Clara (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd)

In the novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Clara is the maid of Miss Gannett. She is good friends with Annie and Elsie Dale, two parlourmaids at King's Abbot. When Poirot needs to learn the colour of Ralph Paton's boots, Caroline Sheppard thinks it can be done easily. She says, Clara was "walking out with the Boots at the Three Boars", suggesting, perhaps, that Clara had gone on a date with Ralph. Caroline approaches Miss Gannett who grants Clara a leave of absence and soon Caroline finds out that the boots are black.