“D readful, the things people go about saying,” said Mrs. Kidder. “I don’t listen, mind you, more than I can help. Butyou’d hardly believe it.” She waited hopefully.
“Yes, I suppose so,” said Lucy.
“About that body that was found in the Long Barn,” went on Mrs. Kidder, moving crablike1 backwards2 on herhands and knees, as she scrubbed the kitchen floor, “saying as how she’d been Mr. Edmund’s fancy piece during thewar, and how she come over here and a jealous husband followed her, and did her in. It is a likely thing as a foreignerwould do, but it wouldn’t be likely after all these years, would it?”
“It sounds most unlikely to me.”
“But there’s worse things than that, they say,” said Mrs. Kidder. “Say anything, people will. You’d be surprised.
There’s those that say Mr. Harold married somewhere abroad and that she come over and found out that he’scommitted bigamy with that lady Alice, and that she was going to bring ’im to court and that he met her down hereand did her in, and hid her body in the sarcoffus. Did you ever!”
“Shocking,” said Lucy vaguely3, her mind elsewhere.
“Of course I didn’t listen,” said Mrs. Kidder virtuously4, “I wouldn’t put no stock in such tales myself. It beats mehow people think up such things, let alone say them. All I hope is none of it gets to Miss Emma’s ears. It might upsether and I wouldn’t like that. She’s a very nice lady, Miss Emma is, and I’ve not heard a word against her, not a word.
And of course Mr. Alfred being dead nobody says anything against him now. Not even that it’s a judgment5, whichthey well might do. But it’s awful, miss, isn’t it, the wicked talk there is.”
Mrs. Kidder spoke6 with immense enjoyment7.
“It must be quite painful for you to listen to it,” said Lucy.
“Oh, it is,” said Mrs. Kidder. “It is indeed. I says to my husband, I says, however can they?”
The bell rang.
“There’s the doctor, miss. Will you let ’im in, or shall I?”
“I’ll go,” said Lucy.
But it was not the doctor. On the doorstep stood a tall, elegant woman in a mink8 coat. Drawn9 up to the gravelsweep was a purring Rolls with a chauffeur10 at the wheel.
“Can I see Miss Emma Crackenthorpe, please?”
It was an attractive voice, the R’s slightly blurred11. The woman was attractive too. About thirty-five, with dark hairand expensively and beautifully made up.
“I’m sorry,” said Lucy, “Miss Crackenthorpe is ill in bed and can’t see anyone.”
“I know she has been ill, yes; but it is very important that I should see her.”
“I’m afraid,” Lucy began.
The visitor interrupted her. “I think you are Miss Eyelesbarrow, are you not?” She smiled, an attractive smile. “Myson has spoken of you, so I know. I am Lady Stoddart-West and Alexander is staying with me now.”
“Oh, I see,” said Lucy.
“And it is really important that I should see Miss Crackenthorpe,” continued the other. “I know all about her illnessand I assure you this is not just a social call. It is because of something that the boys have said to me—that my son hassaid to me. It is, I think, a matter of grave importance and I would like to speak to Miss Crackenthorpe about it. Please,will you ask her?”
“Come in.” Lucy ushered12 her visitor into the hall and into the drawing room. Then she said, “I’ll go up and askMiss Crackenthorpe.”
She went upstairs, knocked on Emma’s door and entered.
“Lady Stoddart-West is here,” she said. “She wants to see you very particularly.”
“Lady Stoddart-West?” Emma looked surprised. A look of alarm came into her face. “There’s nothing wrong, isthere, with the boys—with Alexander?”
“No, no,” Lucy reassured13 her. “I’m sure the boys are all right. It seemed to be something the boys have told her orsaid to her.”
“Oh. Well…” Emma hesitated. “Perhaps I ought to see her. Do I look all right, Lucy?”
“You look very nice,” said Lucy.
Emma was sitting up in bed, a soft pink shawl was round her shoulders and brought out the faint rose-pink of hercheeks. Her dark hair had been neatly14 brushed and combed by Nurse. Lucy had placed a bowl of autumn leaves on thedressing table the day before. Her room looked attractive and quite unlike a sick room.
“I’m really quite well enough to get up,” said Emma. “Dr. Quimper said I could tomorrow.”
“You look really quite like yourself again,” said Lucy. “Shall I bring Lady Stoddart-West up?”
“Yes, do.”
Lucy went downstairs again. “Will you come up to Miss Crackenthorpe’s room?”
She escorted the visitor upstairs, opened the door for her to pass in and then shut it. Lady Stoddart- Westapproached the bed with outstretched hand.
“Miss Crackenthorpe? I really do apologize for breaking in on you like this. I have seen you, I think, at the sports atthe school.”
“Yes,” said Emma, “I remember you quite well. Do sit down.”
In the chair conveniently placed by the bed Lady Stoddart-West sat down. She said in a quiet low voice:
“You must think it very strange of me coming here like this, but I have reason. I think it is an important reason.
You see, the boys have been telling me things. You can understand that they were very excited about the murder thathappened here. I confess I did not like it at the time. I was nervous. I wanted to bring James home at once. But myhusband laughed. He said that obviously it was a murder that had nothing to do with the house and the family, and hesaid that from what he remembered from his boyhood, and from James’s letters, both he and Alexander were enjoyingthemselves so wildly that it would be sheer cruelty to bring them back. So I gave in and agreed that they should stayon until the time arranged for James to bring Alexander back with him.”
Emma said: “You think we ought to have sent your son home earlier?”
“No, no, that is not what I mean at all. Oh, it is difficult for me, this! But what I have to say must be said. You see,they have picked up a good deal, the boys. They told me that this woman—the murdered woman—that the police havean idea that she may be a French girl whom your eldest15 brother—who was killed in the war—knew in France. That isso?”
“It is a possibility,” said Emma, her voice breaking slightly, “that we are forced to consider. It may have been so.”
“There is some reason for believing that the body is that of this girl, this Martine?”
“I have told you, it is a possibility.”
“But why—why should they think that she was Martine? Did she have letters on her—papers?”
“No. Nothing of that kind. But you see, I had had a letter, from this Martine.”
“You had had a letter—from Martine?”
“Yes. A letter telling me she was in England and would like to come and see me. I invited her down here, but got atelegram saying she was going back to France. Perhaps she did go back to France. We do not know. But since then anenvelope was found here addressed to her. That seems to show that she had come down here. But I really don’t see…”
She broke off.
Lady Stoddart-West broke in quickly:
“You really do not see what concern it is of mine? That is very true. I should not in your place. But when I heardthis—or rather, a garbled16 account of this—I had to come to make sure it was really so because, if it is—”
“Yes?” said Emma.
“Then I must tell you something that I had never intended to tell you. You see, I am Martine Dubois.”
Emma stared at her guest as though she could hardly take in the sense of her words.
“You!” she said. “You are Martine?”
The other nodded vigorously. “But, yes. It surprises you, I am sure, but it is true. I met your brother Edmund in thefirst days of the war. He was indeed billeted at our house. Well, you know the rest. We fell in love. We intended to bemarried, and then there was the retreat to Dunkirk, Edmund was reported missing. Later he was reported killed. I willnot speak to you of that time. It was long ago and it is over. But I will say to you that I loved your brother verymuch….
“Then came the grim realities of war. The Germans occupied France. I became a worker for the Resistance. I wasone of those who was assigned to pass Englishmen through France to England. It was in that way that I met mypresent husband. He was an Air Force officer, parachuted into France to do special work. When the war ended wewere married. I considered once or twice whether I should write to you or come and see you, but I decided17 against it. Itcould do no good, I thought, to take up old memories. I had a new life and I had no wish to recall the old.” She pausedand then said: “But it gave me, I will tell you, a strange pleasure when I found that my son James’s greatest friend athis school was a boy whom I found to be Edmund’s nephew. Alexander, I may say, is very like Edmund, as I dare sayyou yourself appreciate. It seemed to me a very happy state of affairs that James and Alexander should be suchfriends.”
She leaned forward and placed her hand on Emma’s arm. “But you see, dear Emma, do you not, that when I heardthis story about the murder, about this dead woman being suspected to be the Martine that Edmund had known, that Ihad to come and tell you the truth. Either you or I must inform the police of the fact. Whoever the dead woman is, sheis not Martine.”
“I can hardly take it in,” said Emma, “that you, you should be the Martine that dear Edmund wrote to me about.”
She sighed, shaking her head, then she frowned perplexedly. “But I don’t understand. Was it you, then, who wrote tome?”
Lady Stoddart-West shook a vigorous head. “No, no, of course I did not write to you.”
“Then…” Emma stopped.
“Then there was someone pretending to be Martine who wanted perhaps to get money out of you? That is what itmust have been. But who can it be?”
Emma said slowly: “I suppose there were people at the time, who knew?”
The other shrugged18 her shoulders. “Probably, yes. But there was no one intimate with me, no one very close to me.
I have never spoken of it since I came to England. And why wait all this time? It is curious, very curious.”
Emma said: “I don’t understand it. We will have to see what Inspector19 Craddock has to say.” She looked withsuddenly softened20 eyes at her visitor. “I’m so glad to know you at last, my dear.”
“And I you… Edmund spoke of you very often. He was very fond of you. I am happy in my new life, but all thesame, I don’t quite forget.”
Emma leaned back and heaved a sigh. “It’s a terrible relief,” she said. “As long as we feared that the dead womanmight be Martine—it seemed to be tied up with the family. But now—oh, it’s an absolute load off my back. I don’tknow who the poor soul was but she can’t have had anything to do with us!”
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1
crablike
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| adj.似蟹的，似蟹行般的 | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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virtuously
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| 合乎道德地，善良地 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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mink
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| n.貂，貂皮 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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garbled
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| adj.（指信息）混乱的，引起误解的v.对（事实）歪曲，对（文章等）断章取义，窜改( garble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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