it on the sofa! Good evening.'

'Mr. Podgers, I must insist on your giving me a straightforward
answer to a question I am going to put to you.'

'Another time, Lord Arthur, but the Duchess is anxious. I am afraid
I must go.'

'You shall not go. The Duchess is in no hurry.'

'Ladies should not be kept waiting, Lord Arthur,' said Mr. Podgers,
with his sickly smile. 'The fair sex is apt to be impatient.'

Lord Arthur's finely-chiselled lips curled in petulant disdain. The
poor Duchess seemed to him of very little importance at that moment.
He walked across the room to where Mr. Podgers was standing, and
held his hand out.

'Tell me what you saw there,' he said. 'Tell me the truth. I must
know it. I am not a child.'

Mr. Podgers's eyes blinked behind his gold-rimmed spectacles, and he
moved uneasily from one foot to the other, while his fingers played
nervously with a flash watch-chain.

'What makes you think that I saw anything in your hand, Lord Arthur,
more than I told you?'

'I know you did, and I insist on your telling me what it was. I
will pay you. I will give you a cheque for a hundred pounds.'