Chapter 2 Chapter two

Hercule Poirot made no secret of his delight when Rosamund Daly came to sit beside him, and he had publicly admitted that he treated Rosamund Daly like any other woman he had ever met. She admires her more and more, and appreciates her excellence, her elegant figure, and the look of walking with her head held high.He liked her black hair that was messy like smooth waves, and her slightly sarcastic smile. She was wearing a dress made of dark blue material with some white dots on it. It looked very simple, but in fact the lines were very complicated.Rosamund Daly's Rose House clothing company is one of the most famous women's clothing companies in London."I don't think I like the place and I'm still wondering why I'm here," she said.

"You've been here before, haven't you?" "Yes, Easter two years ago, there were not as many people as there are now." Hercule Poirot looked at her, and said very softly: "Is it true that something has happened to worry you?" She nodded, swinging her feet back and forth, staring down at her feet, said, "I saw a ghost." "ghost?" "Ok." "What the hell? Or someone's ghost?" "Oh, my own ghost." Poirot asked softly: "Is this ghost very painful?" "I didn't expect it to be so painful, and it took me back to the past, you know." She paused, thought for a while, and then said: "Think about my childhood-no, you can't imagine, you Not British!"

Poirot asked: "A very English childhood?" "Oh, you can't believe how British it is! Live in the country - a big old house - with horses and dogs - walks in the rain - wood for fires - apples in the orchard - no money — old tweeds — night-gowns worn for years — gardens neglected — little wild chrysanthemums everywhere in autumn...” Poirot asked gently: "You wish to go back to that time?" Rosamund Daly shook her head.She said, "You can't go back in time, can you? Never. But I wish I had chosen—the other way." Poirot said: "Not necessarily."

Rosamund Dai Li laughed, "I really think so." Poirot said: "When I was young (ah, miss, that was a long time ago), there was a popular game called 'If you were not yourself, who would you be?' The answer was to be written on some girls' Among the small books, those books have a gold border and a blue leather cover. The answer to this question is not easy to find, miss." Rosamund said: "Well—I think so. That would be a great risk. No one wants to be Mussolini or Princess Elisabeth, and as for his friends, he knows them well. Too many, I still remember meeting a very nice couple once, they were so polite and happy with each other, they can maintain such a relationship after so many years of marriage, I really envy that woman, I will definitely be willing I exchanged identities with her, but someone later told me that the two of them have not talked in private for eleven years!" She smiled, "Doesn't that mean you can't imagine anything?"

After a while, Poirot said: "Many people must be very envious of you." Rosamund Dailey said coldly: "Oh, yes, of course." She thought for a while, and raised the corners of her mouth, showing a sarcastic smile, "Yes, I am a typical example of successful women. I can enjoy the artistic satisfaction of a successful creative artist (I also really like designing clothes), and the financial satisfaction of a successful working woman. I live reasonably well, I have a good figure and a decent face, And a tongue that isn't too sharp." She paused, and her smile grew wider. "Of course—I've got a husband! That's a failure, isn't it, M. Poirot?"

Poirot said very courteously: "Miss, the reason why you are not married is because there is no one of my same sex who is qualified. The reason why you remain celibate is your choice, not necessity." Rosamund Dailey said: "That being said, I believe that you, like all men, believe in your heart that a woman cannot be satisfied until she is married and has children." Poirot shrugged his shoulders, "Marrying and having children is common for women, but only one in a hundred women—no, only one in a thousand—can achieve the same fame and status as you do today." Rosamund grinned at him and said, "But, after all, I'm still just a haggard old maid! At least, I have such a feeling today. I would rather not have much money for a year, but have a tall man who doesn't have much money." Talkative husband, and a lot of brats following me, it's true, isn't it?"

Poirot shrugged his shoulders, "Since you say so, let it be so." Rosamund laughed. She suddenly regained her self-control, took out a cigarette and lit it, and said: "You really know how to deal with women, Mr. Poirot. Now I feel that I should adopt a relative position and view to come Arguing with you that women should put their careers first. Of course my life is not bad—and I know it.” "Then, can we say that everything is beautiful again?" "Not bad at all." Poirot also took out his cigarette case, and lit his favorite slim cigarette. Looking at the rising smoke, he murmured, "So, Mr. Marshall is your old friend now? Miss."

Luo Shameng sat up straight, and she said, "Hey, how did you know? Oh, I think it was Gan Yishi who told you?" Poirot shook his head. "No one told me anything, but, madam, I'm a detective. That's an obvious conclusion." Rosamund Daly said, "I don't understand." "Think about it!" He gestured with both hands, "You have been here for a week, very active, very happy, and have nothing on your mind, but today you suddenly talked about ghosts and things from the past, what's going on? ? There have been no new guests in the past few days, and Mr. Marshall, his wife and daughter came only last night. Today you have such a change! Isn't it obvious?"

Rosamund Dailey said: "Well, it's true. Gan Yishi Marshall and I are childhood friends. Marshall's family lives next door to us. Gan Yishi has always been very kind to me—of course, it is a Kind of caring, because he's four years older than me. I haven't seen him for a long time afterward. Some--fifteen years at least." Poirot said thoughtfully: "It's been a long time." Rosamund nodded, and there was a silence between them, and then Hercule Poirot said, "He's very sympathetic, isn't he?" Luo Shameng said enthusiastically: "Gan Yishi is a good person, the best person, quiet and introverted to a terrifying degree. I dare say his only mistake is his bad habit of focusing on unhappy marriages."

Poirot said very understandingly: "Ah..." Rosamund Dai Li continued: "Gan Yishi is a fool—he becomes a big fool when he meets a woman! Do you remember the Ma Tingdai case?" Poirot frowned, "Ma Tingde? Ma Tingde? It's poison, isn't it?" "Yes, seventeen or eighteen years ago, that woman was accused of murdering her husband." "It was later proved that he had a habit of taking arsenic, and she was acquitted of all charges." "That's right. Well, after she was released and Gan Yishi married her, he would do such stupid things."

Hercule Poirot murmured: "But perhaps she is innocent?" Rosamund said impatiently: "Ah, I dare say she must be innocent, no one can figure it out! But there are so many women in the world who are easy to marry, so why marry a woman who has been tried for murder? Poirot didn't say anything, maybe he knew that if he kept silent, Rosamund Daly would go on, and she did go on: "Of course, he was very young at that time, only twenty-one years old. She was madly in love, she died when Linda was born - they were only married for a year. I believe her death hit Gan Yishi very hard. Then he messed up for a while - I think he wanted to make the past Forget about it." She paused, "then came this Arlena Stuart, she often performed in musicals. There was a famous divorce case, when Mrs. Coddington and Coddington divorced, it was pointed out that Eleanor Stuart was the third nuisance, and they said Sir Coddington loved her dearly, and it was known that the two of them would marry as soon as the divorce was established. But when things came to an end, But he didn't marry her, and forced her to stay away. Anyway, this matter caused a lot of trouble at the time, and it was Gan Yishi who went to marry her back. This fool—this big fool! " Hercule Poirot murmured: "There is something to be forgiven for such a fool—she is beautiful." "That's right, that's not bad at all. Three years ago, there was another scandal. The old Sir Roger Ainskin bequeathed all his property to her after his death. I thought it was time for Gan Yishi to open his eyes. .” "But no?" Rosamund shrugged her shoulders: "Let me tell you that I haven't seen him for many years. However, others said that he recognized him without making a fuss. I would like to know why? Could it be that he was blind to her? Do you trust me?" "Perhaps there is another reason." "That's right, it's about face, face has to be maintained! I don't know how he feels about her, no one knows." "What about her, how does she feel about him?" Rosamund stared at him.She said: "Her? She is the number one gold digger girl in the world, and she is also a goblin who can eat people! As long as a man comes within a hundred yards of her, Elena will immediately want to do something, she is Such people." Bai Luoji nodded in agreement. "Yes," he said, "you're right, she has eyes for one thing—men." Rosamund said: "She's taken a fancy to Patrick Redfern again now, he's good-looking--a very simple guy--you know, likes his wife, not a flirt, that kind of guy Elena's favorite, I like Mrs. Redfern very much--she's so pretty in a pitiful way--but I don't think she's a match for the man-eating tigress Elena." "Well, that's exactly what you said," said Poirot, looking very depressed. Rosamund said: "Christine Redfern seems to be a teacher. She is the kind of person who believes that ideas are more important than anything else. She's amazing." Poirot shook his head regretfully.Rosamund stood up, and she said: "This really shouldn't be." She added vaguely: "Someone really should use some method to solve it." Linda Marshall looked unhappy in the mirror in her bedroom. She didn't like the way she looked.She especially felt now that it was mostly just bones and freckles, and she hated the sight of her reddish-brown shaggy hair (she cursed inwardly, like a mouse).She also disliked her gray-green eyes, high cheekbones and long chin.Her mouth and teeth may not be so bad--but what good are good teeth?Also, what is this red spot next to her nose?Later, I found out that it was not a pimple, so I was relieved.She thought to herself: "Sixteen is a dreadful--simply dreadful!" A person just doesn't seem to understand their situation.Linda was as stupid as a calf and as restless as a hedgehog.She feels ugly all the time, and she also feels that she is nothing.It wasn't so bad at school, but she was out of school now, no one seemed to know what she was supposed to do, and her father made vague mention of sending her to Paris this winter.Linda didn't want to go to Paris—but she didn't want to stay home either, and it wasn't until now that she really understood how much she hated Elena. Linda's young face tightened, her gray-green eyes hardened.Elena... she thought to herself: "She's a beast—a beast..." Stepmother!Having a stepmother is really a bad thing, everyone says so.That's not bad at all!It's not that Elena treats her badly, most of the time, Elena doesn't notice this little girl at all, but once she notices, there is always a look of contempt in her eyes and words... …Elena's elegant posture and movements emphasized Linda's clumsiness. As long as Elena was around, she would be ashamed to feel her childishness and rudeness.But the problem is more than that, more than this, Linda thought and stopped again.She wasn't yet good at sorting out her own feelings. The problem was Elena's effect on other people—on their family. "She's a bad person," thought Linda. "She's bad, very bad." But the matter didn't end there. You can't just sneer at her and ignore her. The problem lies in her influence on others.For example, with Dad, Dad is very different now... She wondered for a while, when Dad came to take her out of school, Dad once took her on a cruise, and Dad was at home——Elena Also when.Everything—everything seems to be mixed together and not—not there.Linda thought, "It's going to go on like this, day after day—month after month. I can't take it." The life that unfolded before her eyes—without end—was a series of dark days because of Elena, who was still very childish and had little sense of comparison.One year seemed like an eternity to Linda, and a burning wave of hatred rose in her heart, and she thought: "I really want to kill her. Ah! I really want her dead..." She looked over the mirror at the water below. This place is actually very interesting, at least it should be very interesting.There are several beaches, coves, and many interesting paths. There are many places where you can go adventuring, and there are many places where you can hang out alone. The children of the Curwen family told her that there are also many caves. Linda thought: "As long as Elena is gone, I can have fun." She thought back to the day she first arrived, how excited she was to come from the opposite side, the tide had flooded the embankment, and they had come by boat.This hotel seemed very special and exciting, and then a tall, black woman jumped up on the balcony and said, "Oh, it's you, Gan Yishi!" And her father looked very surprised, and cried out: "Rosamon!" Linda scrutinized Rosamund Dailey carefully with the usual critical attitude of children, and decided that she admired Rosamund.She thought Rosamon was very sensible.Her hair was growing well too--it seemed to suit her--most people's hair doesn't match theirs.She dresses well, too, and she has a funny face—seems to be enjoying herself.Rosamund was also very nice to Linda, without making a fuss or "saying" anything (under what Linda called "saying" was a whole bunch of nasty things).And Rosamon didn't treat Linda like a silly child, but treated her as a real person.Linda rarely felt this way of being taken for a real person, and when she did, she was grateful. Dad seemed happy to see Miss Daley, too.Weird—he looked like a different person suddenly.He looked—he looked—Linda thought and thought—oh, he looks younger!He laughed out loud--laughing like a child.Looking back now, Linda realized that she had rarely heard her father laugh, and she was confused, as if she saw someone else entirely.She thought, "I don't know what Dad was like when I was my age..." But it was so difficult that she decided not to think about it. A thought suddenly flashed into her mind.How happy it would be if they--just her and papa--were here and met Miss Daley.She suddenly wanted to see a picture like this: Dad laughing childishly, Miss Daley and herself--enjoying all the fun on the island--swimming--caving--darkness came down again. Elena, with Elena around, there is no way to be happy.Why not?Well, at least she, Linda, couldn't be happier.You can't be happy with someone you hate.Not bad, hate!She hated Elena.The flame of hatred slowly rose in her heart again, Linda's face became very pale, her lips parted slightly, the pupils of her eyes contracted, her fingers stiffened and fisted... Gan Yishi Marshall knocked on his wife's door, and when he heard her reply, he opened the door and walked in.Elena had just finished her makeup, she was wearing a shiny green dress, she looked a bit like a mermaid, and she was standing in front of the mirror, putting mascara on her eyelashes, and she said, "Oh, it's you. " "Well, let me see if you got it done?" "almost ready." Gan Yishi Marshall walked to the window and looked out at the sea. His face did not show any expression as usual, and he was still very happy and normal. He turned around and said, "Eleena?" "What's up?" "I suppose you knew Redfonne before?" Elena replied very easily: "Ah, yes, my dear, I met him at a cocktail party somewhere, I think he is very good." "I suppose so. Did you know he and his wife were coming here?" Elena opened her eyes wide, "Ah, I don't know, dear, I never thought I would meet him again." Kenneth Marshall said calmly: "I thought maybe it was because they were coming that you thought of coming to this place. You were so insisting that we come here." Elena put down the mascara and turned to face him.She smiled slightly—the smile was full of temptation, and she said: “Someone told me about this place, I think it was Li Nan and his wife. They said this place is so good—it has completely maintained a very pure scenery! Don’t you Don't you like it here?" Kenneth Marshall said, "I don't know." "Oh, dear, but swimming and lounging are what you like best, and I think you'll love it here." "I know what you mean to say that you will enjoy yourself." Her eyes widened a little bit, looking at him a little bewildered.Kenneth Marshall said, "I suppose you actually told Redfonne that you were coming here?" Elena said: "Gan Yishi, my dear, you are not trying to trouble me, are you?" Kenneth Marshall said: "Hey, Elena, I know what kind of person you are. They are a very good couple, that boy really loves his wife, don't you have to mess with people ?" Elena said: "It's too unfair to blame me like this. I didn't do anything—not at all, and I can't control others—" He pressed, "How is it?" Her eyes kept blinking, "Hey, of course, I know a lot of people are crazy about me, but it's not my fault, that's just what they do." "Then you admit that Redfang is crazy about you!" Elena murmured, "He's so stupid," and she took a step closer to her husband, "but you understand, don't you? You know that the only one I really love is you." She looked up at him through her mascara-painted lashes, and she had a look on her face that few men could resist.Kenneth Marshall looked down at her sullenly.His face was as usual, and his voice said calmly: "I think I know you quite well, Elena..." Go to the balcony on the south side of the hotel, the bathing beach is just below the balcony, and there is also a small path leading out.Going around the cliff to the southwestern side of the island, a short walk leads to a series of recesses carved in the cliff.Mark it as "Sunshine Cliff" on the map of the hotel. There are seats in these places. After dinner, the Redfang couple went to such a place.The night was clear and full of moonlight, and the Redfonds sat down and were silent for a while, until Patrick Redfonne said, "It's a beautiful night, isn't it, Christine." "Well," there was a hint of uneasiness in her tone that might have disturbed him. As he sat there without looking at her, Christine asked in her calm voice: "Did you know that woman was coming here?" He turned around and said, "I don't understand what you mean by that." "I think you understand." "Hey, Christine, I don't know what's wrong with you—" She interrupted him, her voice low and trembling. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you!" "I didn't do anything." "Oh, Patrick, there is! You insist on coming here. You are very stubborn. I would like to go to the place where we used to honeymoon again, but you must come here." "Why, why not? It's a wonderful place!" "Perhaps, but you came here because she was coming." "Her? Who is she?" "Mrs. Marshall. You—you're in love with her." "My God, Christine, don't embarrass yourself. It's not like you to be jealous." His temper was a little unnatural, quite exaggerated. "We've been very happy!" she said. "Happy, of course we've always been happy! We're happy now! But we won't be happy if you start making noise whenever I talk to other women!" "That's not the case." "Exactly! Married people must also maintain - er - friendships. Your skeptical attitude is totally wrong. As soon as I - I talk to a beautiful woman, you immediately conclude that I'm in love with her—” He paused, shrugging his shoulders. Christine Redfern said: "You were in love with her..." "Oh, don't be silly, Christine! I—I only had a couple of words with her." "Not at all." "Don't get into the bad habit of being jealous whenever we meet a beautiful woman." Christine Redfern said: "She's more than just a pretty woman! She--she's different! She's a bad woman! That's right, she is, and she'll kill you. Patrick , I beg you, let her go and let us get out of here." Patrick Redfon stuck out his chin in displeasure, and said childishly, "Don't be silly, Christine, we—let's not quarrel about things like this." "I don't want to fight." "Then make some sense, come on, let's go back to the hotel." He stood up, and Christine paused for a moment, then stood up too, and she said, "Okay..." In the alcove next door sat Hercule Poirot, shaking his head somewhat sadly.Some people might hurry away when they might overhear a conversation, but not Hercule Poirot, he had no such thoughts at all, "besides," he later said to his friend Hastings, "things About murder." Hastings widened his eyes and said, "However, the murder case hadn't happened yet." Hercule Poirot sighed, and said: "But, my friend, there are obvious signs of that." "Then why didn't you stop it beforehand?" Hercule Poirot sighed, and said, as he had said before in Egypt, that if anyone were determined to murder another, it would not be easy to prevent it, and that he did not blame himself at all for what had happened, According to him, it was simply unavoidable.