She was terribly upset. She said, ‘That chocolate was as bitter as gall-there’s someone trying to harm you, Miss Rachel! You can’t get from it.’ She brought the box of chocolates over to me, and we examined them thoroughly. The ones with hard centers were all right, and we put them aside. There were about a dozen left with soft centers. Three of these had had a little hole made in the bottom and filled up again. It was quite cleverly done, but you could see it. I touched the filling of one of these chocolates with my tongue, and, it had a strong bitter taste. I burnt all the chocolates that were left.”

“A very foolish proceeding,” said Miss Silver briskly. “You should have had them analysed.”

Rachel answered with a hopeless gesture and a single word. Her hand lifted from her knee and fell again. She said,

“Impossible.”

Chapter Three

Miss Silver waited. No other words followed. She knitted to the end of her row, and then remarked,

“This is for Hilary Cunningham’s baby. A sweet color- so very delicate.”

Rachel Treherne’s dark eyes rested for a moment upon the pale pink wool. She said in an absent voice,

“I didn’t know that Hilary had a baby.”

“Not till January.” Miss Silver began another row. “And now, Miss Treherne, I think we had better proceed. I asked you to tell me three things. Firstly, why should anyone want to kill you? You have not really replied to this, unless your statement that you are Rollo Treherne’s daughter, and that he has left you discretionary powers over his very large fortune, is an answer.”

Miss Treherne said without looking at her,

“It might be.”

“I asked you, secondly, whether any attempt had been made on your life, and if so, in what circumstances. To this you have replied very fully. Thirdly, I inquired who it was that you suspected. It is very necessary for me to have an answer to that third question.”



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