the bride asked of Hermione.
The face of the tall straight woman turned slowly and as if drugged to this new speaker.
‘No,’ she replied, in a low inhuman tone, that seemed to contain a chuckle. ‘No, I shouldn’t let anybody take my hat off my head.’
‘How would you prevent it?’ asked Gerald.
‘I don’t know,’ replied Hermione slowly. ‘Probably I should kill him.’
There was a strange chuckle in her tone, a dangerous and convincing humour in her bearing.
‘Of course,’ said Gerald, ‘I can see Rupert’s point. It is a question to him whether his hat or his peace of mind is more important.’