“Thank you, Mr Gray; they shall be all safely returned to you to-night.”
“I should rather think so, indeed. I only meant you to have them for an hour or two.”
“I shall probably want them for the whole of to-day; and if I do not come across what I am looking for, I shall be obliged to ask you to let me have the keys again to-morrow, again the next day, again every day until my search is ended.”
“Pooh, pooh!” he said. “You are intent on a search for the hidden will, I suppose. May you find it! you have my best wishes.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, Miss Lindley, you have got that ruby ring of yours safe, I hope?”
“Quite safe; it is on my finger.”
“How often have I warned you not to wear a valuable ring of that kind in so careless a manner! Good heavens! it may slip off when you are washing your hands.”
“I will take care of that,” I answered.
The lawyer sighed, favoured me with another keen glance, and then rose deliberately from his chair.