The Case of the Late Pig (16 page)
Read The Case of the Late Pig Online
Authors: Margery Allingham
He smiled faintly. ‘I – er – prefer writing to action, you know,’ he said, hesitantly. ‘I am sorry, Campion, to have dragged you into this, but at the beginning we had nothing to go on at all except a sort of uneasy suspicion. I couldn’t very well approach you direct because – well – er – there was nothing direct about it, so I – er – wrote.’
His voice trailed away.
‘Both Lugg and I appreciated your style,’ I said.
He nodded gravely. ‘It seemed the best way to ensure your interest,’ he said calmly. ‘Whenever I thought you might be flagging, I wrote again.’
‘Your people got hold of Effie, and you set her on to me, I suppose?’ I said coldly.
‘Er-yes,’ agreed Whippet, without shame.
Poppy glanced round the room. ‘Where is she now?’ she demanded.
Whippet beamed. It was the broadest smile I ever saw on his face.
‘With – er – Bathwick,’ he murmured. ‘They’ve gone into the town, to the pictures. Very suitable, I thought. Happy endings and – er – all that.’
I gaped at him. He had my respect.
When Lugg and I went back to London the next day, Poppy, who had gone to Highwaters for lunch, stood with Leo and waved good-bye to us from the lawn. The sky was dappled blue and white, the birds sang, and the air smelt of hay.
Janet, with Whippet in tow, came running up to us just before we started. Her eyes were dancing, and she looked adorable.
‘Congratulate us, Albert,’ she said. ‘We’re engaged. Isn’t it wonderful?’
I gave them my blessing with a good grace. Whippet blinked at me.
‘I’m indebted to you, Campion,’ he said.
We drove for some time in silence. I was thoughtful and Lugg, who was as bald as an egg, seemed depressed. As we reached the main road he nudged me.
‘What a performance!’ he said.
‘Whose?’ I inquired, not above appreciating a little honour where honour was due.
He leered. ‘That bloke Whippet. Come down to a place with Miss Effie Rowlandson, and go orf with Miss Janet Pursuivant.… That took a bit o’ doing.’
‘Lugg,’ I said sadly, ‘would you like to walk home?’
THE END
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Epub ISBN 9781448138111
Published by Vintage 2005
6 8 10 9 7 5
Copyright © 1937 Margery Allingham Limited, a Chorion company. All rights reserved.
Margery Allingham has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
First published in Great Britain in 1937 by
William Heinemann
Vintage
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA
Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm
The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9780099477747