'There were some books there the people moving out wanted to sell. Books that had been in the family and they didn't care for them. A lot of children's books, all sorts of things. You know, Henty and things like that.'
'I remember. I remember Henty from my own youth.'
'And in one book my wife was reading we found a passage underlined. The letters were underlined and it made a sentence when you put it together. And - this sounds awfully silly, what I'm going to say next -'
'Well, that's hopeful,' said Mr Robinson. 'If a thing sounds silly, I always want to hear about it.'
'It said, Mary Jordan did not die naturally. It must have been one of us.'
'Very, very interesting,' said Mr Robinson. 'I've never come across anything like that before. It said that, did it? Mary Jordan did not die a natural death. And who was it who wrote it? Any clue of that?'
'Apparently a boy of school age. Parkinson was the family's name. They all lived in this house and he was one of the Parkinsons, we gathered. Alexander Parkinson. At least, anyway, he's buried there in the churchyard.'
'Parkinson,' said Mr Robinson. 'Wait a bit. Let me think. Parkinson - yes, you know there was a name like that connected with things, but you don't always remember who or what and where.'
'And we've been very keen to learn who Mary Jordan was.'
'Because she didn't die a natural death. Yes, I suppose that would be rather your line of country. But it seems very odd. What did you find out about her?'
'Absolutely nothing,' said Tommy. 'Nobody seems to remember her there much, or say anything about her. At least somebody did say she was what we'd call an au pair girl nowadays or a governess or something like that. They couldn't remember. A Mamselle or a Frowline, they said. It's all very difficult, you see.'
'And she died - what did she die of?'
'Somebody brought a few foxglove leaves in with some spinach from the garden, by accident, and then they ate it. Mind you, that probably wouldn't kill you.'
'No,' said Mr Robinson. 'Not enough of it. But if you then put a strong dose of Digitalin alkaloid in the coffee and just made sure that Mary Jordan got it in her coffee, or in a cocktail earlier, then - then, as you say the foxglove leaves would be blamed and it would all be taken to be an accident. But Alexander Parker, or whatever the schoolboy's name was, was too sharp for that. He had other ideas, did he? Anything else, Beresford? When was this? First World War, Second World War, or before that?'
'Before. Rumours passed down through elderly ancestors say she was a German spy.'
'I remember that case - made a big sensation. Any German working in England before 1914 was always said to be a spy. The English officer involved was one always said to be "above suspicion". I always look very hard at anyone who is above suspicion. It's all a long time ago, I don't think it's ever been written up in recent years. I mean, not in the way that things are occasionally for public enjoyment when they release a bit of stuff from the records.'
'Yes, but it's all rather sketchy.'
'Yes, it would be by now. It's always been associated, of course, with the submarine secrets that were stolen around then. There was some aviation news as well. A lot of that side of it, and that's what caught the public interest, as you might say. But there are a lot of things, you know. There was the political side to it, too. A lot of our prominent politicians. You know, the sort of chaps people say, "Well, he has real integrity." Real integrity is just as dangerous as being above suspicion in the Services. Real integrity my foot,' said Mr Robinson. 'I remember it with this last war. Some people haven't got the integrity they are credited with. One chap lived down near here, you know. He had a cottage on the beach I think. Made a lot of disciples, you know, praising Hitler: Saying our only chance was to get in with him. Really the fellow seemed such a noble man. Had some wonderful ideas. Was so terribly keen to abolish all poverty and difficulties and injustice - things of that kind. Oh yes. Blew the Fascist trumpet without calling it Fascism. And Spain too, you know. Was in with Franco and all that lot to begin with. And dear old Mussolini, naturally, spouting away. Yes, there are always a lot of side-lines to it just before wars. Things that never came out and nobody ever really knew about.'
'You seem to know everything,' said Tommy. 'I beg your pardon. Perhaps that's rather rude of me. But it really is very exciting to come across someone who does seem to know about everything.'
'Well, I've often had a finger in the pie, as you might say. You know, come into things on the side-lines, or in the background. One hears a good deal. One hears a good deal from one's old cronies too, who were in it up to the neck and who knew the lot. I expect you begin to find that, don't you?'
'Yes,' said Tommy, 'it's quite true. I meet old friends, you know, and they've seen other old friends and there're quite a lot of things that, well, one's friends knew and you knew. You didn't get together just then but now you do hear about them and they're very interesting sometimes.'
'Yes,' said Mr Robinson. 'I see where you're going - where you're tending, you might say. It's interesting that you should come across this.'
'The trouble is,' said Tommy, 'that I don't really know - I mean, perhaps we're being rather silly. I mean, we bought this house to live in, the sort of house we wanted. We've done it up the way we want and we're trying to get the garden in some kind of shape. But I mean, I don't want to get tied up in this sort of stuff again. It's just pure curiosity on our part. Something that happened long ago and you can't help thinking about it or wanting to know why. But there's no point in it. It's not going to do anybody any good.'
'I know. You just want to know. Well, that's the way the human being is made. That's what leads us to explore things, to go and fly to the moon, to bother about underwater discoveries, to find natural gas in the North Sea, to find oxygen supplied to us by the sea and not by the trees and forests. Quite a lot of things they're always finding out about. Just through curiosity. I suppose without curiosity a man would be a tortoise. Very comfortable life, a tortoise has. Goes to sleep all the winter and doesn't eat anything more than grass as far as I know, to live all the summer. Not an interesting life perhaps, but a very peaceful one. On the other hand -'
'On the other hand one might say man is more like a mongoose.'
'Good. You're a reader of Kipling. I'm so glad. Kipling's not appreciated as much as he should be nowadays. He was a wonderful chap. A wonderful person to read nowadays. His short stories, amazingly good, they are. I don't think it's ever been realized enough.'
'I don't want to make a fool of myself,' said Tommy. 'I don't want to mix myself up with a lot of things which have nothing to do with me. Not anything to do with anybody nowadays, I should say.'
'That you never know,' said Mr Robinson.
'I mean, really,' said Tommy, who was now completely swamped in a cloud of guilt for having disturbed a very important man, 'I mean, I'm not just trying to find out things.'
'Got to try and find out things just to satisfy your wife, I suppose. Yes, I've heard of her. I've never had the pleasure of meeting her, I don't think. Rather wonderful person, isn't she?'
'I think so,' said Tommy.
'That's good hearing. I like people who stick together and enjoy their marriage and go on enjoying it.'
'Really, I'm like the tortoise, I suppose. I mean, there we are. We're old and we're tired, and although we've got very good health for our age, we don't want to be mixed up in anything nowadays. We're not trying to butt into anything. We just -'
'I know. I know,' said Mr Robinson. 'Don't keep apologizing for it. You want to know. Like the mongoose, you want to know. And Mrs Beresford, she wants to know. Moreover, I should say from all I've heard of her and been told of her, I should say she will get to know somehow.'
'You think she's more likely to do it than I am?'
'Well, I don't think perhaps you're quite as keen on finding out things as she is, but I think you're just as likely to get on to it because I think you're rather good at finding sources. It's not easy to find sources for something as long ago as that.'
'That's why I feel awful about having come and disturbed you. But I wouldn't have done it on my own. It was only Mutton-Chop. I mean -'
'I know who you mean. Had mutton-chop whiskers and was rather pleased with them at one time. That's why he was called that. A nice chap. Done good work in his time. Yes. He sent you to me because he knew that I am interested in anything like that. I started quite early, you know. Poking about, I mean and finding out things.'
'And now,' said Tommy, 'now you're the tops.'
'Now who told you that?' said Mr Robinson. 'All nonsense.'
'I don't think it is,' said Tommy.
'Well,' said Mr Robinson, 'some get to the tops and some have the tops forced upon them. I would say the latter applies to me, more or less. I've had a few things of surpassing interest forced upon me.'
'That business connected with - Frankfurt, wasn't it?'
'Ah, you've heard rumours, have you? Ah well, don't think about them any more. They're not supposed to be known much. Don't think I'm going to rebuff you for coming here asking me questions. I probably can answer some of the things you want to know. If I said there was something that happened years ago that might result in something being known that would be - possibly - interesting nowadays, something that would give one a bit of information about things that might be going on nowadays, that might be true enough. I wouldn't put it past anyone or anything. I don't know what I can suggest to you, though. It's a question of worry about, listen to people, find out what you can about bygone years. If anything comes along that you think might be interesting to me, just give me a ring or something. We'll find some code words, you know. Just to make ourselves feel excited again, feel as though we really mattered. Crab-apple jelly, how would that be? You know, you say your wife's made some jars of crab-apple jelly and would I like a pot. I'll know what you mean.'
'You mean that - that I would have found out something about Mary Jordan. I don't see there's any point in going on with that. After all, she's dead.'
'Yes. She's dead. But - well, you see, sometimes one has the wrong ideas about people because of what you've been told. Or because of what's been written.'
'You mean we have wrong ideas about Mary Jordan. You mean, she wasn't important at all?'
'Oh yes, she could have been very important.' Mr Robinson looked at his watch. 'I have to push you off now. There's a chap coming in, in ten minutes. An awful bore, but he's high up in government circles, and you know what life is nowadays. Government, government, you've got to stand it everywhere. In the office, in the home, in the supermarkets, on the television. Private life. That's what we want more of nowadays. Now this little fun and games that you and your wife are having, you're in private life and you can look at it from the background of private life. Who knows, you might find out something. Something that would be interesting. Yes. You may and you may not.
'I can't tell you anything more about it. I know some of the facts that probably nobody else can tell you and in due course I might be able to tell them to you. But as they're all dead and done with, that's not really practical.
'I'll tell you one thing that will help you perhaps in your investigations. You read about this case, the trial of Commander whatever-he-was - I've forgotten his name now - and he was tried for espionage, did a sentence for it and richly deserved it. He was a traitor to his country and that's that. But Mary Jordan -'
'Yes?'
'You want to know something about Mary Jordan. Well, I'll tell you one thing that might, as I say, help your point of view. Mary Jordan was - well, you can call it a spy but she wasn't a German spy. She wasn't an enemy spy. Listen to this, my boy. I can't help calling you "my boy".'
Mr Robinson dropped his voice and leaned forward over his desk.
'She was one of our lot.'
Book III
Chapter 1
MARY JORDAN
'But that alters everything,' said Tuppence.
'Yes,' said Tommy. 'Yes. It was - it was quite a shock.'
'Why did he tell you?'
'I don't know,' said Tommy. 'I thought - well, two or three different things.'
'Did he - what's he like, Tommy? You haven't really told me.'
'Well, he's yellow,' said Tommy. 'Yellow and big and fat and very, very ordinary, but at the same time, if you know what I mean, he isn't ordinary at all. He's - well, he's what my friend said he was. He's one of the tops.'
'You sound like someone talking about pop singers.'
'Well, one gets used to using these terms.'
'Yes, but why? Surely that was revealing something that he wouldn't have wanted to reveal, you'd think.'
'It was a long time ago,' said Tommy. 'It's all over, you see. I suppose none of it matters nowadays. I mean, look at all the things they're releasing now. Off the record. You know, not hushing up things any more. Letting it all come out, what really happened. What one person wrote and what another person said and what one row was about and how something else was all hushed up because of something you never heard about.'
