Tuppence betrayed no awkwardness in her new duties. The daughters ofthe archdeacon were well grounded in household tasks. They were alsoexperts in training a “raw girl,” the inevitable1 result being that the rawgirl, once trained, departed somewhere where her newly-acquired know-ledge commanded a more substantial remuneration than the archdea-con’s meagre purse allowed.
Tuppence had therefore very little fear of proving inefficient2. Mrs. Van-demeyer’s cook puzzled her. She evidently went in deadly terror of hermistress. The girl thought it probable that the other woman had some holdover her. For the rest, she cooked like a chef, as Tuppence had an oppor-tunity of judging that evening. Mrs. Vandemeyer was expecting a guest todinner, and Tuppence accordingly laid the beautifully polished table fortwo. She was a little exercised in her own mind as to this visitor. It washighly possible that it might prove to be Whittington. Although she feltfairly confident that he would not recognize her, yet she would have beenbetter pleased had the guest proved to be a total stranger. However, therewas nothing for it but to hope for the best.
At a few minutes past eight the front door bell rang, and Tuppence wentto answer it with some inward trepidation3. She was relieved to see thatthe visitor was the second of the two men whom Tommy had taken uponhimself to follow.
He gave his name as Count Stepanov. Tuppence announced him, andMrs. Vandemeyer rose from her seat on a low divan4 with a quick murmurof pleasure.
“It is delightful5 to see you, Boris Ivanovitch,” she said.
“And you, madame!” He bowed low over her hand.
Tuppence returned to the kitchen.
“Count Stepanov, or some such,” she remarked, and affecting a frankand unvarnished curiosity: “Who’s he?”
“A Russian gentleman, I believe.”
“Come here much?”
“Once in a while. What d’you want to know for?”
“Fancied he might be sweet on the missus, that’s all,” explained the girl,adding with an appearance of sulkiness: “How you do take one up!”
“I’m not quite easy in my mind about the soufflé,” explained the other.
“You know something,” thought Tuppence to herself, but aloud she onlysaid: “Going to dish up now? Righto.”
Whilst waiting at table, Tuppence listened closely to all that was said.
She remembered that this was one of the men Tommy was shadowingwhen she had last seen him. Already, although she would hardly admit it,she was becoming uneasy about her partner. Where was he? Why had noword of any kind come from him? She had arranged before leaving theRitz to have all letters or messages sent on at once by special messenger toa small stationer’s shop near at hand where Albert was to call in fre-quently. True, it was only yesterday morning that she had parted fromTommy, and she told herself that any anxiety on his behalf would be ab-surd. Still, it was strange he had sent no word of any kind.
But, listen as she might, the conversation presented no clue. Boris andMrs. Vandemeyer talked on purely6 indifferent subjects: plays they hadseen, new dances, and the latest society gossip. After dinner they repairedto the small boudoir where Mrs. Vandemeyer, stretched on the divan,looked more wickedly beautiful than ever. Tuppence brought in the coffeeand liqueurs and unwillingly7 retired8. As she did so, she heard Boris say:
“New, isn’t she?”
“She came in today. The other was a fiend. This girl seems all right. Shewaits well.”
Tuppence lingered a moment longer by the door which she had care-fully neglected to close, and heard him say:
“Quite safe, I suppose?”
“Really, Boris, you are absurdly suspicious. I believe she’s the cousin ofthe hall porter, or something of the kind. And nobody even dreams that Ihave any connexion with our—mutual friend, Mr. Brown.”
“For Heaven’s sake, be careful, Rita. That door isn’t shut.”
“Well, shut it then,” laughed the woman.
Tuppence removed herself speedily.
She dared not absent herself longer from the back premises9, but shecleared away and washed up with a breathless speed acquired in hospital.
Then she slipped quietly back to the boudoir door. The cook, more leis-urely, was still busy in the kitchen and, if she missed the other, would onlysuppose her to be turning down the beds.
Alas10! The conversation inside was being carried on in too low a tone topermit of her hearing anything of it. She dared not reopen the door, how-ever gently. Mrs. Vandemeyer was sitting almost facing it, and Tuppencerespected her mistress’s lynx-eyed powers of observation.
Nevertheless, she felt she would give a good deal to overhear what wasgoing on. Possibly, if anything unforeseen had happened, she might getnews of Tommy. For some moments she reflected desperately11, then herface brightened. She went quickly along the passage to Mrs. Vandemeyer’sbedroom, which had long French windows leading on to a balcony thatran the length of the flat. Slipping quickly through the window, Tuppencecrept noiselessly along till she reached the boudoir window. As she hadthought it stood a little ajar, and the voices within were plainly audible.
Tuppence listened attentively12, but there was no mention of anythingthat could be twisted to apply to Tommy. Mrs. Vandemeyer and the Rus-sian seemed to be at variance13 over some matter, and finally the latter ex-claimed bitterly:
“With your persistent14 recklessness, you will end by ruining us!”
“Bah!” laughed the woman. “Notoriety of the right kind is the best wayof disarming15 suspicion. You will realize that one of these days—perhapssooner than you think!”
“In the meantime, you are going about everywhere with Peel Edgerton.
Not only is he, perhaps, the most celebrated16 K. C. in England, but his spe-cial hobby is criminology! It is madness!”
“I know that his eloquence17 has saved untold18 men from the gallows,” saidMrs. Vandemeyer calmly. “What of it? I may need his assistance in thatline myself some day. If so, how fortunate to have such a friend at court—or perhaps it would be more to the point to say in court.”
Boris got up and began striding up and down. He was very excited.
“You are a clever woman, Rita; but you are also a fool! Be guided by me,and give up Peel Edgerton.”
Mrs. Vandemeyer shook her head gently.
“I think not.”
“You refuse?” There was an ugly ring in the Russian’s voice.
“I do.”
“Then, by Heaven,” snarled19 the Russian, “we will see—”
But Mrs. Vandemeyer also rose to her feet, her eyes flashing.
“You forget, Boris,” she said. “I am accountable to no one. I take my or-ders only from—Mr. Brown.”
The other threw up his hands in despair.
“You are impossible,” he muttered. “Impossible! Already it may be toolate. They say Peel Edgerton can smell a criminal! How do we know whatis at the bottom of his sudden interest in you? Perhaps even now his suspi-cions are aroused. He guesses—”
Mrs. Vandemeyer eyed him scornfully.
“Reassure yourself, my dear Boris. He suspects nothing. With less thanyour usual chivalry20, you seem to forget that I am commonly accounted abeautiful woman. I assure you that is all that interests Peel Edgerton.”
Boris shook his head doubtfully.
“He has studied crime as no other man in this kingdom has studied it.
Do you fancy that you can deceive him?”
Mrs. Vandemeyer’s eyes narrowed.
“If he is all that you say—it would amuse me to try!”
“Good heavens, Rita—”
“Besides,” added Mrs. Vandemeyer, “he is extremely rich. I am not onewho despises money. The ‘sinews of war’ you know, Boris!”
“Money—money! That is always the danger with you, Rita. I believe youwould sell your soul for money. I believe—” He paused, then in a low, sin-ister voice he said slowly: “Sometimes I believe that you would sell—us!”
Mrs. Vandemeyer smiled and shrugged21 her shoulders.
“The price, at any rate, would have to be enormous,” she said lightly. “Itwould be beyond the power of anyone but a millionaire to pay.”
“Ah!” snarled the Russian. “You see, I was right.”
“My dear Boris, can you not take a joke?”
“Was it a joke?”
“Of course.”
“Then all I can say is that your ideas of humour are peculiar22, my dearRita.”
Mrs. Vandemeyer smiled.
“Let us not quarrel, Boris. Touch the bell. We will have some drinks.”
Tuppence beat a hasty retreat. She paused a moment to survey herselfin Mrs. Vandemeyer’s long glass, and be sure that nothing was amiss withher appearance. Then she answered the bell demurely23.
The conversation that she had overheard, although interesting in that itproved beyond doubt the complicity of both Rita and Boris, threw verylittle light on the present preoccupations. The name of Jane Finn had noteven been mentioned.
The following morning a few brief words with Albert informed her thatnothing was waiting for her at the stationer’s. It seemed incredible thatTommy, if all was well with him, should not send any word to her. A coldhand seemed to close round her heart .?.?. Supposing .?.?. She choked herfears down bravely. It was no good worrying. But she leapt at a chanceoffered her by Mrs. Vandemeyer.
“What day do you usually go out, Prudence24?”
“Friday’s my usual day, ma’am.”
Mrs. Vandemeyer lifted her eyebrows25.
“And today is Friday! But I suppose you hardly wish to go out today, asyou only came yesterday.”
“I was thinking of asking you if I might, ma’am.”
Mrs. Vandemeyer looked at her a minute longer, and then smiled.
“I wish Count Stepanov could hear you. He made a suggestion about youlast night.” Her smile broadened, catlike. “Your request is very—typical. Iam satisfied. You do not understand all this—but you can go out today. Itmakes no difference to me, as I shall not be dining at home.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Tuppence felt a sensation of relief once she was out of the other’s pres-ence. Once again she admitted to herself that she was afraid, horriblyafraid, of the beautiful woman with the cruel eyes.
In the midst of a final desultory26 polishing of her silver, Tuppence wasdisturbed by the ringing of the front door bell, and went to answer it. Thistime the visitor was neither Whittington nor Boris, but a man of strikingappearance.
Just a shade over average height, he nevertheless conveyed the impres-sion of a big man. His face, clean- shaven and exquisitely27 mobile, wasstamped with an expression of power and force far beyond the ordinary.
Magnetism28 seemed to radiate from him.
Tuppence was undecided for the moment whether to put him down asan actor or a lawyer, but her doubts were soon solved as he gave her hisname: Sir James Peel Edgerton.
She looked at him with renewed interest. This, then, was the famous K.
C. whose name was familiar all over England. She had heard it said thathe might one day be Prime Minister. He was known to have refused officein the interests of his profession, preferring to remain a simple Memberfor a Scotch29 constituency.
Tuppence went back to her pantry thoughtfully. The great man had im-pressed her. She understood Boris’s agitation30. Peel Edgerton would not bean easy man to deceive.
In about a quarter of an hour the bell rang, and Tuppence repaired tothe hall to show the visitor out. He had given her a piercing glance before.
Now, as she handed him his hat and stick, she was conscious of his eyesraking her through. As she opened the door and stood aside to let him passout, he stopped in the doorway31.
“Not been doing this long, eh?”
Tuppence raised her eyes, astonished. She read in his glance kindliness,and something else more difficult to fathom32.
He nodded as though she had answered.
“V.A.D. and hard up, I suppose?”
“Did Mrs. Vandemeyer tell you that?” asked Tuppence suspiciously.
“No, child. The look of you told me. Good place here?”
“Very good, thank you, sir.”
“Ah, but there are plenty of good places nowadays. And a change doesno harm sometimes.”
“Do you mean—?” began Tuppence.
But Sir James was already on the topmost stair. He looked back with hiskindly, shrewd glance.
“Just a hint,” he said. “That’s all.”
Tuppence went back to the pantry more thoughtful than ever.
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收听单词发音
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1
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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disarming
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| adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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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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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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magnetism
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| n.磁性，吸引力，磁学 | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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