The Riddle at Gipsy's Mile (An Angela Marchmont Mystery 4) (3 page)

‘
Yes, but it
’
s so refreshing too, to shake off the cares of the world and return to a simpler life,
’
said Margueri
te.
‘
Why, I find that living here, one is completely removed from the lures and temptations of the city. Perhaps you should try it, darling. It must be so tiresome for you, to be continually reminded of all those debts. Chemmy, isn
’
t it?
’

The two women smi
led sweetly at each other as Herbert Pilkington-Soames retreated to the safety of the drinks cabinet. Angela and Miles exchanged glances and Angela decided to accept the brandy after all.

‘
I
’
m so glad to have caught you at last!
’
said Cynthia, leaning forw
ard and patting Angela
’
s knee.
‘
We still haven
’
t done that interview for the
Clarion
, have we? Not since you cancelled your visit here in July to go to Cornwall and recover from your nervous breakdown.
’

‘
I did
not
have a nervous breakdown!
’
exclaimed Angel
a, more emphatically than she had intended.

‘
Well, I can see you
’
re much better now, at any rate
—
why, you
’
re positively blooming. The sea air must have agreed with you. And of course, Mr. Bickerstaffe is still frightfully keen to get you. We shall have a c
osy chat tomorrow, just you and I.
’

‘
Not if I can help it,
’
thought Angela.

‘
Is Freddy here?
’
said Cynthia, looking around.

‘
Not yet,
’
replied Miles.

‘
He promised so faithfully that he would be punctual this time,
’
said Cynthia with a sigh.
‘
I swear, darli
ngs, I have simply no idea what to do with that boy. He can
’
t seem to settle down at all. But then twenty-one is such a difficult age.
’

‘
I seem to recall that eighteen, nineteen and twenty were difficult ages for him too,
’
said Marguerite. Cynthia bridled.

‘
Not at all,
’
she said.
‘
He
’
s just naturally delicate and can
’
t stick at things in the same way others can.
’
She smiled complacently.
‘
But I
’
ve found him just the thing. They have been looking for a smart young man at the
Clarion
, and I have put Freddy
’
s name forward. I think he
’
d make a perfectly marvellous reporter, don
’
t you?
’

Angela privately thought that the Pilkington-Soameses
’
indulged only son and child would most likely get the sack after less than a week, but forbore to say so.

‘
He
’
s already mi
ssed a story by being late,
’
said Marguerite.
‘
Hasn
’
t he, Angela?
’

Angela would far rather have kept the matter quiet, and so merely nodded.

‘
What
’
s that? Has something happened?
’
said Herbert, who had made himself at home and was regaling himself with a l
arge whisky.

‘
Oh yes,
’
said Marguerite.
‘
Angela crashed her car on the way here and ran over a woman.
’

‘
That
’
s not quite what happ
—’
began Angela, but Cynthia
’
s eyes were glittering with excitement.

‘
You
ran over
a woman?
’
she said.

‘
Of course not,
’
said A
ngela.
‘
We ran into the ditch and found a dead body there, that
’
s all.
’
She added the
‘
that
’
s all
’
in the hope of making the thing seem less sensational, but immediately realized to her annoyance that it merely made her sound unfeeling.

‘
It wasn
’
t
just
a d
ead body, though, was it?
’
said Marguerite.
‘
Angela seems to think she had been murdered. Her head was quite bashed in, you see.
’

‘
No!
’
breathed Cynthia, thrilled.
‘
Who did it? Was it a jealous lover, do you suppose?
’

‘
I have no idea,
’
said Angela. She sa
w the prospects of escaping Cynthia and her sharp pen receding rapidly, and her heart sank.

‘
Have the police been here?
’

‘
Not yet,
’
said Miles.
‘
I imagine they will come along later, or perhaps tomorrow.
’

‘
And in the meantime I suppose they
’
ve told you not
to leave the country, Angela, what?
’
said Herbert with a great guffaw.
‘
Will they pin it on you, do you think?
’

‘
I hope not,
’
said Angela politely. Her head was starting to spin from the brandy, and she put down the glass. The events of the past hour were
starting to catch up with her.
‘
If you don
’
t mind, I think I
’
d like to go and wash, and perhaps have a little rest,
’
she said.

‘
Certainly you shall,
’
said Marguerite.
‘
Why, you look completely done in, you poor thing. It must have been more of a shock than you thought. Go and lie down for a while, and in the meantime Miles will go and fetch your bags.
’

‘
Oh, certainly,
’
said Miles in surprise.

‘
Thank you, I shall,
’
said A
ngela, and went out.

An hour or two later Mrs. Marchmont emerged from her room, feeling much refreshed, and went downstairs and into the sitting-room. It was empty apart from a bored-looking young man who was lounging carelessly in an easy chair, sm
oking and yawning. He brightened when he saw Angela.

‘
Hallo, Mrs. M,
’
he said.
‘
I gather you
’
ve been finding dead bodies all over the place again.
’

‘
Just the one,
’
said Angela.
‘
Hallo, Freddy. Where are the others?
’

Freddy Pilkington-Soames gave a shrug ex
pressive of splendid ennui.

‘
They
said
they were going to get your things,
’
he said.

‘
What, everyone at once? I didn
’
t bring that much.
’

‘
Well, of course, your suitcases are just an excuse, aren
’
t they? It means they can go and watch all the fun,
’
he said.

‘
Oh,
no
,
’
said Angela.

‘
I don
’
t think Miles and Father were terribly keen,
’
he said,
‘
but you know Mother. She hates to miss out on anything, and of course Marguerite is never one to be outdone.
’

Angela could picture it only too well.

‘
I don
’
t suppose the
police will be any too pleased to have a crowd of onlookers,
’
she said.

‘
Oh, I dare say they
’
ll all be back in a few minutes, having received a flea in their collective ear,
’
agreed Freddy.
‘
Let us hope at least that they remember to bring your bags. Woul
d you be a dear and pour me a glass of whisky? It
’
s taken me half an hour to get this comfortable and I fear that if I got up I should have to start over again.
’

Angela raised her eyebrows but poured the drink without comment and handed it to him. He took
one or two sips and settled back with every indication of great contentment.

‘
I should have thought cocktails were more your line,
’
said Angela.

‘
Oh, I am too old for such things nowadays,
’
he said grandly.

‘
What? At twenty?
’
said Angela, laughing.

‘
Twenty
-one, if you please,
’
he said.
‘
When one reaches man
’
s estate one starts to take life a little more seriously.
’

‘
Oh yes?
’

‘
Yes,
’
said Freddy sententiously.
‘
I have been living the life of a mere child up to now, but I think it is time that I accepted my responsibilities and grew up a little.
’

‘
Ah, yes,
’
said Angela.
‘
I understand your mother has found you a job.
’

Freddy waved his hand.

‘
Yes,
’
he said.
‘
You see
before you the new star reporter at the
Clarion
. I am going to shake them up and make them understand that things have changed. No longer can they be content with doing things the old way. We youngsters know a thing or two and we shall show the Old Guard
how it
’
s done. I expect I shall be promoted to editor in a year or two. Old Bickerstaffe can
’
t carry on for much longer. Why, he must be forty, at least. I shall pension him off and give him a well-deserved rest.
’

He wriggled more comfortably into the cush
ions.

‘
Oughtn
’
t you to have gone with the others, then?
’
said Angela.
‘
Surely the finding of a dead body is a story worth having?
’

He gave a
moue
of distaste.

‘
Oh, but it
’
s terribly sordid, don
’
t you think? Hardly worth bothering w
ith. Some rough fellow bashes his girl over the head in a fit of anger and throws her out of the car
—
why, things like that happen a hundred times a day. No, I shall be concentrating my attention on the really important stories.
’

‘
But what could be more imp
ortant than a murder?
’

Freddy hesitated for a moment.

‘
Well, I suppose that from a certain point of view one
could
say that murder is interesting to the public,
’
he admitted finally,
‘
but I am more concerned with the really sensational stories
—
you know, th
e ones where Lady So-And-So shoots her lover in a jealous rage and is blackmailed by her maid. They sound so much better when written down.
’

‘
Yes, but you don
’
t get cases like that every day,
’
said Angela.
‘
You can
’
t expect Lady So-And-So to go around shoo
ting her lovers all the time just for your benefit.
’

‘
I suppose not,
’
said Freddy.
‘
At any rate, though, I mean to show them all how it is done. Not for me the life of a lowly sleuth-hound, sniffing out a scent and running off anxiously to Chelmsford, or M
aidenhead, or Huddersfield, to question hundreds of slack-jawed representatives of the local populace. No, I shall merely stand quietly apart from the scene and observe. Then, once I have taken in all the information I require and applied my exceptional p
o
wers of the brain to the matter, I shall fasten unerringly on the salient facts of the thing, scribble a note or two and then go home and throw forth a thousand words of such elegant and affecting prose that my colleagues will be moved to tears of joy and
envy and Mr. Bickerstaffe will resign on the spot.
’

He paused to dwell pleasurably on this enticing prospect and took another sip of whisky.

‘
If that is the case, then I shall look out with interest for your first piece,
’
said Angela.

‘
Do,
’
he said.
‘
I ass
ure you, you won
’
t be disappointed. Oh, they
’
re back.
’

They looked out of the window and saw Miles
’
s old motor-car turning into the drive. It came to a halt, and shortly afterwards the sound of voices was heard in the hall and Cynthia came breezing in.

‘
Oh
, you
’
re up, Angela,
’
she said.
‘
We
’
ve been to fetch your bags.
’

Freddy said, with an eagerness that belied his earlier apparent lack of curiosity:

‘
Well, then? What news? Were the police there? Did you see the body?
’

Cynthia grimaced and shook her head.

‘
No, more
’
s the pity. The police would have none of it, even though I told them I represented the
Clarion
. To hear them, one would have thought that we had merely gone along to gawp. Imagine that! Why, we
’
d never dream of doing anything so vulgar!
’

‘
Quite,
darling,
’
said Marguerite, who had just come in.
‘
I was most offended. Why, the sergeant even had the impudence to suggest that we had no right to take your luggage, Angela, and that he might have to withhold it as vital evidence.
’

‘
He didn
’
t!
’
said Angela
in alarm.

‘
Oh, don
’
t worry: Miles convinced him to hand it over in the end. I rather think we
’
ll be receiving a visit from them tomorrow, though.
’

‘
Yes,
’
said Herbert with a laugh.
‘
I hope you
’
ve a good story ready, Angela.
’

‘
I don
’
t know what I can tell
them, other than what they
’
ve already seen for themselves,
’
said Angela.

‘
Did you spot any clues at all?
’
asked Miles.
‘
Anything that might have suggested who did it?
’

Angela shook her head.

‘
Hardly,
’
she said.
‘
As soon as we saw what it was we got away as
quickly as possible. It wasn
’
t exactly the most pleasant sight, poor thing. That reminds me
—
I must go and see that William is all right.
’

‘
Your handsome chauffeur?
’
said Marguerite.
‘
I gave him to Hannah to look after. She was overjoyed. I saw them flirti
ng in the kitchen just now when we came in. It will be a wonder if we get any dinner this evening.
’

‘
Oh, I am glad,
’
said Angela, but whether she was relieved at William
’
s well-being or the prospect of being deprived of Hannah
’
s indifferent cooking was unc
lear.

At that moment the telephone rang shrilly, and Marguerite went to answer it.

‘
That was Gilbert,
’
she said when she returned.
‘
He
’
s heard about our little bit of excitement here, and wants to know whether the police have decided which of us did it.
’

‘
Good gracious,
’
said Angela.
‘
How quickly news travels around here! I wonder how he found out.
’

‘
I don
’
t know, but he sounded positively eaten up with curiosity. He and Lucy are going to come over after dinner.
’

‘
Lucy?
’
said Angela.
‘
Do you mean Lucy Syms?
I met her in the lane on the way here, shortly before we went off the road. We were lost in the fog and she gave us directions. She was on horseback.
’

‘
That would be Lucy,
’
said Miles.
‘
Never off a horse. She
’
s engaged to Gilbert Blakeney. Terribly sensib
le girl. She
’
ll be good for him.
’

‘
I think I
’
ve heard you mention Gilbert before. Is he the old army pal you used to talk about?
’

‘
That
’
s the one. He and Herbert and I were together at Passchendaele. Poor Gil: he rather took to the military life. He loved
the travelling, and the marching
—
I even believe he liked the rough digs and awful food
—
but then just after the war ended his father died, and he found that everyone was expecting him to settle down and take over the old place like a good boy.
’