II
Tuppence, having got home, put the car away in the garage and walkedround the house to the front door. The door was open, so she walked in.
Albert then came from the back premises¹ and bowed to greet her.
‘Like some tea, madam? You must be very tired.’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Tuppence. ‘I’ve had tea. They gave me tea down atthe Institute. Quite good cake, but very nasty buns.’
‘Buns is difficult. Buns is nearly as difficult as doughnuts. Ah,’ he sighed.
‘Lovely doughnuts Amy used to make.’
‘I know. Nobody’s were like them,’ said Tuppence.
Amy had been Albert’s wife, now some years deceased. In Tuppence’sopinion, Amy had made wonderful treacle² tart³ but had never been verygood with doughnuts.
‘I think doughnuts are dreadfully difficult,’ said Tuppence, ‘I’ve neverbeen able to do them myself.’
‘Well, it’s a knack⁴.’
‘Where’s Mr Beresford? Is he out?’
‘Oh no, he’s upstairs. In that room. You know. The book- room orwhatever you like to call it. I can’t get out of the way of calling it the atticstill, myself.’
‘What’s he doing up there?’ said Tuppence, slightly surprised.
‘Well, he’s still looking at the books, I think. I suppose he’s still arrangingthem, getting them finished as you might say.’
‘Still seems to me very surprising,’ said Tuppence. ‘He’s really been veryrude to us about those books.’
‘Ah well,’ said Albert, ‘gentlemen are like that, aren’t they? They likesbig books mostly, you know, don’t they? Something scientific that they canget their teeth into.’
‘I shall go up and rout⁵ him out,’ said Tuppence. ‘Where’s Hannibal?’
‘I think he’s up there with the master.’
But at that moment Hannibal made his appearance. Having barked withthe ferocious⁶ fury he considered necessary for a good guard dog, he hadcorrectly assumed that it was his beloved mistress who had returned andnot someone who had come to steal the

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