‘There may be. Do you know if anybody overheard Bunchy telephone from that room at about one o’clock?’

‘I haven’t heard of it,’ said Bridget. He saw that her curiosity was aroused. ‘Have you asked Miss Harris?’ she said. ‘She was on the top landing a good deal last night. She’s somewhere in the house now.’

‘I’ll have a word with her. There’s just one other point. Lord Robert was with your mother when you returned her bag, wasn’t he? He was there when she felt faint?’

‘Yes. Why?’

‘Did he seem upset in any way?’

‘He seemed very concerned about Donna but that was all. Sir Daniel—Donna’s doctor—came up. Bunchy opened a window. They all seemed to want me out of the way. Donna asked for her smelling-salts, so I went and got them. That’s all. What about a cigarette-case? Do tell me.’

‘It’s gold with a medallion sunk in the lid and surrounded by brilliants. Do you know it?

‘It sounds horribly grand. No, I don’t think I do.’

Alleyn got up.

‘That’s all, then,’ he said. ‘Thank you so much, Miss Bridget. Good-bye.’ He had got as far as the door before she stopped him.

‘Mr Alleyn!’

‘Yes?’

She was standing very erect in the middle of the room, her chin up and a lock of hair falling across her forehead.

‘You seem to be very interested in the fact that my mother was not well last night. Why?’

‘Lord Robert was with her at the time—’ Alleyn began.

‘You seem equally interested in the fact that I returned my mother’s bag to her. Why? Neither of these incidents had anything to do with Bunchy Gospell. My mother’s not well and I won’t have her worried.’

‘Quite right,’ said Alleyn. ‘I won’t either if I can help it.’

She seemed to accept that, but he could see that she had something else to say. Her young, beautifully made-up face in its frame of careful curls had a frightened look.

‘I want you to tell me,’ said Bridget, ‘if you suspect Donald of anything.’

‘It is much too soon for us to form any definite suspicion of anybody,’ Alleyn said. ‘You shouldn’t attach too much significance to any one question in police interrogations. Many of our questions are nothing but routine. As Lord Robert’s heir—no, don’t storm at me again, you asked me and I tell you—as Lord Robert’s heir Donald is bound to come in for his share of questions. If you are worrying about him, and I see you are, may I give you a tip? Encourage him to return to medicine. If he starts running night clubs the chances are that sooner or later he will fall into our clutches. And then what?’