She had pressed the bell call for the footman, when he said:
"Mr. Morris still keeps himself well concealed, I note."
Like a tigress leaping to defend her young, she met the accusation.
"Mr. Morris has done no wrong," she declared, spiritedly. "And there is no need of his concealing himself."
"Of course I will not say as to that." His voice was soothing and low. "But he makes a mistake in not coming forward. His name, you have noticed, has already appeared in the papers in direct connection with the murder."
He glanced at her keenly once more.
"It may be that he has gone away upon some urgent business," she said. "And the chances are that he has not heard anything of the matter."
"If he had gone away on business, don't you think he would have mentioned it to someone?"
"Perhaps he did not think it necessary. And again, maybe he did not expect to be gone so long. Such things frequently happen, you know."
"They do," admitted Ashton-Kirk. "But in the case of Allan Morris, they somehow fail to fit. I am convinced that he is in hiding."