behind the stitching. I found it quite by chance. But it's no good. Collins is dead, and he had the other half. It's all useless now."
"On the contrary," said Amberley. "That was Collins' half."
"Yes, I know, but he found Dawson's half."
"I hate to contradict you," said Amberley, "but he did no such thing. I've got Dawson's half."