“Well... I know it, anyway.”
He seemed moved by that statement. He leaned forward with an odd eagerness, behind which there was something terrible that went unperceived by her.
“Why did you not say so before? How do you know? What do you know?”
“I am sure that he did not.”
“Yes, yes. But what makes you so sure? Do you possess some knowledge that you have not revealed?”
He saw the colour slowly shrinking from her cheeks under his burning gaze. So she was not quite shameless then, after all. There were limits to her effrontery.
“What knowledge should I possess?” she filtered.
“That is what I am asking.”
She made a good recovery. “I possess the knowledge that you should possess yourself,” she told him. “I know Ned for a man incapable of such a thing. I am ready to swear that he could not have done it.”
“I see: evidence as to character.” He sank back into his chair and thoughtfully stirred his chocolate. “It may weigh with the court. But I am not the court, and my mere opinions can do nothing for Ned Tremayne.”