A new priest in the parish had been hearing some disconcerting things from his parishioners and determined to make an investigation into the stories. When the bishop invited him to dinner, he paid close attention during the meal, and noticed some signs of intimacy between the bishop and his housekeeper.
A few days later the housekeeper remarked to the bishop that a valuable antique solid silver soup ladle had been missing since the young priest's visit. "I doubt he had anything to do with it, but I will ask him," said the bishop. So the bishop wrote to the priest to follow up on their visit, and included in the letter: "My housekeeper has been remarking upon a missing silver ladle, and wonders if you might have seen it in an odd spot the evening you were here. I'm not saying that 'you did' take a solid silver ladle from my house, and I am not saying that 'you did not' take a solid silver ladle from my house, but the fact is that the ladle has been missing since your visit.." Duly, the bishop received the young priest's reply, which read: "Your Excellency, I'm not saying that you are overly close to your housekeeper, and I'm not saying that you are not, but the fact is that if you were spending nights in your own bed, you would by now have found the ladle."