“Something wrong with him, then,” Douglas commented. “Look at him hobbling up the steps with a stick. Seems as if he’d lamed himself a bit.”
Eric Dangerfield’s figure laboriously ascended the steps and disappeared into the house.
“Sprained ankle, or something like that,” was Westenhanger’s verdict. “Well, Douglas, we’ll just have to be patient. There’ll be no ’orrible revelations for an hour or two at least.”
His guess was quite accurate. Eileen and Mrs. Brent came ashore from the yacht only in time to dress, and neither of them appeared until the remainder of the party had assembled. Eric Dangerfield limped into the dining-room, still using his stick.
“Nothing much,” he explained in answer to a question. “I twisted my ankle rather badly and had to rest it. That’s why I didn’t get back here sooner.”
Mrs. Brent took very little part in the conversation at the dinner-table, but when the servants had left the room after serving coffee, she glanced round to secure attention and then addressed the company in general.
“I understand,” she said, with a certain sub-acid tone in her voice, “that during my absence, Mr. Stickney has been organising a symposium of sorts. It seems a pity not to give my contribution to the common stock, even if it is slightly belated. Suppose we all go into the drawing-room after dinner for a few moments. I shan’t detain you long.”
It was impossible to learn from Rollo Dangerfield’s face whether or not he understood her reference. Much to his regret, he explained, neither he nor his wife could be there. They had a meeting in the village that evening which in courtesy they must attend.
“I quite understand, Rollo,” Mrs. Brent hastened to reassure him. “You won’t miss much here, and in any case I can explain the whole thing to you to-morrow. It’s of no consequence.”
She made no further reference to the matter until the whole party, with the exception of their host and hostess, had gathered in the drawing-room. Choosing her favourite chair, she made a sign to Eileen to sit down beside her, and then waited until the others had grouped themselves.