He resumed his place on the sofa. I perched on the edge of a chair across from him. “I don’t really know what to tell. I had never met Sir Toby until two days ago at the casino. We exchanged a few words. I admired his yacht because one can see it from our terrace. He invited me to come sailing with him the next day. I went to his house before noon, I think. We went for a short sail. Sir Toby tried to”—I paused, selecting my words carefully—“take advantage of me, knowing that I was all alone on his yacht. Fortunately the marquis happened to pass by in his speedboat and so I left Sir Toby and went off with him.”

“I see.” He frowned. “Unfortunately this will not come across well in court. I had hoped that we could claim you did not know Sir Toby. But his crew will testify that he made advances to you and you left his yacht in a state of distress.”

“Yes, but they will also testify that he was still alive when I left, and I never saw him again. I was with the marquis.”

“So he informs me. You ate a meal together on the beach, I believe.”

I nodded. “Then it started to pour with rain and he drove me home. He actually saw me go in the front door. My maid met me. I rested for a while, then the rain stopped and I walked out onto the terrace and saw the body floating in the swimming pool.” I looked at him and shrugged. “That’s about it, really.”

“So someone was with you all the time after you arrived home?”

“My maid wasn’t actually with me all the time, but she was around. So were other servants.”

He frowned. “So this gardener, who claims he saw you tiptoeing toward Sir Toby’s house at around three o’clock? He is lying? For what purpose?”

“Someone has paid him to pin the crime on me, perhaps?” I suggested. “Or he saw someone who looked like me. The funny thing is that several people have seen someone who resembles me in Nice. We should try to find this person. Perhaps she had a good reason to go and visit Sir Toby yesterday.”