"Well, she's out of love with him now."
"I wonder," murmured Mary under her breath.
Thomas was going on: "And I'll tell you something else. Nevile had better look out for Kay. She's a dangerous kind of young woman - really dangerous. If she got her temper up she'd stop at nothing."
"Oh, dear," Mary sighed and, returning to her original remarks, said hopefully: "Well, it's only two days more."
Things had been very difficult for the last four or five days. The death of Mr. Treves had given Lady Tressilian a shock which had told adversely on her health. The funeral had taken place in London, for which Mary was thankful, since it enabled the old lady to take her mind off the sad event more quickly than she might have been able to do otherwise. The domestic side of the household had been very nervy and difficult and Mary really felt tired and dispirited this morning.
"It's partly the weather," she said aloud. "It's unnatural."
It had indeed been an unusually hot and fine spell for September. On several days the thermometer had registered 70 in the shade.
Nevile strolled out of the house and joined them as she spoke.
"Blaming the weather?" he asked, with a glance up at the sky. "It is rather incredible. Hotter than ever to-day. And no wind. Makes one feel jumpy, somehow. However, I think we'll get rain before very long. To-day is just a bit too tropical to last."
Thomas Royde had moved very gently and aimlessly away and now disappeared round the corner of the house.
"Departure of gloomy Thomas," said Nevile. "Nobody could say he shows any enjoyment of my company."
"He's rather a dear," said Mary.
"I disagree. Narrow-minded, prejudiced sort of chap."
"He always hoped to marry Audrey, I think. And then you came along and cut him out."
"It would have taken him about seven years to make up his mind to ask her to marry him. Did he expect the poor girl to wait about while he made up his mind?"
"Perhaps," said Mary deliberately, "it will all come right now." Nevile looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"True love rewarded? Audrey marry that wet fish? She's a lot too good for that. No, I don't see Audrey marrying gloomy Thomas."
"I believe she is really very fond of him, Nevile."
"What matchmakers you women always are! Can't you let Audrey enjoy her freedom for a bit?"
"If she does enjoy it, certainly."
Nevile said quickly: "You think she's not happy?"
"I really haven't the least idea."
"No more have I," said Nevile slowly. "One never does know what Audrey is feeling." He paused and then added, "But Audrey is one hundred per cent thoroughbred. She's white all through."
Then he said, more to himself than to Mary: "God, what a damned fool I've been!"
Mary went into the house a little worried. For the third time she repeated to herself the comforting words, "Only two days more."
Nevile wandered restlessly about the garden and terraces.
Right at the end of the garden he found Audrey sitting on the low wall looking down at the water below. It was high tide and the river was full.
She got up at once and came towards him.
"I was just coming back to the house. It must be nearly tea-time."
She spoke quickly and nervously without looking at him.
He walked beside her without speaking.
Only when they reached the terrace again did he say: "Can I talk to you, Audrey?"
She said at once, her fingers gripping the edge of the balustrade: "I think you'd better not."
"That means you know what I want to say." She did not answer.
"What about it, Audrey? Can't we go back to where we were? Forget everything that has happened?"
"Including Kay?"
"Kay," said Nevile, "will be sensible."
"What do you mean by sensible?"
"Simply, this. I shall go to her and tell her the truth. Fling myself on her generosity. Tell her, what is true, that you are the only woman I ever loved."
"You loved Kay when you married her."
"My marriage to Kay was the biggest mistake I ever made. I -"
He stopped. Kay had come out of the drawing-room window. She walked towards them, and before the fury in her eyes even Nevile shrank a little.
"Sorry to interrupt this touching scene," said Kay. "But I think it's about time I did."
Audrey moved away. "I'll leave you alone," she said. Her face and voice were colourless.
"That's right," said Kay. "You've done all the mischief you wanted to do, haven't you? I'll deal with you later. Just now I'd rather have it out with Nevile."
"Look here, Kay, Audrey has absolutely nothing to do with this. It's not her fault. Blame me if you like -"
"And I do like," said Kay. Her eyes blazed at Nevile. "What sort of a man do you think you are?"
"A pretty poor sort of man," said Nevile bitterly.
"You leave your wife, come bull-headed after me, get your wife to give you a divorce. Crazy about me one minute, tired of me the next! Now I suppose you want to go back to that whey-faced, mewling, double-crossing little cat -"
"Stop that, Kay!"
"Well, what do you want?"
Nevile was very white. He said: "I'm every kind of a worm you like to call me. But it's no good, Kay, I can't go on. I think - really -I must have loved Audrey all the time. My love for you was - was a kind of madness. But it's no good, my dear -you and I don't belong. I shouldn't be able to make you happy in the long run. Believe me, Kay, it's better to cut our losses. Let's try and part friends. Be generous."
Kay said in a deceptively quiet voice: "What exactly are you suggesting?"
Nevile did not look at her. His chin took on a dogged angle. "We can get a divorce. You can divorce me for desertion." "Not for some time. You'll have to wait for it." "I'll wait," said Nevile.
"And then, after three years or whatever it is, you'll ask dear sweet Audrey to marry you all over again?"
"If she'll have me."
"She'll have you, all right!" said Kay viciously. "And where do I come in?"
"You'll be free to find a better man than I am. Naturally, I shall see you're well provided for -"
"Cut out the bribes!" Her voice rose as she lost control of herself: "Listen to me, Nevile. You can't do this thing to me! I'll not divorce you. I married you because I loved you. I know when you started turning against me. It was after I let you know I followed you to Estoril. You wanted to think it was all Fate. It upset your vanity to think it was me. Well, I'm not ashamed of what I did. You fell in love with me and married me and I'm not going to let you go back to that sly little cat who's got her hooks into you again. She meant this to happen - but she's not going to bring it off! I'll kill you first. Do you hear? I'll kill you. I'll kill her, too. I'll see you both dead. I'll -"
Nevile took a step forward and caught her by the arm.
"Shut up, Kay. For goodness' sake. You can't make this kind of scene here."
"Can't I? You'll see. I'll -"
Hurstall stepped out on the terrace. His face was quite impassive.
"Tea is served in the drawing-room," he announced.
Kay and Nevile walked slowly towards the drawing-room window. Hurstall stood aside to let them pass in. Up in the sky the clouds were gathering. XI
The rain started falling at a quarter to seven. Nevile watched it from the window of his bedroom. He had no further conversation with Kay. They had avoided each other after tea.
Dinner that evening was a stilted, difficult meal. Nevile was sunk in abstraction; Kay's face had an unusual amount of make-up for her; Audrey sat like a frozen ghost. Mary Aldin did her best to keep some kind of a conversation going and was slightly annoyed with Thomas Royde for not playing up to her better.
Hurstall was nervous and his hands trembled as he handed the vegetables.
As the meal drew to a close Neville said with elaborate casualness: "Think I shall go over to Easterhead after dinner and look up Latimer. We might have a game of billiards."
"Take the latchkey," said Mary. "In case you're back late."
"Thanks, I will."
They went into the drawing-room, where coffee was served.
The turning on of the wireless and the news was a welcome diversion.
Kay, who had been yawning ostentatiously ever since dinner, said she would go up to bed. She had a headache, she said.
"Have you got any aspirin?" asked Mary. "Yes, thank you."
Kay left the room.
Nevile turned the wireless on to a programme with music. He sat silent on the sofa for some time. He did not look once at Audrey, but sat huddled up, looking like an unhappy little boy. Against her will, Mary felt quite sorry for him.
"Well," he said at last, rousing himself. "Better be off if I'm going." "Are you taking your car or going by ferry?"
"Oh, ferry. No sense in going a round of fifteen miles. I shall enjoy a bit of a walk."
"It's raining, you know."
"I know. I've got a Burberry." He went towards the door.
"Good night."
In the hall Barrett came to him.
"If you please, sir, will you go up to Lady Tressilian? She wants to see you specially."
Nevile glanced at the clock. It was already ten o'clock.
He shrugged his shoulders and went upstairs and along the corridor to Lady Tressilian's room and tapped on the door. While he waited for her to say come in, he heard the voices of the others in the hall down below. Everybody was going to bed early to-night, it seemed.
"Come in," said Lady Tressilian's clear voice. Nevile went in, shutting the door behind him.
Lady Tressilian was all ready for the night. All the lights were extinguished except one reading-lamp by her bed. She had been reading, but she now laid down the book. She looked at Nevile over the top of her spectacles. It was, somehow, a formidable glance.
"I want to speak to you, Nevile," she said. In spite of himself, Nevile smiled faintly. "Yes, Headmaster," he said. Lady Tressilian did not smile.
"There are certain things, Nevile, that I will not permit in my house. I have no wish to listen to anybody's private conversations, but if you and your wife insist on shouting at each other exactly under my bedroom windows, I can hardly fail to hear what you say. I gather that you were outlining a plan whereby Kay was to divorce you and in due course you would remarry Audrey. That, Nevile, is a thing you simply cannot do and I will not hear of it for a moment."
Nevile seemed to be making an effort to control his temper.
"I apologise for the scene," he said shortly. "As for the rest of what you say, surely that is my business!"
"No, it is not. You have used my house in order to get into touch with Audrey - or else Audrey has used it -"
"She has done nothing of the sort. She -"
Lady Tressilian stopped him with upraised hand.
"Anyway, you can't do this thing, Nevile. Kay is your wife. She has certain rights of which you cannot deprive her. In this matter I am entirely on Kay's side. You have made your bed and must lie upon it. Your duty now is to Kay and I'm telling you so plainly -"
Nevile took a step forward. His voice rose: "This is nothing whatever to do with you -"
"What is more," Lady Tressilian swept on, regardless of his protest, "Audrey leaves this house to-morrow -"
"You can't do that! I won't stand for it -"
"Don't shout at me, Nevile."
"I tell you I won't have it -"
Somewhere along the passage a door shut ...
XII
Alice Bentham, the gooseberry-eyed housemaid, came to Mrs. Spicer, the cook, in some perturbation.
"Oh, Mrs. Spicer, I don't rightly know what I ought to do." "What's the matter, Alice?"
"It's Miss Barrett. I took her in her cup of tea over an hour ago. Fast asleep she was, and never woke up, but I didn't like to do much. And then, five minutes ago, I went in again because she hadn't come down and her ladyship's tea all ready and waiting for her to take in. So I went in again and she's sleeping ever so -I can't stir her."
"Have you shaken her?"
"Yes, Mrs. Spicer. I shook her hard - but she just goes on lying there and she's ever such a horrid colour."
"Goodness, she's not dead, is she?"
"Oh, no, Mrs. Spicer, because I can hear her breathing, but it's funny breathing. I think she's ill or something."
"Well, I'll go up and see myself. You take in her ladyship's tea. Better make a fresh pot. She'll be wondering what's happened."
Alice obediently did as she was told, whilst Mrs. Spicer went up to the second floor.
Taking the tray along the corridor, Alice knocked at Lady Tressilian's door. After knocking twice and getting no answer she went in. A moment later there was a crash of broken crockery and a series of wild screams, and Alice came rushing out of the room and down the stairs to where Hurstall was crossing the hall to the dining-room.
"Oh, Mr. Hurstall - there've been burglars and her ladyship's dead - killed - with a great hole in her head and blood everywhere ..."
A Fine Italian Hand ...
I
Superintendent battle had enjoyed his holiday. There were still three days of it to run and he was a little disappointed when the weather changed and the rain fell. Still, what else could you expect in England? And he'd been extremely lucky up to now.
He was breakfasting with Inspector James Leach, his nephew, when the telephone rang.
"I'll come right along, sir." Jim put the receiver back.
"Serious?" asked Superintendent Battle. He noted the expression on his nephew's face.
"We've got a murder. Lady Tressilian. An old lady, very well known down here, an invalid. Has that house at Saltcreek that hangs right over the cliff."
