‘“Too late.” That is what he said, is it? “Too late.”’

Major Riddle said:

‘You can give us no idea, Miss Lingard, as to the nature of the circumstance that so distressed Sir Gervase?’

Miss Lingard said slowly:

‘I have an idea that it was in some way connected with Mr Hugo Trent.’

‘With Hugo Trent? Why do you think that?’

‘Well, it was nothing definite, but yesterday afternoon we were just touching on Sir Hugo de Chevenix (who, I’m afraid, didn’t bear too good a character in the Wars of the Roses), and Sir Gervase said, “My sister would choose the family name of Hugo for her son! It’s always been an unsatisfactory name in our family. She might have known no Hugo would turn out well.”’

‘What you tell us there is suggestive,’ said Poirot. ‘Yes, it suggests a new idea to me.’

‘Sir Gervase said nothing more definite than that?’ asked Major Riddle.

Miss Lingard shook her head.

‘No, and of course it wouldn’t have done for me to say anything. Sir Gervase was really just talking to himself. He wasn’t really speaking to me.’

‘Quite so.’

Poirot said:

‘Mademoiselle, you, a stranger, have been here for two months. It would be, I think, very valuable if you were to tell us quite frankly your impressions of the family and household.’

Miss Lingard took off her pince-nez and blinked reflectively.

‘Well, at first, quite frankly, I felt as though I’d walked straight into a madhouse! What with Lady Chevenix-Gore continually seeing things that weren’t there, and Sir Gervase behaving like—like a king—and dramatizing himself in the most extraordinary way—well, I really did think they were the queerest people I had ever come across. Of course, Miss Chevenix-Gore was perfectly normal, and I soon found that Lady Chevenix-Gore was really an extremely kind, nice woman. Nobody could be kinder and nicer to me than she has been. Sir Gervase—well, I really think he was mad. His egomania—isn’t that what you call it?—was getting worse and worse every day.’

‘And the others?’

‘Mr Burrows had rather a difficult time with Sir Gervase, I should imagine. I think he was glad that our work on the book gave him a little more breathing space. Colonel Bury was always charming. He was devoted to Lady Chevenix-Gore and he managed Sir Gervase quite well. Mr Trent, Mr Forbes and Miss Cardwell have only been here a few days, so of course I don’t know much about them.’

‘Thank you, mademoiselle. And what about Captain Lake, the agent?’

‘Oh, he’s very nice. Everybody liked him.’

‘Including Sir Gervase?’

‘Oh, yes. I’ve heard him say Lake was much the best agent he’d had. Of course, Captain Lake had his difficulties with Sir Gervase, too—but he managed pretty well on the whole. It wasn’t easy.’

Poirot nodded thoughtfully. He murmured, ‘There was something—something—that I had in mind to ask you—some little thing…What was it now?’

Miss Lingard turned a patient face towards him.

Poirot shook his head vexedly.