Chapter 24
THROUGH THE NETA cold and unrelenting rain poured down over lamplit Apron Street, but it thinned the crowd round Portminster Lodge very little since the tantalizing string of cars before the flaking, dewdrop-hung gate grew longer and longer as an hour passed, and there were comings and goings by taxi to be observed.
Already there had been anxious inquirers for relatives who had not returned from the conversazione. These had been courteously dismissed by the police, but had not all left entirely reassured, although the first wild rumour, which had hinted that refreshment at a Borgia house-warming was very small beer when compared with the Palinode counterpart, had soon been superseded by something nearer the truth. Still, no one had been allowed to leave and tension was runnin
