Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

When I got home, I found we were in a family crisis. Griselda saw me in the hall, and dragged me into the living room with tears in her eyes. "She's leaving." "Who is leaving?" "Mary. She has informed me." Hearing this news, I really didn't feel any displeasure. "Oh," I said, "we'll have to get another maid." I think it makes sense to say so.When one maid leaves, find another.But seeing the accusatory look on Griselda's face puzzled me. "Len—you're heartless. You don't care." I don't care.In fact, the thought of no more burnt puddings and undercooked dishes made me almost lighthearted.

"I had to find another girl, and find her, and train her." Grzelda said in a voice full of self-pity. "Has Mary been trained?" I asked. "Of course she has." "I think," I said, "somebody heard her call us 'Sir' and 'Mrs.' and immediately snatched her away from us as a perfect human being. All I'm saying is, they'd be disappointed. " "That's not the case," said Griselda, "no one else wanted her. I don't see how they would want her.Because of her mood.Because Lettice Protheroe said she hadn't dusted off, she became upset. "

Griselda used to say something astonishing, but this one especially surprised me, and I couldn't help but ask.It seemed to me the most improbable thing in the world that Lettice Protheroe should be meddling in our domestic affairs, scolding our maid about domestic affairs.That's so uncharacteristic of Lettice, I say. "I don't see," I said, "what our dust has to do with Lettice." "Never mind," said my wife, "that's why it's so unreasonable. I want you to go and talk to Mary yourself. She's in the kitchen." I didn't want to talk to Marie about it at all, but Griselda was too strong and quick to resist, and pushed me through the baize-topped door and into the kitchen.

Mary is peeling potatoes by the sink. "Er—good afternoon," I said nervously. Mary looked up at me, snorted, and had no other reaction. "Mrs. Claremont told me you were leaving us," I said. At last Mary deigned to answer the question. "There are things," she said sullenly, "that no girl can bear." "Would you please tell me what exactly upsets you?" "I can answer you in two words, I can. (I must say, she said it so inaccurately.) As soon as I turn my back, people come here to sniff. Sniff around. What's her business? She cleans the study for a long time Dust once, turn off the light once? As long as you and the wife don’t complain, it’s none of other people’s business. I said, whether I satisfy you or not is what matters.”

Mary has never satisfied me.I admit that I yearn for a room that is cleaned and organized every morning.Mary's usual practice of dusting off the surface of the low dining table was done, which I thought was outrageous.However, I know that it is inappropriate to care about side issues at this time. "Had to go to that trial, didn't you? Standing in front of twelve men, a respectable girl like me! God knows what questions they'll ask you. I tell you, I've never been in a room Been where the murder happened, and never want to be again." "I hope you don't," I said, "by the rules of probability theory, I'd say it's highly unlikely."

"I don't agree with the rule. He's a lawman. A lot of poor fellows go to jail for hunting a hare, and he keeps pheasants and stuff. Besides, he hasn't been properly buried, and his That daughter said, what I said was not good." "You mean, did Miss Protheroe come here?" "I found her here when I got back from the Blue Boar. In the study. "'Oh,' she said, 'I was looking for my little yellow beret—a little hat. I left it here the other day.' 'Oh,' I said, 'I didn't see anything at all. hat. I was here on Thursday morning when I cleaned up.' 'Oh!' she said again, 'but I bet you won't see. You don't spend much time cleaning up, do you?' Ran my finger along the mantelpiece, looked at my fingers. Thought I'd have time to remove all the knickknacks and put them back together on a morning like this. The police didn't open the room until the night before.' I thought , Miss, the vicar and the mistress are satisfied, that's what matters,' I said. She laughed, and went out of the French window, and said: 'Oh, but are you sure they will?'" "I Got it." I said.

"That's right, a girl has her own feelings! I'm sure I'll work hard for you and your wife. If she wants to eat something new, I'll always try to do it." "I'm sure you will," I reassured her. "But she must have heard something, or she wouldn't have said what she said. If I didn't satisfy you, I'd rather go. Not that I cared what Miss Protheroe said. She wasn't welcome in the 'Old House. People like it, I can tell you. Never say 'please' or 'thank you', be vague.Mr. Dennis wants Miss Lettice Protheroe with all his heart, and I don't think much of her.But she was the sort of girl who could always get a young gentleman around her skirts. "

During this call, Mary has been trying to pick the bud eyes out of the potatoes, and the bud eyes are flying around the kitchen like hailstones.At this time, a piece of bud eye hit my eye, and the conversation stopped for a while. "Don't you think," said I, wiping my eyes with my handkerchief, "that you are so angry that it is a little out of thin air? I know, Mary, that the mistress will be very sorry to have you gone." "Sir, I'm not going to be mad at my wife for that—or at you." "So, don't you think you're a little too silly?"

Mary snorted. "After the trial and all that, I'm kind of annoyed. A girl has her own feelings. But I don't want to inconvenience my wife." "That's right." I said. I left the kitchen to find Griselda and Dennis waiting for me in the hall. "How is it?" Griselda asked. "She'll stay," I said, sighing. "Len," said the wife, "you're really smart." I feel, I don't agree with her.I didn't think I was that smart just now.I firmly believe that there is no worse maid than Mary.Any change will only make it better, I think.

But I like to please Griselda.I explained in detail why Mary was angry. "What a Lettice thing," Dennis said. "She couldn't have left her yellow beret here on Wednesday. She was playing tennis on Thursday." "I think that's quite possible," I said. "She never remembers where she puts something," Dennis said, with a tenderness of pride and admiration that I thought was highly inappropriate. "Every day she loses several things." "A very charming habit," I said. Dennis couldn't appreciate any irony. "She's really charming," he said, with a deep sigh. "She's always been proposed, she told me."

"If they proposed to her here, it would be illegal," I said. "We don't have a bachelor here." "Dr. Stone yes," said Griselda, blinking. "He asked her to see the cemetery one day," I admitted. "Of course he did," Griselda said. "She's very charming, Len. Even bald archaeologists can sense that." "Very sexy." Dennis said to the point. But Laurence Redding was not at all impressed by Lettice's beauty.But Griselda said with a self-righteous air: "Lawrence himself is very masculine. The kind of man who always likes—how shall I put it—religious women. Very restrained and shy, what people call a cold beauty. Anne, I think." The only woman who could charm Lawrence. I don't think they'll ever tire of each other. Even so, I think he's kind of stupid in one way. He used Lettice, you know. I don't think he'd ever think of her Would mind - he's humble in some ways - but I have a feeling she would." "She can't stand him," said Dennis firmly. "She told me so." Upon hearing this, Griselda fell into a pitiful silence.I have never seen such a situation. I go into the study.I felt that there was still an air of uneasiness in the room.I know, I have to get over this mentality.Once I can't overcome this mentality, I may never use the study again.I meditated and walked to the desk. Here Prothero had sat, red-cheeked, healthy-looking, straight-backed, and here, in a moment, he was struck down.Where I stand, there once stood a murderer... Thus, Prothero ceased to exist... This was the pencil he had held in his finger. On the floor, there was a faint black stain - the carpet had been sent for cleaning, but the blood had soaked the floor. I trembled. "I can't use this room," I yelled, "I can't!" Then my eyes caught something—a shiny blue speck.I bend over.Between the desk and the floor, I saw a small object.I picked it up. I put it in the palm of my hand and gazed at it when Griselda entered the room. "I forgot to tell you, Len. Miss Marple wants us to come over after dinner to-day. To keep her nephew company. She's afraid he'll be bored. I said we'll go." "Very well, dear." "What are you looking at?" "nothing." I clenched my fists, looked at my wife and said: "My dear, if you can't cheer Master Raymond West, he must be a hard man to cheer." My wife said, "Stop kidding, Len." She also turned red. She went out again, and I spread my palms. On the palm of my hand is a blue lapis lazuli earring with a small pearl. It was an extraordinary gem, and I knew exactly where I had last seen it.

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