I stared at her again, a trifle uneasily.
“Then perhaps you have forgotten,” I said, “your friend Septimus?”
“Completely,” she said. “Was there one?”
Had the floor been less slippery, I should have risen to my feet.
“Mr. Septimus Lorton,” I said, “your husband’s brother.”
“You mean the one,” she said, “that’s just passed on?”
“Passed on?” I replied. “Where to?”
She waved her hands towards several of the shrines.
“Ah, if we but knew,” she said, “if we but knew, Mr. Carp.”
“But do you mean to tell me,” I cried, “that he’s defunct?”