III
On her way home, Mrs. Blenkensop stopped at the post office. Shebought stamps and on her way out went into one of the public call boxes.
There she rang up a certain number, and asked for “Mr. Faraday.” Thiswas the accepted method of communication with Mr. Grant. She came outsmiling and walked slowly homewards, stopping on the way to purchasesome knitting wool.
It was a pleasant afternoon with a light breeze. Tuppence curbed¹ thenatural energy of her own brisk trot² to that leisurely³ pace that accordedwith her conception of the part of Mrs. Blenkensop. Mrs. Blenkensop hadnothing on earth to do with herself except knit (not too well) and write let-ters to her boys. She was always writing letters to her boys—sometimesshe left them about half finished.
Tuppence came slowly up the hill towards Sans Souci. Since it was not athrough road (it ended at Smugglers’ Rest, Commander Haydock’s house)there was never much traffic—a few tradesmen’s vans in the morning.
Tuppence passed house after house, amusing herself by noting theirnames. Bella Vista⁴ (inaccurately named, since the merest glimpse of thesea was to be obtained, and the main view was the vast Victorian bulk ofEdenholme on the other side of the road). Karachi was the next house.
After that came Shirley Tower. Then Sea View (appropriate this time),Castle Clare (somewhat grandiloquent⁵, since it was a small house), Tre-lawny, a rival establishment to that of Mrs. Perenna, and finally the vastmaroon bulk of Sans Souci.
It was just as she came near to it that Tuppence became aware of a wo-man standing⁶ by the gate peering inside. There was something tense andvigilant about the figure.
Almost unconsciously, Tuppence softened⁷ the sound of her own foot-steps, stepping cautiously upon her toes.
It was not until she was close behind her, that the woman heard her andturned. Turned with a start.
She was a tall woman, poorly, even meanly dressed, but her face wasunusual. She was not young—probably just under forty—but there was acontrast between her face and the way she was dressed. She was fair-haired, with wide cheekbones, and had been—indeed still was—beautiful.

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