'You are intimately acquainted, I know, with Lady Barville, the late
Lord Montbarry's eldest sister. The solicitors employed by her husband are
also the solicitors to one of the two insurance offices. There may possibly
be something in the report of the commission of inquiry touching on
Ferrari's disappearance. Ordinary persons would not be permitted, of course,
to see such a document. But a sister of the late lord is so near a relative
as to be an exception to general rules. If Sir Theodore Barville puts
it on that footing, the lawyers, even if they do not allow his wife to look
at the report, will at least answer any discreet questions she may ask
referring to it. Let me hear what you think of this suggestion, at your
earliest convenience.'
