Twenty-two
Round a turn of the rock garden Roger and Clemency¹ came walkingbriskly towards us. Roger’s flapping tweeds suited him better than his Cityclothes. He looked eager and excited. Clemency was frowning.
“Hallo, you two,” said Roger. “At last! I thought they were never going toarrest that foul² woman. What they’ve been waiting for, I don’t know. Well,they’ve pinched her now, and her miserable³ boyfriend—and I hope theyhang them both.”
Clemency’s frown increased. She said:
“Don’t be so uncivilized, Roger.”
“Uncivilized? Bosh! Deliberate cold- blooded poisoning of a helplesstrusting old man—and when I’m glad the murderers are caught and willpay the penalty you say I’m uncivilized! I tell you I’d willingly stranglethat woman myself.”
He added:
“She was with you, wasn’t she, when the police came for her? How didshe take it?”
“It was horrible,” said Sophia in a low voice. “She was scared out of herwits.”
“Serve her right.”
“Don’t be vindictive,” said Clemency.
“Oh, I know, dearest, but you can’t understand. It wasn’t your father. Iloved my father. Don’t you understand? I loved him!”
“I should understand by now,” said Clemency.
Roger said to her, half-jokingly:
“You’ve no imagination, Clemency. Suppose it had been I who had beenpoisoned—?”
I saw the quick droop⁴ of her lids, her half- clenched⁵ hands. She saidsharply: “Don’t say things like that even in fun.”
“Never mind, darling, we’ll soon be away from all this.”
We moved towards the house. Roger and Sophia walked ahead andClemency and I brought up the rear. She said:
“I suppose now—they’ll let us go?”
“Are you so anxious to get off?” I asked.
“It’s wearing me out.”
I looked at her in surprise. She met my glance with a faint desperatesmile and a nod of the head.
“Haven’t you seen, Charles, that I’m fighting all the time? Fighting formy happiness. For Roger’s. I’ve been so afraid the family would persuadehim to stop in England. That we’d go on

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