“Yes?”
“It must have been in the hall with all the other stuff.”
“You were going to say in the drawing-room or in the hall?”
“Was I?” said Henry.
“Well,” said Alleyn amiably, “I’m only asking. Were you?”
“Yes, but I stopped because I realized it couldn’t have been in the drawing-room. If any one had taken it from there we should have seen them.”
“I see by my notes,” said Alleyn, “that Lord Charles was alone in the drawing-room for some time.”
“Then,” said Henry stolidly, “he would have seen anybody who came in and took the skewer.”
“Did you happen to look at the hall table on this visit?”
“Yes, I did. I looked to see if his hat and coat were gone. Of course they were. He was in the lift, I suppose, by then.”