"Old Mrs. Hanson—at first. She's very ill. I should really have stayed the night. I went to the club for a bite—"
He broke off. He walked closer, looking down into her eyes which did not quite meet his.
"At the club—I knew I must come home to-night. I—I sent your cousin, Tom Redding, to Mrs. Hanson."
Her eyes wavered even more.
"Why? That isn't like you to—to turn a critical case over to another man. I could have managed. Anyway, you'd forgotten about my maid's wedding. So it wasn't that. What—what happened at the club?"
She shivered for a moment uncontrollably.
"John! What's the matter? Why do you glare at me like that? Why do you look so—so—"
She tried to laugh.
"So—murderous?"
His face worked.