“You say that the uncle did make a second will?”
“Oh, yes—he told me he had.”
“And that it was not proved?”
“Oh, no—his brother Arnold came in for everything.”
“And he has done nothing for his nephew?”
“Nothing at all. Everyone says what a shame it is.”
“Then I think you have a plain duty. You should see the family solicitor, tell him what you know, and furnish him with the names of the witnesses. I think you mentioned that they were gardeners on the estate.”
Clarice’s colour changed.
“That’s just it! That’s why I wanted to talk to someone! Billy Stokes—he was one of them. Well, he went to sea and was drowned—washed overboard in a storm.”
“And the other?”
She had not eaten more than half of her sugar cake. She looked down at it now. Crumbling the pink and white icing. Frowning.
