‘Let me try to help you. I learnt that at about this time you returned Lady Carrados’s bag to her. One of the guests noticed you. Where did you find this bag, Mr Dimitri? Perhaps that will help.’

Dimitri suddenly put his hands in his pockets and Alleyn knew that it was an unfamiliar gesture. He could see that the left hand was still secretly busy with the eyeglass.

‘That is correct. I seem to think the bag was in the room you mention. I am very particular about such things. My servants may not touch any bags that are left lying about the rooms. It is incredible how careless many ladies are with their bags, Mr Alleyn. I make it a rule that only I myself return them. Thus,’ said Dimitri virtuously, ‘am I solely responsible.’

‘It might be quite a grave responsibility. So the bag was in the green room. Anybody there?’

‘My servant François. I trust there was nothing missing from this bag?’ asked Dimitri with an air of alarm. ‘I asked her ladyship to be good enough to look at it.’

‘Her ladyship,’ said Alleyn, ‘has made no complaint.’

‘I am extremely relieved. For a moment I wondered—however.’

‘The point is this,’ said Alleyn, ‘At one o’clock Lord Robert telephoned from this little green room. My informant is not your servant, Mr Dimitri. I must make that clear. At this time I think he was downstairs. My informant tells me that you were on the landing. Perhaps it was shortly after you collected Lady Carrados’s bag.’

‘If it was I did not hear anything of it,’ said Dimitri instantly. ‘Your informant is himself misinformed. I did not see Lord Robert on this gallery. I did not notice him at all until he was leaving.’

‘You saw him then?’

‘Yes. He enquired if I had seen Mrs Halcut-Hackett. I informed his lordship that she had left.’

‘This was in the hall?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you see Lord Robert leave?’

There was a marked pause and then Dimitri said:

‘I have already explained all this to your colleague. After speaking to his lordship I went to the buffet on the ground floor. I remained there for a time speaking to Sir Herbert Carrados.’

Alleyn took a piece of paper from his pocket-book and handed it to Dimitri.

‘This is the order of departure amongst the last guests. We have got our information from several sources. Mr Fox was greatly helped in compiling it by his interview with you earlier this morning. Would you mind glancing at it?’

Dimitri surveyed the list.

‘It is correct, as far as I can remember, up to the time I left the hall.’

‘I believe you saw the encounter at the foot of the stairs between Lord Robert and his nephew, Mr Donald Potter?’

‘It was scarcely an encounter. They did not speak.’

‘Did you get the impression that they avoided each other?’