"But cannot you discover the truth?" asked the girl eagerly. "Cannot we free my stepfather? He's such a dear old fellow, and is always so good and kind to my mother and myself."
"That is exactly my object in asking you to meet me here, Enid," said the novelist, his countenance still thoughtful and serious.
"How can I assist?" she asked quickly. "Only explain, and I will act upon any suggestion you may make."
"You can assist by giving me answers to certain questions," was his slow reply. The inquiry was delicate and difficult to pursue without arousing the girl's suspicions as to the exact situation and the hideous scandal in progress.
"What do you wish to know?" she asked in some surprise, for she saw by his countenance that he was deeply in earnest.
"Well," he said, with some little hesitation, glancing at her pale, handsome face as he walked by her side, "I fear you may think me too inquisitive—that the questions I'm going to ask are out of sheer curiosity."
"I shall not if by replying I can assist my stepfather to escape from that man's thraldom."
He was silent for a moment; then he said slowly: "I think Sir Hugh was in command of a big training camp in Norfolk early in the war, was he not?"
"Yes. I went with him, and we stayed for about three months at the King's Head at Beccles."
"And during the time you were at the King's Head, did the doctor ever visit Sir Hugh?"