"Anyhow, I've got to go."
"Did she say so?"
"No, she didn't. She said it wasn't necessary. That was innocent, Straker, if you like."
"Oh, jolly innocent," said Straker.
"But I'm going all the same. I'm going before breakfast, by the seven-fifty train."
And he went. Straker saw him off.
IX
That was far and away the most disconcerting thing that had happened at Amberley within Straker's recollection.
It must have been very disagreeable for Philippa.
When, five days ago, he had wondered if he would ever live to see Philippa disconcerted, he had not contemplated anything like this. Neither, he was inclined to think, had Philippa in the beginning. She could have had no idea what she was letting herself in for. That she had let herself in was, to Straker's mind, the awful part of it.