"I regret exceedingly..." said M. Hercule Poirot.
He was interrupted. Not rudely interrupted. The interruption was suave1, dexterous2, persuasiverather than contradictory3.
"Please don't refuse offhand4, M. Poirot. There are grave issues of State. Your cooperation will beappreciated in the highest quarters."
"You are too kind," Hercule Poirot waved a hand, "but I really cannot undertake to do as you ask.
At this season of the year..."
Again Mr Jesmond interrupted. "Christmas time," he said, persuasively5. "An old- fashionedChristmas in the English countryside."
Hercule Poirot shivered. The thought of the Christmas countryside at this season of the year didnot attract him.
"A good old-fashioned Christmas!" Mr Jesmond stressed it.
"Me - I am not an Englishman," said Hercule Poirot. "In my country, Christmas, it is for thechildren. The New Year, that is what we celebrate.""Ah," said Mr Jesmond, "but Christmas in England is a great institution and I assure you at KingsLacey you would see it at its best. It's a wonderful old house, you know. Why, one wing of it datesfrom the fourteenth century."
Again Poirot shivered. The thought of a fourteenth-century English manor6 house filled him withapprehension. He had suffered too often in the historic country houses of England. He lookedround appreciatively at his comfortable modern flat with its radiators7 and the latest patent devicesfor excluding any kind of draught8.
"In the winter," he said firmly, "I do not leave London.""I don't think you quite appreciate, Mr Poirot, what a very serious matter this is." Mr Jesmondglanced at his companion and then back at Poirot.
Poirot's second visitor had up to now said nothing but a polite and formal "How do you do." He satnow, gazing down at his well-polished shoes, with an air of the utmost dejection on his coffee-coloured face. He was a young man, not more than twenty-three, and he was clearly in a state ofcomplete misery9.
"Yes, yes," said Hercule Poirot. "Of course the matter is serious. I do appreciate that. His Highnesshas my heartfelt sympathy."
"The position is one of the utmost delicacy," said Mr Jesmond.
Poirot transferred his gaze from the young man to his older companion. If one wanted to sum upMr Jesmond in a word, the word would have been discretion10. Everything about Mr Jesmond wasdiscreet. His well-cut but inconspicuous clothes, his pleasant, well-bred voice which rarely soaredout of an agreeable monotone, his light-brown hair just thinning a little at the temples, his paleserious face. It seemed to Hercule Poirot that he had known not one Mr Jesmond but a dozen MrJesmonds in his time, all using sooner or later the same phrase - "a position of the utmostdelicacy."
"The police," said Hercule Poirot, "can be very discreet11, you know."Mr Jesmond shook his head firmly.
"Not the police," he said. "To recover the - er - what we want to recover will almost inevitablyinvolve taking proceedings12 in the law courts and we know so little. We suspect, but we do notknow."
"You have my sympathy," said Hercule Poirot again.
If he imagined that his sympathy was going to mean anything to his two visitors, he was wrong.
They did not want sympathy, they wanted practical help. Mr Jesmond began once more to talkabout the delights of an English Christmas.
"It's dying out, you know," he said, "the real old-fashioned type of Christmas. People spend it athotels nowadays. But an English Christmas with all the family gathered round, the children andtheir stockings, the Christmas tree, the turkey and plum pudding, the crackers13. The snow-manoutside the window..."
In the interests of exactitude, Hercule Poirot intervened.
"To make a snow-man one has to have the snow," he remarked severely14. "And one cannot havesnow to order, even for an English Christmas.""I was talking to a friend of mine in the meteorological office only today," said Mr Jesmond, "andhe tells me that it is highly probable there will be snow this Christmas."It was the wrong thing to have said. Hercule Poirot shuddered15 more forcefully than ever.
"Snow in the country!" he said. "That would be still more abominable16. A large, cold, stone manorhouse."
"Not at all," said Mr Jesmond. "Things have changed very much in the last ten years or so. Oil-fired central heating."
"They have oil-fired central heating at Kings Lacey?" asked Poirot. For the first time he seemed towaver.
Mr Jesmond seized his opportunity. "Yes, indeed," he said, "and a splendid hot water system.
Radiators in every bedroom. I assure you, my dear M. Poirot, Kings Lacey is comfort itself in thewinter time. You might even find the house too warm.""That is most unlikely," said Hercule Poirot.
With practised dexterity17 Mr Jesmond shifted his ground a little.
"You can appreciate the terrible dilemma18 we are in," he said, in a confidential19 manner.
Hercule Poirot nodded. The problem was, indeed, not a happy one. A young potentate-to-be, theonly son of the ruler of a rich and important native State had arrived in London a few weeks ago.
His country had been passing through a period of restlessness and discontent. Though loyal to thefather whose way of life had remained persistently20 Eastern, popular opinion was somewhatdubious of the younger generation. His follies21 had been Western ones and as such looked uponwith disapproval22.
Recently, however, his betrothal23 had been announced. He was to marry a cousin of the sameblood, a young woman who, though educated at Cambridge, was careful to display no Westerninfluences in her own country. The wedding day was announced and the young prince had made ajourney to England, bringing with him some of the famous jewels of his house to be reset24 inappropriate modern settings by Cartier. These had included a very famous ruby25 which had beenremoved from its cumbersome26 old-fashioned necklace and had been given a new look by thefamous jewellers. So far so good, but after this came the snag. It was not to be supposed that ayoung man possessed27 of much wealth and convivial28 tastes, should not commit a few follies of thepleasanter type. As to that there would have been no censure29. Young princes were supposed toamuse themselves in this fashion. For the prince to take the girl friend of the moment for a walkdown Bond Street and bestow30 upon her an emerald bracelet31 or a diamond clip as a reward for thepleasure she had afforded him would have been regarded as quite natural and suitable,corresponding in fact to the Cadillac cars which his father invariably presented to his favouritedancing girl of the moment.
But the prince had been far more indiscreet than that. Flattered by the lady's interest, he haddisplayed to her the famous ruby in its new setting, and had finally been so unwise as to accede32 toher request to be allowed to wear it just for one evening!
The sequel was short and sad. The lady had retired33 from their supper table to powder her nose.
Time passed. She did not return. She had left the establishment by another door and since then haddisappeared into space. The important and distressing34 thing was that the ruby in its new settinghad disappeared with her.
These were the facts that could not possibly be made public without the most dire35 consequences.
The ruby was something more than a ruby, it was a historical possession of great significance, andthe circumstances of its disappearance36 were such that any undue37 publicity38 about them might resultin the most serious political consequences.
Mr Jesmond was not the man to put these facts into simple language. He wrapped them up, as itwere, in a great deal of verbiage39. Who exactly Mr Jesmond was, Hercule Poirot did not know. Hehad met other Mr Jesmonds in the course of his career. Whether he was connected with the HomeOffice, the Foreign Office or some more discreet branch of public service was not specified40. Hewas acting41 in the interests of the Commonwealth42. The ruby must be recovered.
M. Poirot, so Mr Jesmond delicately insisted, was the man to recover it.
"Perhaps - yes," Hercule Poirot admitted, "but you can tell me so little. Suggestion - suspicion - allthat is not very much to go upon."
"Come now, Monsieur Poirot, surely it is not beyond your powers. Ah, come now.""I do not always succeed."
But this was mock modesty43. It was clear enough from Poirot's tone that for him to undertake amission was almost synonymous with succeeding in it.
"His Highness is very young," Mr Jesmond said. "It will be sad if his whole life is to be blightedfor a mere44 youthful indiscretion."
Poirot looked kindly45 at the downcast young man. "It is the time for follies, when one is young," hesaid encouragingly, "and for the ordinary young man it does not matter so much. The good papa,he pays up; the family lawyer, he helps to disentangle the inconvenience; the young man, he learnsby experience and all ends for the best. In a position such as yours, it is hard indeed. Yourapproaching marriage..."
"That is it. That is it exactly." For the first time words poured from the young man. "You see she isvery, very serious. She takes life very seriously. She has acquired at Cambridge many very seriousideas. There is to be education in my country. There are to be schools. There are to be manythings. All in the name of progress, you understand, of democracy. It will not be, she says, like itwas in my father's time. Naturally she knows that I will have diversions in London, but not thescandal. No! It is the scandal that matters. You see it is very, very famous, this ruby. There is along trail behind it, a history. Much bloodshed - many deaths!""Deaths," said Hercule Poirot thoughtfully. He looked at Mr Jesmond. "One hopes," he said, "itwill not come to that?"
Mr Jesmond made a peculiar46 noise rather like a hen who has decided47 to lay an egg and thenthought better of it.
"No, no, indeed," he said, sounding rather prim48. "There is no question, I am sure, of anything ofthat kind."
"You cannot be sure," said Hercule Poirot. "Whoever has the ruby now, there may be others whowant to gain possession of it, and who will not stick at a trifle, my friend.""I really don't think," said Mr Jesmond, sounding more prim than ever, "that we need enter intospeculations of that kind. Quite unprofitable.""Me," said Hercule Poirot, suddenly becoming very foreign, "me, I explore all the avenues, likethe politicians."
Mr Jesmond looked at him doubtfully. Pulling himself together, he said, "Well, I can take it that issettled, M. Poirot? You will go to Kings Lacey?""And how do I explain myself there?" asked Hercule Poirot.
Mr Jesmond smiled with confidence.
"That, I think, can be arranged very easily," he said. "I can assure you that it will all seem quitenatural. You will find the Laceys most charming. Delightful49 people.""And you do not deceive me about the oil-fired central heating?""No, no, indeed." Mr Jones sounded quite pained. "I assure you you will find every comfort.""Tout50 confort moderne," murmured Poirot to himself, reminiscently. "Eh bien," he said, "I accept."
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suave
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| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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offhand
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| adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的 | |
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persuasively
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| adv.口才好地；令人信服地 | |
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manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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radiators
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| n.（暖气设备的）散热器( radiator的名词复数 )；汽车引擎的冷却器，散热器 | |
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draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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crackers
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| adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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betrothal
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| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
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reset
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| v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物 | |
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ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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cumbersome
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| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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convivial
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| adj.狂欢的，欢乐的 | |
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censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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bracelet
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| n.手镯，臂镯 | |
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accede
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| v.应允，同意 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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verbiage
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| n.冗词；冗长 | |
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specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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tout
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| v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱 | |
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