Chapter 16 Chapter 15 Proposal

Julius jumped up. "what?" "I thought you were aware of that." "When did she leave?" "Let me think about it. It's Monday, isn't it? It must have been Tuesday last week - well, indeed - yes, the same night you - er - fell from a tree .” "That night? Before or after?" "Let me see--ah, yes, after that. Got a very urgent letter from Mrs. Vandermeyer. The young lady and the nurse who took care of her left on the evening bus. " Julius sat down. "Nurse Edith—was gone with a patient—I remember." He mumbled, "My God, it's so close!"

Dr. Hall looked very confused. "I don't understand. Was the lady not with her aunt at all?" Tuppence shook her head.She was about to speak when Sir James' warning look kept her from opening.The lawyer stood up. "I thank you very much, Hall, we are very grateful for everything you have told us. I think we will be able to retrace Miss Vandermeyer now. How about the nurse who accompanied her, don't you know where she is?" The doctor shook his head. "We haven't heard from her, that's the way it is. I presume she's going to spend some time with Miss Vandermeyer.

But what could have happened?It is true that the girl was not kidnapped. " "That will wait and see," said Sir James grimly. The doctor hesitated. "Do you think I shouldn't call the police?" "No, it shouldn't be. Nine times out of ten the young lady is with her relatives." The doctor was not very satisfied, but he saw that Sir James was determined not to say more, and realized that it would be futile to learn more from the famous 2nd lord.So the doctor bade them good-bye, and they left the hotel.They talked for a few minutes beside the car. "It's so exasperating," said Tuppence aloud, "to think that Julius was actually only with her for a few hours."

"I'm such a complete idiot," said Julius despondently. "You can't know," Tuppence reassured him, and said to Sir James, "could he?" "I advise you not to worry so much," said Sir James kindly. "You know it's no use crying over spilled milk." "The more important thing is what to do next," said the practical Tuppence. Sir James shrugged his shoulders. "You could advertise for a nurse to accompany the girl, that's the only way I can suggest that works, and I admit I don't expect too many results, otherwise there's nothing else to do."

"Nothing to do?" said Tuppence blankly. "And—where's Tommy?" "We should hope for the best," said Sir James. "Ah, yes, we should go on hoping." Then Tuppence bowed her head in despondency, and Sir James' eyes met Julius's.He shook his head slightly, almost imperceptibly, and Julius understood that the lawyer thought the matter was hopeless.The American youth's face became more and more gloomy.Sir James took Tuppence's hand. "If you have any further clues, let me know. Letters can always be forwarded." Tuppence stared at him blankly.

"Are you leaving?" "I told you, don't you remember? To Scotland." "Yes, but I thought—" the girl hesitated. Sir James shrugged his shoulders. "My dear lady, I'm afraid I can't do more. All leads are lost in the breeze. Believe me, there's nothing more to do. If anything comes up, I'll gladly try to help you." His words made Tuppence feel infinitely desolate. She said, "I think you're right. Anyway, thank you for all your help, bye." While Julius bent over the car, Sir James stared at the girl's downcast face with a gleam of pity in his keen eyes.

"Don't be too sad, Miss Tuppence," he said softly. "Remember, holidays aren't always fun. Sometimes you have to do work alone." The overtones of his words made Tuppence pick them up sharply. start.He smiled and shook his head. "No, I won't say any more. It's a big mistake to say too much. Remember, never tell everything you know—even to the people you know best, understand?" goodbye. " He walked away quickly, and Tuppence gazed after him.She began to ponder Sir James' words. Had he given her some sort of hint before, in a careless manner, this time too?What exactly do these short words mean?After all, he didn't mean to abandon the case: he would still proceed in such secrecy... Julius interrupted her contemplation and asked her to get into the car.

"You look preoccupied," said Julius as the car started. "What else did the old man say to you?" Tuppence opened her mouth impulsively, then closed it again.Sir James' words echoed in her ears: "Never tell what you know—even the people you know best." Another incident flashed into her mind, in the flat where Julius stood in the safe Is there really nothing in front of my own question, short pause and answer of "nothing"?Did he discover what he was looking for?If he had reservations, so could she. "Nothing in particular," she replied. She didn't see but felt Julius' sideways glance at her.

"Hey, shall we go for a drive in the park?" "If you want." For a while, the car was driving under the tree, and neither of them spoke.The weather was fantastic.The speed of the car revived Tuppence's spirits. "Well, Miss Tuppence, do you think I can find Jane?" Julius said in a dejected voice.The mood was so alien to him that Tuppence turned and stared at him in amazement. He nodded. "Exactly. I'm apprehensive about talking about it, and want to quit. There's no hope for Sir James today, I can see that I don't like him--we're not getting along--but he's very clever, and I Think as long as there is a chance of success, he won't quit, will he?"

Tuppence was rather displeased, but insisted on her opinion that Julius had concealed something from her, so she remained firm. "He suggested advertising for that nurse," she reminded him. "Yeah, spice up his opinion with a 'movement with little chance of success'! No - I'm pretty much sick of it. I kind of want to go back to America right away." "Oh, no!" cried Tuppence. "We must find Tommy." "I must have forgotten Beresford," said Julius regretfully. "That's right, we must find him. But—well, I've been daydreaming since I started this trip." Dreams - these daydreams are terrible.

I want to get rid of them.Hello, Miss Tuppence, there is something I want to ask you. " "Please tell me." "What's the matter with you and Beresford?" "I don't ask you," said Tuppence, with dignity, and added incoherently, "at any rate, you're wrong!" "Is there not a feeling of mutual affection?" "Of course not," said Tarpon Ribbon affectionately. "Tommy and I are friends, that's all." "I think every lover says that at some point," Julius remarked. "Nonsense!" said Tuppence angrily. "Do I look like the kind of girl who falls in love with every man she meets?" "You're not. You look like the kind of girl who's always loved." "Ah!" startled Tuppence. "That's a compliment, I suppose?" "Indeed. Now let's talk seriously. Suppose we never find Beresford again, and—" "Yes—tell it! I can face the truth. Suppose he dies: so what?" "Knowing all these things, what are you going to do?" "I don't know," said Tuppence pitifully. "You'll be very lonely, poor girl." "I'll be all right," said Tuppence angrily, outraged at any mercy. "What about marriage?" asked Julius. "What do you think of it?" "Of course I want to get married," replied Tuppence, "that is, if—" She stopped, sold an about, and bravely stood her ground - "If I could find someone rich enough to pay me. That's frank, isn't it? Dare I say You'll look down on me for that." "I would never despise the business instinct," said Julius. "Have you got a concrete outline in your mind?" "Outline?" asked Tuppence, puzzled. "Do you mean tall or short?" "No, the amount—the income." "Ah, I—haven't quite figured it out yet." "How am I?" "you?" "yes." "Ah, I can't!" "why not?" "I tell you, I can't." "Why not?" "It just doesn't look fair." "I don't see any injustice in it. I want you to show your cards, that's all. I admire you so much, Miss Tuppence, you surpass any girl I've ever met. You have guts, and I just want to give you a Really good life. If you tell me, we can go to the fine jewelry store and order the ring in a second." "I can't," gasped Tuppence. "Is it because of Beresford?" "No, no, no:" "Then why?" Tuppence just kept shaking her head desperately. "You can't reasonably expect more dollars than I have now." "Oh, that's not the case," said Tuppence, who could hardly breathe with laughter. "Thank you very much and all you've said. I think it's better not." "If you would do me this favor, consider the matter, and get back to me tomorrow, I would be very grateful." "Useless." "I suppose that's the way it is." "Very well," said Tuppence resignedly. Before they arrived at the Ritz Hotel, they did not speak again. Tuppence went upstairs to her room.After colliding with the feisty Julius, her mind is pounded. She sat in front of the mirror and stared at the figure in the mirror for several minutes. "Fool," said Tuppence with a grimace, "little fool. What you've always wanted, you say 'no' like a stupid little lamb. Here's your chance, why don't you grab it Live it. What more do you want?" As if answering her own question, her eyes fell on a small photo of Chang Mi.The photo is in an old frame and sits on her dresser.In order to control her emotions, she tried to calm down for a while, and then couldn't help picking up Tommy's photo and kissing it, and suddenly burst into tears. "Oh, Tommy, Tommy," she cried, "I do love you, and I may never see you again..." Five minutes later Tuppence sat up, caught her nose, and pushed her hair back. "That's it," she said firmly. "Let's face it, I feel like I'm in love with some idiot guy, and maybe he doesn't like me at all." She paused again. "Anyway," as if she was Debating with an invisible opponent, "I don't know, he loves me or not, he never dares to say so. I'm always sentimental - here I'm more sentimental than anyone, what a stupid girl! I always Think, sleep with his picture under your pillow and dream about him all night. Feeling against your will is a terrible thing. " Tuppence shook her head sadly at this thought. "I don't know what to say to Julius? I think, oh, what a fool I am! I always want to say something to him - he's a typical American, he's obsessed with details, he'll insist on a reason. I wonder what he found in that safe--" Tuppence's thoughts turned the other way.She kept going over the events of the previous night carefully.They all seemed to have something to do with the inscrutable words of Sir James--suddenly she was taken aback--and her face was pale, and her eyes were staring dully ahead, their pupils swollen. "Impossible," she said to herself, "impossible: the thought of such a thing would drive me mad..." Ridiculous—yet it says it all... After thinking about it for a while, she sat down to write a short note, and as she wrote it, she weighed every word.Finally she nodded with satisfaction.She put the letter in an envelope and wrote Julius on the envelope.She walked down the hall to the living room and knocked on the door. As she expected, the room was empty, and she left the letter on the table.When she returned to her room, a small page was waiting outside the door. "Your telegram, miss." Tuppence took the telegram from the tray, tore it carelessly, and then gave an exclamation.The telegram is from Tommy!