“Mr. Sleuth won’t hurt Daisy, bless you! Much more likely to hurt me,” and she gave a half sob.
Bunting stared at her. “What do you mean?” he said roughly. “Come upstairs and tell me what you mean.”
And then, in what had been the lodger’s sitting-room, Mrs. Bunting told her husband exactly what it was that had happened.
He listened in heavy silence.
“So you see,” she said at last, “you see, Bunting, that ’twas me that was right after all. The lodger was never responsible for his actions. I never thought he was, for my part.”
And Bunting stared at her ruminatingly. “Depends on what you call responsible—” he began argumentatively.
But she would have none of that. “I heard the gentleman say myself that he was a lunatic,” she said fiercely. And then, dropping her voice, “A religious maniac—that’s what he called him.”
“Well, he never seemed so to me,” said Bunting stoutly. “He simply seemed to me ’centric—that’s all he did. Not a bit madder than many I could tell you of.” He was walking round the room restlessly, but he stopped short at last. “And what d’you think we ought to do now?”
Mrs. Bunting shook her head impatiently. “I don’t think we ought to do nothing,” she said. “Why should we?”
And then again he began walking round the room in an aimless fashion that irritated her.