“I did.  It was I who brought her the message.  She was to meet Mr. Parmalee at midnight, on the stone terrace.”

“Who was this Mr. Parmalee?”

“An American gentleman—­a traveling photographic artist, between whom and my lady a secret existed.”

“A secret unknown to her husband?”

“Yes.”

“And this secret was the cause of their mysterious midnight meeting?”

“It was.  Mr. Parmalee dare not come to the house.  Sir Everard had driven him forth with blows and abuse, and forbidden him to enter the grounds.  My lady knew this, and was forced to meet him by stealth.”

“Where was Sir Everard on this night?”

“At a military dinner given by Major Morrell, here in Worrel.”

“What time did he return to Kingsland Court?”

“At half past eleven, as nearly as I can judge.  I did not see him for some ten or fifteen minutes after; then Claudine, my lady’s maid, came and aroused me—­said Sir Everard was in my lady’s dressing-room and wished to see me at once.”

“You went?”

“I went immediately.  I found Sir Everard in a state of passionate fury no words can describe.  By some means he had learned of the assignation; through an anonymous note left upon his dressing-table, he said.”

“Did you see this note?”

“I did not.  He had none in his hand, nor have I seen any since.”

“What did the prisoner say to you?”

“He asked me where was his wife—­he insisted that I knew.  He demanded an answer in such a way I dared not disobey.”

“You told him?”

“I did.  ‘Is she with him?’ he said, grasping my arm, and I answered, ‘Yes.’”

“And then?”

“He asked me, ‘Where?’ and I told him; and he flung me from him, like a madman, and rushed out of the house, swearing, in an awful voice, ’I’ll have their hearts’ blood!’”

“Was it the first time you ever heard him threaten his wife’s life?”

“No; the second.  Once before I heard him say to her, at the close of a dreadful quarrel, ’If ever you meet that man again, I’ll murder you, by the living Lord!’”

“What was the cause of the quarrel?”

“She had met Mr. Parmalee, by night and by stealth, in Sir Everard’s absence, in the Beech Walk.”

“And he discovered it?”

“He did.  Edwards, his valet, had gone out with me to look for some article I had lost, and by chance we came upon them.  We saw her give him money; we saw her dreadfully frightened; and when Edwards met his master again his face betrayed him—­we had to tell him all.”

“Did any one hear the prisoner use those words, ’I’ll have their hearts’ blood!’ on the night of the murder, but yourself?”

“Yes; Edwards, his valet, and Claudine, the lady’s maid.  We crouched together in the hall, frightened almost to death.”

“When did the prisoner reappear?”