Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve
M iss Marple had found no difficulty in enjoying her stay in London. She did a lot of the things that she had not hadthe time to do in her hitherto brief visits to the capital. It has to be regretfully noted¹ that she did not avail herself of thewide cultural activities that would have been possible to her. She visited no picture galleries and no museums. Theidea of patronizing a dress show of any kind would not even have occurred to her. What she did visit were the glassand china departments of the large stores, and the household linen² departments, and she also availed herself of somemarked down lines in furnishing fabrics³. Having spent what she considered a reasonable sum upon these householdinvestments, she indulged in various excursions of her own. She went to places and shops she remembered from heryoung days, sometimes merely with the curiosity of seeing whether they were still there. It was not a pursuit that shehad ever had time for before, and she enjoyed it very much. After a nice little nap after lunch, she would go out, and,avoiding the attentions of the commissionaire if possible, because he was so firmly imbued⁴ with the idea that a lady ofher age and frailty⁵ should always go in a taxi, she walked towards a bus stop, or tube station. She had bought a smallguide to buses and their routes—and an Underground Transport Map; and she would plan her excursion carefully. Oneafternoon she could be seen walking happily and nostalgically round Evelyn Gardens or Onslow Square murmuringsoftly, “Yes, that was Mrs. Van Dylan’s house. Of course it looks quite different now. They seem to have remodelledit. Dear me, I see it’s got four bells. Four flats, I suppose. Such a nice old-fashioned square this always was.”
Rather shamefacedly she paid a visit to Madame Tussaud’s, a well-remembered delight of her childhood. InWestbourne Grove⁶ she looked in vain for Bradley’s. Aunt Helen had always gone to Bradley’s about her sealskinjacket.
Window shopping in the general sense did not interest Miss Marple, but she had a splendid time rounding upknitting patterns, new varieties of knitting wool, and suchlike delights. She made a special expedition to Richmond tosee the house that had been occupied by Great-Uncle Thomas, the retired⁷ admiral. The handsome terrace was stillthere but here again each house seemed to be turned into flats. Much more painful was the house in Lowndes Squarewhere a distant cousin, Lady Merridew, had lived in some style. Here a vast skyscraper⁸ building of modernistic designappeared to have arisen. Miss Marple shook her head sadly and said firmly to herself, “There must be progress Isuppose. If Cousin Ethel knew, she’d turn in her grave, I’m sure.”
It was on one particularly mild and pleasant afternoon that Miss Marple embarked⁹ on a bus that took her overBattersea Bridge. She was going to combine the double pleasure of taking a sentimental¹⁰ look at Princes TerraceMansions where an old governess of hers had once lived, and visiting Battersea Park. The first part of her quest wasabortive. Miss Ledbury’s former home had vanished without trace and had been replaced by a great deal of gleamingconcrete. Miss Marple turned into Battersea Park. She had always been a good walker but had to admit that nowadaysher walking powers were not what they were. Half a mile was quite enough to tire her. She could manage, she thought,to cross the Park and go out over Chelsea Bridge and find herself once more on a convenient bus route, but her stepsgrew gradually slower and slower, and she was pleased to come upon a tea enclosure situated¹¹ on the edge of the lake.
Teas were still being served there in spite of the autumn chill. There were not many people today, a certain amountof mothers and prams¹², and a few pairs of young lovers. Miss Marple collected a tray with tea and two sponge cakes.
She carried her tray carefully to a table and sat down. The tea was just what she needed. Hot, strong and very reviving.
Revived, she looked round her, and, her eyes stopping suddenly at a particular table, she sat up very straight in herchair. Really, a very strange coincidence, very strange indeed! First the Army & Navy Stores and now here. Veryunusual places those particular two people chose! But no! She was wrong. Miss Marple took a second and strongerpair of glasses from her bag. Yes, she had been mistaken. There was a certain similarity, of course. That long straightblonde hair; but this was not Bess Sedgwick. It was someone years younger. Of course! It was the daughter! Theyoung girl who had come into Bertram’s with Lady Selina Hazy’s friend, Colonel Luscombe. But the man was thesame man who had been lunching with Lady Sedgwick in the Army & Navy Stores. No doubt about it, the samehandsome, hawklike¹³ look, the same leanness, the same predatory toughness and — yes, the same strong, virileattraction.
“Bad!” said Miss Marple. “Bad all through! Cruel! Unscrupulous. I don’t like seeing this. First the mother, now thedaughter. What does it mean?”
It meant no good. Miss Marple was sure of that. Miss Marple seldom gave anyone the benefit of the doubt; sheinvariably thought the worst, and nine times out of ten, so she insisted, she was right in so doing. Both these meetings,she was sure, were more or less secret meetings. She observed now the way these two bent¹⁴ forward over the table untiltheir heads nearly touched; and the earnestness with which they talked. The girl’s face—Miss Marple took off herspectacles, rubbed the lenses carefully, then put them on again. Yes, this girl was in love. Desperately¹⁵ in love, as onlythe young can be in love. But what were her guardians¹⁶ about to let her run about London and have these clandestineassignments in Battersea Park? A nicely brought up, well-behaved girl like that. Too nicely brought up, no doubt! Herpeople probably believed her to be in some quite other spot. She had to tell lies.
On the way out Miss Marple passed the table where they were sitting, slowing down as much as she could withoutits being too obvious. Unfortunately, their voices were so low that she could not hear what they said. The man wasspeaking, the girl was listening, half pleased, half afraid. “Planning to run away together, perhaps?” thought MissMarple. “She’s still under age.”
Miss Marple passed through the small gate in the fence that led to the sidewalk of the park. There were cars parkedalong there and presently she stopped beside one particular car. Miss Marple was not particularly knowledgeable¹⁷ overcars but such cars as this one did not come her way very often, so she had noted and remembered it. She had acquireda little information about cars of this style from an enthusiastic great-nephew. It was a racing¹⁸ car. Some foreign make—she couldn’t remember the name now. Not only that, she had seen this car, or one exactly like it, seen it onlyyesterday in a side street close to Bertram’s Hotel. She had noticed it not only because of its size and its powerful andunusual appearance but because the number had awakened¹⁹ some vague memory, some trace of association in hermemory. FAN 2266. It had made her think of her cousin Fanny Godfrey. Poor Fanny who stuttered, who had said “Ihave got t-t-t-wo s-s-s-potz….”
She walked along and looked at the number of this car. Yes, she was quite right. FAN 2266. It was the same car.
Miss Marple, her footsteps growing more painful every moment, arrived deep in thought at the other side of ChelseaBridge and by then was so exhausted²⁰ that she hailed the first taxi she saw with decision. She was worried by thefeeling that there was something she ought to do about things. But what things and what to do about them? It was allso indefinite. She fixed²¹ her eyes absently on some newsboards.
“Sensational developments in train robbery,” they ran. “Engine driver’s story,” said another one. Really! MissMarple thought to herself, every day there seemed to be a bank holdup or a train robbery or a wage pay snatch.
Crime seemed to have got above itself.

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

3 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

4 imbued   

v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）

参考例句：

• Her voice was imbued with an unusual seriousness. 她的声音里充满着一种不寻常的严肃语气。
• These cultivated individuals have been imbued with a sense of social purpose. 这些有教养的人满怀着社会责任感。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 frailty   

n.脆弱；意志薄弱

参考例句：

• Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。
• He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。

6 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

9 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

10 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

11 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

12 prams   

n.（手推的）婴儿车( pram的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In order to offer guests convenience, our company hires out prams. 本公司出租小孩推车，为旅客提供便利。 来自互联网
• Oh, no; girls, you know, are much too clever to fall out of their prams. 没有啊，你知道，女孩子太机灵，不会从儿童车里掉出来的。 来自互联网

13 hawklike   

参考例句：

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

15 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

16 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

17 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

18 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

19 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

21 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。