staring across the Spring at Superintendent Coombe’s latecompanion who now advanced towards her. ‘Please don’t wait for me,’ she said. ‘I have an escort.’
Jenny hesitated. ‘I insist,’ said Miss Emily impatiently. Patrick took Jenny’s arm. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘We’re not needed.’ They hunched their shoulders and ran like hares.
Alleyn crossed the enclosure. ‘Good evening, Miss Emily,’ he said. ‘Shall we go?’
On the way to The Boy-and-Lobster he held her umbrella over her. ‘I am sufficiently protected by my waterproof and overshoes,’ she said. ‘The forecast was for rain. Pray, let us share the umbrella.’ She took his arm. The path was now deserted.
They hardly spoke. Rain drummed down on the umbrella in a pentateuchal deluge. Earth and sea were loud with its onslaught and the hillside smelt of devouring grass and soil. Miss Emily, in her goloshes, was insecure. Alleyn closed his hand round her thin old arm and was filled with a sort of infuriated pity.
The entrance to the hotel was deserted except for the man on duty who stared curiously at them. Miss Emily drew her key from her reticule. ‘I prefer,’ she said loudly, ‘to retain possession. Will you come up? I have a so-called suite.’
She left Alleyn in her sitting-room with injunctions to turn on the heater and dry himself while she retired to change.
He looked about him. The plastic Green Lady, still wearing its infamous legend round its neck, had been placed defiantly in a glass fronted wall cupboard. He looked closely at it without touching it. A stack of London telephone directories stood near the instrument on the writing desk.
Miss Emily called from her bedroom. ‘You will find cognac and soda-water in the small cupboard. Help yourself, I beg you. And me. Cognac, simplement.’ She sounded quite gay. Alleyn poured two double brandies.
‘Don’t wait for me,’ Miss Emily shouted. ‘Drink at once. Remove and dry your shoes. Have you engaged the heater?’
He did everything she commanded and felt that he was putting himself at a disadvantage.
When Miss Emily reappeared, having changed her skirt, shoes and stockings, she looked both complacent and stimulated. It occurred to Alleyn that she got a sort of respectable kick out ofentertaining him so dashingly in her suite. She sat in an armchair and jauntily accepted her brandy.
‘First of all, you must understand that I am extremely angry with you,’ she said. She was almost coquettish. ‘Ah – ah-ah! And now you have the self-conscious air?’ She shook her finger at him.
‘I may look sheepish,’ he rejoined, ‘but I assure you I’m in a devil of a temper. You are outrageous, Miss Emily.’
‘When did you leave and how is your dear Troy?’
‘At seven o’clock this morning and my dear Troy is furious.’
‘Ah, no!’ She leaned forward and tapped his hand. ‘You should not have come, my friend. I am perfectly able to look after myself. It was kind but it was not necessary.’
‘What were you going to say to that crowd if you hadn’t been cut off by a cloud-burst? No, don’t tell me. I know. You must be mad, Miss Emily.’
‘On the contrary, I assure you. And why have you come, Roderique? As you see, I have taken no harm.’
‘I want to know, among other matters, the full story of that object over there. The obscene woman with the label.’
Miss Emily gave him a lively account of it.
‘And where, precisely, was it planted?’
‘Behind one of the London telephone directories which had been placed on its edge, supported by the others.’
‘And you knocked the book over while you were speaking to me?’
‘That is correct. Revealing the figurine.’
He was silent for some time. ‘And you were frightened,’ Alleyn said at last.
‘It was a shock. I may have been disconcerted. It was too childish a trick to alarm me for more than a moment.’
‘Do you mind if I take possession of this object?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Has anybody
Jenny hesitated. ‘I insist,’ said Miss Emily impatiently. Patrick took Jenny’s arm. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘We’re not needed.’ They hunched their shoulders and ran like hares.
Alleyn crossed the enclosure. ‘Good evening, Miss Emily,’ he said. ‘Shall we go?’
On the way to The Boy-and-Lobster he held her umbrella over her. ‘I am sufficiently protected by my waterproof and overshoes,’ she said. ‘The forecast was for rain. Pray, let us share the umbrella.’ She took his arm. The path was now deserted.
They hardly spoke. Rain drummed down on the umbrella in a pentateuchal deluge. Earth and sea were loud with its onslaught and the hillside smelt of devouring grass and soil. Miss Emily, in her goloshes, was insecure. Alleyn closed his hand round her thin old arm and was filled with a sort of infuriated pity.
The entrance to the hotel was deserted except for the man on duty who stared curiously at them. Miss Emily drew her key from her reticule. ‘I prefer,’ she said loudly, ‘to retain possession. Will you come up? I have a so-called suite.’
She left Alleyn in her sitting-room with injunctions to turn on the heater and dry himself while she retired to change.
He looked about him. The plastic Green Lady, still wearing its infamous legend round its neck, had been placed defiantly in a glass fronted wall cupboard. He looked closely at it without touching it. A stack of London telephone directories stood near the instrument on the writing desk.
Miss Emily called from her bedroom. ‘You will find cognac and soda-water in the small cupboard. Help yourself, I beg you. And me. Cognac, simplement.’ She sounded quite gay. Alleyn poured two double brandies.
‘Don’t wait for me,’ Miss Emily shouted. ‘Drink at once. Remove and dry your shoes. Have you engaged the heater?’
He did everything she commanded and felt that he was putting himself at a disadvantage.
When Miss Emily reappeared, having changed her skirt, shoes and stockings, she looked both complacent and stimulated. It occurred to Alleyn that she got a sort of respectable kick out ofentertaining him so dashingly in her suite. She sat in an armchair and jauntily accepted her brandy.
‘First of all, you must understand that I am extremely angry with you,’ she said. She was almost coquettish. ‘Ah – ah-ah! And now you have the self-conscious air?’ She shook her finger at him.
‘I may look sheepish,’ he rejoined, ‘but I assure you I’m in a devil of a temper. You are outrageous, Miss Emily.’
‘When did you leave and how is your dear Troy?’
‘At seven o’clock this morning and my dear Troy is furious.’
‘Ah, no!’ She leaned forward and tapped his hand. ‘You should not have come, my friend. I am perfectly able to look after myself. It was kind but it was not necessary.’
‘What were you going to say to that crowd if you hadn’t been cut off by a cloud-burst? No, don’t tell me. I know. You must be mad, Miss Emily.’
‘On the contrary, I assure you. And why have you come, Roderique? As you see, I have taken no harm.’
‘I want to know, among other matters, the full story of that object over there. The obscene woman with the label.’
Miss Emily gave him a lively account of it.
‘And where, precisely, was it planted?’
‘Behind one of the London telephone directories which had been placed on its edge, supported by the others.’
‘And you knocked the book over while you were speaking to me?’
‘That is correct. Revealing the figurine.’
He was silent for some time. ‘And you were frightened,’ Alleyn said at last.
‘It was a shock. I may have been disconcerted. It was too childish a trick to alarm me for more than a moment.’
‘Do you mind if I take possession of this object?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Has anybody
Similar Books
