“Friend? No, enemy—a bitter enemy!”
“Then you have quarrelled? She was once your friend—eh? Over what have you quarrelled?”
“That is my own affair!” she snapped in apparent annoyance. “If you know her, don’t trust her. I warn you!” Then she added: “She is a wicked woman.”
“And her husband, Jack?”
“Ah! he’s an excellent fellow—far too good for her!”
“Why do you entertain such antipathy toward her?” I asked. “Do tell me, because it will make my inquiries so very much easier.”
“Inquiries? What inquiries are you making?”
I was silent for a moment, then looking straight into her eyes, I replied very seriously:
“I am making inquiries, Miss Tennison, into what happened to you during those days when you disappeared. I am seeking to bring punishment upon those who are responsible for your present condition.”