Douglas stared at Fabian and then looked away in embarrassment. ‘You don’t want to think of it like that,’ he said. ‘It was a tribute. She was enormously popular. We had to let them do it. Personally—’

‘Go on with the story, Douglas,’ said Terence.

‘Wait,’ said Fabian. ‘I’ve got to explain. It’s my turn. I want to explain.’

‘No,’ cried Ursula. ‘Please not.’

‘We agreed to tell him everything. I’ve got to explain why I can’t join in this nil nisi stuff. It crops up at every turn. Let’s clear it up and then get on with the job.’

‘No!’

‘I’ve got to, Ursy. Please don’t interrupt, it’s so deadly important. And, after all, one can’t make a fool of oneself without some sort of apology.’

‘Mr Alleyn will understand.’ Ursula appealed urgently to Alleyn, her hands still pressed down on Fabian’s shoulders. ‘It’s the war,’ she said. ‘He was dreadfully ill after Dunkirk. You mustn’t mind.’

‘For pity’s sake shut up, darling, and let me tell him,’ said Fabian violently.

‘But it’s crazy. I won’t let you, Fabian. I won’t let you.’

‘You can’t stop me,’ he said.

‘What the hell is this about?’ Douglas asked angrily.

‘It’s about me,’ said Fabian. ‘It’s about whether or not I killed your Aunt Florence. Now, for God’s sake, hold your tongue and listen.’

CHAPTER FOUR

According to Fabian Losse

SITTING ON THE floor and hugging his knees, Fabian began his narrative. At first he stammered. The phrases tumbled over each other and his lips trembled. As often as this happened he paused, frowning, and, in a level voice, repeated the sentence he had bungled, so that presently he was master of himself and spoke composedly.

‘I think I told you,’ he said, ‘that I got a crack on the head at Dunkirk. I also told you, didn’t I, that for some weeks after I was supposed to be more or less patched up, they put me on a specialized job in England. It was then I got the notion of a magnetic fuse for anti-aircraft shells, which is, to make no bones about it, the general idea behind our precious X Adjustment. I suppose, if things had gone normally, I’d have muddled away at it there in England, but they didn’t.