“Of course I don’t. Miss Prince? May I rely upon you not to tell any one of this curious little piece of corroborative evidence?”
“What the rector said is not evidence,” said Mrs. Cole-Wright lightly.
Her husband looked at her puzzled.
“One can never be quite sure as to who may be called upon to give evidence,” observed Miss Prince. “But the one witness they are sure to call at the trial is Jean Bower.”
“What an awful ordeal it will be for the poor girl,” said Mr. Cole-Wright in a moved tone.
“The person I shall feel sorry for,” broke in his wife, “is Miss Cheale. I respect that young woman. She was always so quiet, so dignified, and kept herself to herself. She will be a most important witness.”
“And she seems to have been the only person actually with Mrs. Garlett when the poor soul passed away,” chimed in the rector.
“I was surprised at the time,” observed Mrs. Cole-Wright, “that there was neither an inquest nor a post-mortem with a person so important in her own way as poor Mrs. Garlett.”
“And there’s another thing,” said the rector hesitatingly, “though perhaps I hardly ought to tell it to you?”
“Of course you must tell us, Philip. All we are saying here is absolutely private——”