32. A ROOM IN ENCKWORTH COURT
‘Are you sure the report is true?’
‘I am sure that what I say is true, my lord; but it is hardly to be called a report. It is a secret, known at present to nobody but myself and Mrs. Doncastle’s maid.’
The speaker was Lord Mountclere’s trusty valet, and the conversation was between him and the viscount in a dressing-room at Enckworth Court, on the evening after the meeting of archaeologists at Corvsgate Castle.
‘H’m-h’m; the daughter of a butler. Does Mrs. Doncastle know of this yet, or Mr. Neigh, or any of their friends?’
‘No, my lord.’
‘You are quite positive?’
‘Quite positive. I was, by accident, the first that Mrs. Menlove named the matter to, and I told her it might be much to her advantage if she took particular care it should go no further.’
‘Mrs. Menlove! Who’s she?’
‘The lady’s-maid at Mrs. Doncastle’s, my lord.’