“I wonder if you will?” he exclaimed. “I know you mean now to do what I advise, but the worst of amateurs is that they are prone to act from the heart rather than from the head. You won’t like the first job I’m going to put you to.”
“I will do anything,” she said firmly.
“Wait till you hear what it is! The moment you get back to Terriford get an order to see Mr. Garlett alone, or within sight, but not within hearing, of a warder. And then, however disagreeable the job, you must get out of him whether or not this Lucy Warren told the truth concerning his mysterious interviews with some woman in the wood near his house.”
“I am absolutely sure it is a lie!”
Sir Harold shook his head.
“This won’t do at all. If you begin by assuring him that you are sure he never did such a thing—then he will find it impossible to admit that he did do it. What you must say is that you can see no reason in the world why he shouldn’t have met and walked with some young lady.”
“How can I do that when I feel sure he never did do it?”
He looked at her kindly.
“Forgive me, Miss Bower! I was a fool to think that you could bring yourself to act the part of even the most amateur of detectives. Put the idea out of your mind, and rest assured that I will do everything in my power to save your lover’s life.”
Jean rose from her chair.