Thecoffee-roomofthehotel，asitgrewlateintheevening，becameaperfectsolitude。IwaslefttoreflectonwhatIhadaccomplishedthatafternoonasuninterruptedlyasifthehousehadbeenmyown。BeforeI
retiredtorestIhadattentivelythoughtovermyextraordinaryinterviewwithMrsCatherickfrombeginningtoend，andhadverifiedatmyleisuretheconclusionswhichIhadhastilydrawnintheearlierpartoftheday。
ThevestryofOldWelminghamchurchwasthestarting-pointfromwhichmymindslowlyworkeditswaybackthroughallthatIhadheardMrsCathericksay，andthroughallIhadseenMrsCatherickdo。
AtthetimewhentheneighbourhoodofthevestrywasfirstreferredtoinmypresencebyMrsClements，IhadthoughtitthestrangestandmostunaccountableofallplacesforSirPercivaltoselectforaclandestinemeetingwiththeclerk’swife。Influencedbythisimpression，andbynoother，Ihadmentioned`thevestryofthechurch’beforeMrsCatherickonpurespeculation——itrepresentedoneoftheminorpeculiaritiesofthestorywhichoccurredtomewhileIwasspeaking。Iwaspreparedforheransweringmeconfusedlyorangrily，buttheblankterrorthatseizedherwhenIsaidthewordstookmecompletelybysurprise。IhadlongbeforeassociatedSirPercival’sSecretwiththeconcealmentofaseriouscrimewhichMrsCatherickknewof，butIhadgonenofurtherthanthis。Nowthewoman’sparoxysmofterrorassociatedthecrime，eitherdirectlyorindirectly，withthevestry，andconvincedmethatshehadbeenmorethanthemerewitnessofit——shewasalsotheaccomplice，beyondadoubt。
Whathadbeenthenatureofthecrime？Surelytherewasacontemptiblesidetoit，aswellasadangerousside，orMrsCatherickwouldnothaverepeatedmyownwords，referringtoSirPercival’srankandpower，withsuchmarkeddisdainasshehadcertainlydisplayed。Itwasacontemptiblecrimethen，andadangerouscrime，andshehadsharedinit，anditwasassociatedwiththevestryofthechurch。