On Pinky and Bertie’s part little attempt was made to disguise their consternation. It was obvious that they desired, more than anything else, an opportunity to consult together. Gantry, however, merely folded his arms, lay back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. He might have been waiting to rise in protest at a conference of Actors’ Equity. Warrender, for his part, resembled a senior member at a club committee meeting. Charles fetched a heavy sigh and rested his head on his hand.

Fox went out of the room. As he opened the door into the hall a grandfather clock at the foot of the stairs was striking eleven. It provoked an involuntary ejaculation from the persons Alleyn had brought together round the table. Several of them glanced in despair at their watches.

‘In the meantime,’ Alleyn said, ‘shall we try to clear up the position of Mr Richard Dakers?’

Anelida’s heart suddenly thudded against her ribs as if drawing attention to its disregarded sovereignty. She had time to think: ‘I’m involved, almost without warning, in a monstrous situation. I’m committed, absolutely, to a man of whom I know next to nothing. It’s a kind of dedication and I’m not prepared for it.’ She turned to look at Richard and, at once, knew that her allegiance, active or helpless, was irrevocable. ‘So this,’ Anelida thought in astonishment, ‘is what it’s like to be in love.’

Alleyn, aware of the immediate reactions, saw Old Ninn’s hands move convulsively in her lap. He saw Florence look at her with a flash of something that might have been triumph and he saw the colour fade unevenly from Warrender’s heavy face.

He went over the ground again up to the time of Richard’s final return to the house.

‘As you will see,’ he said, ‘there are blank passages. We don’t know what passed between Mr Dakers and Miss Bellamy in her room. We do know that, whatever it was, it seemed to distress him. We know he then went out and walked about Chelsea. We know he returned. We don’t know why.’

‘I wanted,’ Richard said, ‘to pick up a copy of my play.’

‘Good. Why didn’t you say so before?’

‘I clean forgot,’ he said and looked astonished.

‘Do you now remember what else you did?’

‘I went up to my old study to get it.’

‘And did you do anything else while you were there?’

There was no answer. Alleyn said: ‘You wrote a letter, didn’t you?’

Richard stared at him with a sort of horror. ‘How do you – why should you … ?’ He made a small desperate gesture and petered out.

‘To whom?’

‘It was private. I prefer not to say.’

‘Where is it, now? You’ve had no opportunity to post it.’

‘I – haven’t got it.’

‘What have you done with it?’