‘I hope,’ said Tuppence, ‘that I’m not interrupting you, coming along likethis? I thought I’d better ring up first in case you were out, you know, orbusy. But, I mean, it’s nothing particular so I could go away again at onceif you liked. I mean, my feelings wouldn’t be hurt or anything like that.’
‘Oh, I’m delighted to see you, Mrs Beresford,’ said Mrs Griffin.
She moved herself three inches along her chair so as to settle her backmore comfortably and looked with what seemed to be distinct pleasureinto Tuppence’s somewhat anxious face.
‘It’s a great pleasure, you know, when somebody new comes and lives inthis place. We’re so used to all our neighbours that a new face, or if I maysay so a couple of new faces, is a treat. An absolute treat! I hope indeedthat you’ll both come to dinner one day. I don’t know what time your hus-band gets back. He goes to London, does he not, most days?’
‘Yes,’ said Tuppence. ‘That’s very nice of you. I hope you’ll come and seeour house when it’s more or less finished. I’m always thinking it’s going tobe finished but it never is.’
‘Houses are rather like that,’ said Mrs Griffin.
Mrs Griffin, as Tuppence knew very well from her various sources of in-formation which consisted of daily women, old Isaac, Gwenda in the postoffice and sundry1 others, was ninety-four. The upright position which sheenjoyed arranging because it took the rheumatic pains out of her back, to-gether with her erect2 carriage, gave her the air of someone much younger.
In spite of the wrinkled face, the head of uprising white hair surmountedby a lace scarf tied round her head reminded Tuppence faintly of a coupleof her great- aunts in past days. She wore bifocal spectacles and had ahearing aid which she sometimes, but very seldom as far as Tuppencecould see, had to use. And she looked thoroughly3 alert and perfectly4 cap-able of reaching the age of a hundred or even a hundred and ten.
‘What have you been doing with yourself lately?’ enquired5 Mrs Griffin. ‘Igather you’ve got the electricians out of the house now. So Dorothy toldme. Mrs Rogers, you know. She used to be my housemaid once and shecomes now and cleans twice a week.’
‘Yes, thank goodness,’ said Tuppence. ‘I was always falling into the holesthey made. I really came,’ said Tuppence, ‘and it may sound rather sillybut it’s something I just wondered about–I expect you’ll think it’s rathersilly too. I’ve been turning out things, you know, a lot of old bookshelvesand things like that. We bought some books with the house, mostly chil-dren’s books years and years old but I found some old favourites amongthem.’
‘Ah yes,’ said Mrs Griffin, ‘I quite understand that you must very muchhave enjoyed the prospect6 of being able to read certain old favouritesagain. The Prisoner of Zenda, perhaps. My grandmother used to read ThePrisoner of Zenda, I believe. I read it once myself. Really very enjoyable.
Romantic, you know. The first romantic book, I imagine, one is allowed toread. You know, novel reading was not encouraged. My mother and mygrandmother never approved of reading anything like a novel in themornings. A story book as it was called. You know, you could read historyor something serious, but novels were only pleasurable and so to be readin the afternoon.’
‘I know,’ said Tuppence. ‘Well, I found a good many books that I likedreading again. Mrs Molesworth.’
‘The Tapestry7 Room?’ said Mrs Griffin with immediate8 comprehension.
‘Yes. The Tapestry Room was one of my favourites.’
‘Well, I always liked Four Winds Farm best,’ said Mrs Griffin.
‘Yes, that was there too. And several others. Many different kinds of au-thors. Anyway, I got down to the last shelf and I think there must havebeen an accident there. You know, someone had banged it about a gooddeal. When they were moving furniture, I expect. There was a sort of holeand I scooped9 up a lot of old things out of that. Mostly torn books andamong it there was this.’
She produced her parcel wrapped loosely in brown paper.
‘It’s a birthday book,’ she said. ‘An old-fashioned birthday book. And ithad your name in it. Your name–I remember you told me–was WinifredMorrison, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, my dear. Quite right.’
‘And it was written in the birthday book. And so I wondered whether itwould amuse you if I brought it along for you to see. It might have a lot ofother old friends of yours in it and different things or names which wouldamuse you.’
‘Well, that was very nice of you, my dear, and I should like to see it verymuch. You know, these things from the past, one does find very amusingto read in one’s old age. A very kind thought of yours.’
‘It’s rather faded and torn and knocked about, said Tuppence, producingher offering.
‘Well, well,’ said Mrs Griffin, ‘yes. You know, everyone had a birthdaybook. Not so much after my time as a girl. I expect this may be one of thelast ones. All the girls at the school I went to had a birthday book. Youknow, you wrote your name in your friend’s birthday book and theywrote their name in yours and so on.’
She took the book from Tuppence, opened it and began reading downthe pages.
‘Oh dear, oh dear,’ she murmured, ‘how it takes me back. Yes. Yes in-deed. Helen Gilbert–yes, yes of course. And Daisy Sherfield. Sherfield, yes.
Oh yes, I remember her. She had to have one of those tooth things in hermouth. A brace10, I think they called it. And she was always taking it out.
She said she couldn’t stand it. And Edie Crone, Margaret Dickson. Ah yes.
Good handwriting most of them had. Better than girls have nowadays. Asfor my nephew’s letters, I really can’t read them. Their handwriting is likehieroglyphics of some kind. One has to guess what most of the words are.
Mollie Short. Ah yes, she had a stammer–it does bring things back.’
‘I don’t suppose there are many of them, I mean–’ Tuppence paused,feeling that she might be about to say something tactless.
‘You’re thinking most of them are dead, I suppose, dear. Well, you’requite right. Most of them are. But not all of them. No. I’ve still got quite alot of people living, with whom I was, as they say, girls together. Not livinghere, because most girls that one knew married and went somewhereelse. Either they had husbands who were in the Services and they wentabroad, or they went to some other different town altogether. Two of myoldest friends live up in Northumberland. Yes, yes, it’s very interesting.’
‘There weren’t, I suppose, any Parkinsons left then?’ said Tuppence. ‘Idon’t see the name anywhere.’
‘Oh no. It was after the Parkinsons’ time. There’s something you want tofind out about the Parkinsons, isn’t there?’
‘Oh, yes, there is,’ said Tuppence. ‘It’s pure curiosity, you know, nothingelse. But–well, somehow in looking at things I got interested in the boy, Al-exander Parkinson, and then, as I was walking through the churchyardthe other day, I noticed that he’d died fairly young and his grave was thereand that made me think about him more.’
‘He died young,’ said Mrs Griffin. ‘Yes. Everyone seems to think it wassad that he should have done so. He was a very intelligent boy and theyhoped for–well, quite a brilliant future for him. It wasn’t really any illness,some food he had on a picnic, I believe. So Mrs Henderson told me. She re-members a lot about the Parkinsons.’
‘Mrs Henderson?’ Tuppence looked up.
‘Oh, you wouldn’t know about her. She’s in one of these old people’shomes, you know. It’s called Meadowside. It’s about–oh, about twelve tofifteen miles from here. You ought to go and see her. She’d tell you a lot ofthings, I expect, about that house you’re living in. Swallow’s Nest, it wascalled then, it’s called something else, isn’t it now?’
‘The Laurels11.’
‘Mrs Henderson is older than I am, although she was the youngest ofquite a large family. She was a governess at one time. And then I think shewas a kind of nurse-companion with Mrs Beddingfield who had Swallow’sNest, I mean The Laurels, then. And she likes talking about old times verymuch. You ought to go and see her, I think.’
‘Oh, she wouldn’t like–’
‘Oh, my dear, I’m sure she would like. Go and see her. Just tell her that Isuggested it. She remembers me and my sister Rosemary and I do go andsee her occasionally, but not of late years because I haven’t been able toget about. And you might go and see Mrs Hendley, who lives in–what is itnow?–Apple Tree Lodge12, I think it is. That’s mainly old age pensioners13. Notquite the same class, you know, but it’s very well run and there’s a lot ofgossip going there! I’m sure they’d all be quite pleased with visits. Youknow, anything to break the monotony.’
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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tapestry
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| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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pensioners
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| n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 ) | |
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