"Well, if you want to know, he was a Major Stilman, a retired officer—though what that has——"
"Where did Major Stilman live?" asked Brereton.
"He lived at Kandahar Cottage, Woking," replied Miss Pett, who was now showing signs of rising anger. "But——"
"Answer my questions, if you please, and don't make remarks," said Brereton. "Is Major Stilman alive?"
"No, he isn't—he's dead this ten years," answered Miss Pett. "And if you're going to ask me any more questions about who and what I am, young man, I'll save you the trouble. I was with Major Stilman a many years, and before that I was store-keeper at one London hotel, and linen-keeper at another, and before that I lived at home with my father, who was a respectable farmer in Sussex. And what all this has to do with what we're here for, I should like——"
"Just give me the names of the two hotels you were at in London, will you?" asked Brereton.
"One was the Royal Belvedere in Bayswater, and the other the Mervyn Crescent in Kensington," replied Miss Pett. "Highly respectable, both of 'em."
"And you come originally from—where in Sussex?"
"Oakbarrow Farm, near Horsham. Do you want to know any——"
"I shan't trouble you much longer," said Brereton suavely. "But you might just tell me this—has Mr. Kitely ever had any visitors since he came to Highmarket?"