“I won’t tell-I won’t ever tell. I promise I won’t. If she’s our cousin, we ought to know. Oughtn’t we?”

“I’d have thought so,” said Mary with a toss of the head.

“Well then, you can tell me,” said Meg. She gave a little nod, let go of the hand that she was holding, and pranced round to the other side of her bed. “If you are nice and tell me all about it, I won’t say a word. But if you’re not, well then it’ll be just too bad for you.” She nodded her head and screwed up her mouth.

“Oh, you wicked child!” said Mary. Then as the roguish eyes met hers a little giggle escaped her. “My word, you are a one, Meg!” she said. “I don’t know what children are coming to, I don’t indeed. Well then, I can only tell you how the talk has gone, and from that it seems that Mr. Richard Alington Forbes was Jenny’s father, but her mother had an accident the day he was killed in France, so she couldn’t say they were married. And she came down here to Miss Garstone that had been her governess, and she died when her baby came. And no one knew they’d been married, so your father was the next heir, and he come in for the property, which was really Miss Jenny’s. And somehow or another the truth come out and Miss Jenny run away.”

Meg was deeply interested.

“Why did she do that?” she said.

“Oh well-” Mary had the grace to blush-“it was awkward for her being here. See?”

“No, I don’t.”

Mary had gone too far to draw back. She began to wish that she hadn’t begun.

“Oh well, you’re too young to understand, but it meant turning you out, and I dare say she’d feel awkward about that.”

“Oh, she would. Jenny wouldn’t like to turn anyone out-I know she wouldn’t. I don’t see why we couldn’t all stay here together. Do you?”

Mary thought that that would be, of course, the sensible thing to do. But did she see Mrs. Forbes doing it? She did not, and that was the truth. She didn’t know what Jenny knew, but with what she herself knew in her own mind she could very well imagine why Jenny had run away. She made some noncommittal answer, and was instantly met by further questions.

“I shall go to Mother and ask her why Jenny has gone away.”

“Meg, you promised-”

“No, I didn’t. I only said I wouldn’t say anything that would get you into trouble. And I won’t-truly. But I don’t see at all why I couldn’t go to my mother and say that I’d heard Jenny was staying at Hazeldon.”

“Meg, you can’t-you mustn’t! Mrs. Forbes doesn’t know that there’s any talk about it. She’d be mad.”

Meg considered this.

“Well then, I could write a secret letter to Jenny, and you could post it for me. I’ll tell her I’ve heard where she is, and she can write back to me and put it in an envelope that is addressed to you at your home, so that no one will know anything about it except you and me and Jenny. There’s a lovely plan for you!”

“But, Meg-I don’t see-”

Meg waved her hands in the air.

“You haven’t got to see anything. You’ve only got to take my letter to the post and put it in, and when the answer comes back you’ll just have to put it in your pocket and bring it up here and give it to me when there’s nobody looking. It’ll be our own secret and ever so exciting. And it’s quite easy, so there’s nothing for you to fuss about.”

Mary stood still on the far side of the bed. She was thinking. Suppose she did what Meg wanted her to do. She could do it quite easily…

Well, there would be an awful row if it ever came out. But how could it come out? It couldn’t, really. Not unless Meg let it out-and why should she do that? She’d get into a most frightful row if she did. She considered Meg very seriously. Very good at escaping rows, that’s what she was. And quite good at getting you into them if she wanted to. It seemed to Mary that it would be less dangerous to go along with Meg and do what she wanted. She could hold her tongue could Meg-she’d noticed that. The thoughts raced through her mind. If she went in with Meg and Jenny got to know about it, there’d be a good wedding present to be got out of it perhaps. Jack Brent had a good job. She didn’t want to get married yet, but she didn’t want to lose him. He was getting a bit impatient, and there was that bold piece Florrie Hayling doing all she could to get him.

As these thoughts chased through Mary’s mind, Meg stood watching her. She could manage Mary. She mustn’t hurry her, not at this stage. She knew very well what she was thinking-could she do it without being found out? And the answer to that one was-easily. Only they two would know, and if neither of them spoke it was just too easy.

Would it pay her? Meg thought that one out too. She didn’t know all the ins and outs, but she knew enough, and she had a very quick, sure instinct. She waited therefore with astonishing patience until Mary’s mind was made up. She wasn’t in any real doubt of the outcome. She knew all about Florrie and Jack, and took a passionate interest. She thought Mary would be very silly to let Florrie get him. She didn’t like Florrie at all. A bold giggling piece, that was what Carter had called her. And Jack was nice. She liked him very much. He had a merry eye, and he could whistle beautifully.

At this point she began to think that Mary had had enough time to make up her mind. She said with an impatient ring in her voice,

“I said there was nothing for you to fuss over. What about it?”

Mary heard herself saying,

“Well, if you promise not to tell-”

Chapter XXXVI

Mr. Mottingley was in his office. He had resumed his business habits, but his mind was elsewhere. Only by keeping it strictly on business was there any relief from the dreadful suspense that racked him.

There was a knock on the door, and he looked up frowning. His preoccupation was hard won and to be held on to at all costs. The girl who looked in was pretty and shy. She was quite dreadfully afraid of Mr. Mottingley, but she liked Jimmy. Everyone in the office liked him. She was hotly partisan, too. Whoever had killed that girl, it certainly wasn’t Jimmy Mottingley. Anyone who knew him could tell that.

“What is it?” said Mr. Mottingley at his shortest.

“It’s-it’s Miss Lingbourne, sir. She-she wanted to see you.”

“Miss Lingbourne?” He frowned. “What does she want?”

“She didn’t say, sir.”

“Tell her I don’t see anyone without an appointment!” The words came sharp and hard.

And then as the girl turned away and was leaving the room his mind altered. Jimmy had been friendly with the family. It was just possible that the girl knew something that would help. Well then, why didn’t she make an appointment? Her brother was there in the office. Girls didn’t always tell their brothers everything. It was just a chance. He said,

“Wait a moment-show her in!”

He sat back in his chair and waited. When the door opened and Kathy Lingbourne came in he looked at her with attention. She was very quietly dressed, and she was pale. He did not know that he had ever seen her before. He might have passed her in the road, he might have seen her with her brother. She wasn’t anything to write home about. And then she was looking him straight in the face and saying, “How do you do, Mr. Mottingley?” as if she had come on a social visit. He said rather grimly,

“What can I do for you, Miss Lingbourne?”

She took the chair on the opposite side of his table and looked at him. When she spoke he noticed her voice-a nice voice, quiet and sweet. She said,

“I’ve come to see you about your son-about Jimmy.”

“Indeed? And what have you to say?”

Kathy paused. She was not afraid of Mr. Mottingley. Jimmy was- she knew that. She said,

“I thought I had better come and see you. Miss Silver asked me not to go and see Jimmy. She said it might do him harm. But I thought if I came to see you, that wouldn’t matter.”