When they were seated he purposely remained silent for some time. Were she guilty in the way he thought, the chances were greatly in favor of this silence embarrassing her and making her uneasy to a degree that would show.
In the course of a few minutes she did begin to show restiveness, but it was not of the kind to indicate any guilty knowledge, such as the detective was determined she would give evidence of.
She appeared to wait with all the patience possible until she became convinced that he would not open the conversation; and then she did so herself. She said:
“I believe you asked me to step into this room?”
“I did.”
“Will you please explain the nature of your business?”
“Do not be in a hurry. I heard you say to the butler that you were a daughter of Mr. Field?”
“I did say so.”
“On what do you base the claim?”
“A letter received from him.”