Chapter 11 11

.11. Mr. Dubose was annoyed.Angrily, he tore off Adele Fortescue's letter halfway down and threw it in the wastebasket.Then he suddenly became cautious, took out another piece of paper, lit a match and burned it to ashes.He muttered under his breath: "Why are women so stupid by nature? The most basic considerations..." Mr. Dubose mused at this time, women never know how to be careful.Although he has profited many times because of this, but now he is annoyed.He takes every precaution himself.If Mrs. Fortescue called, he told people he wasn't there. Adele Fortescue had called him three times, and now she was writing.Writing letters in general is worse.He pondered for a while, then walked to the phone.

"May I speak to Mrs. Fortescue, please? Yes, Mr. Dubose." After a minute or two he heard her voice. "Vivian, I finally found you!" "Yes, yes, Adele, be careful. Where do you answer the phone?" "library." "Is there no one in the hall overhearing?" "Why are they eavesdropping?" "Hey, who knows. Are there police inside and outside the house?" "No, they're gone for a while. Oh, Vivian dear, it's terrible." "Yes, yes, I'm sure it will. But we must be careful, Adele." "Oh, of course, dear."

"Don't call me 'honey' on the phone. It's not safe." "Vivian, are you panicking? Everyone calls 'honey' now." "Yes, yes, that's true. But listen. Don't call me, don't write—" "But Vivian—" "Just for now, you understand. We have to be careful." "Oh, okay." Her accent sounded like she was angry. "Listen, Adele. Have you burned my letter to you?" Adele Fortescu hesitated a moment before saying: "Of course. I told you I'd burn." "That's fine. Now I'm hanging up. Don't call or write. I'll message you when the time is right."

He put the receiver back on the hook and stroked his cheek thoughtfully.He felt that the other party's hesitation for a moment was very wrong.Did Adele burn his letter?Women are all the same.They promised to burn things, but they were reluctant to do so. Mr. Dubose thought to himself: Letters—women always want you to write to them.He tried his best to be careful, but sometimes people just couldn't escape.What were his few letters to Adele Fortescue about?He thought sullenly: "It's all ordinary gossip." But what if there are special words—special wordings that make the police distort and interpret them into what they want?He recalled the Edith Thompson case.He thought to himself that his letter was very pure, but he was not sure.He was growing restless.Even if Adele hadn't burned his letter, would she have the brains to burn it now?Maybe the police already took it?He didn't know where she kept it, perhaps upstairs in her special sitting room—perhaps in a fancy little writing desk.It was a fake antiquity imitating the time of Louis XIV.She had told him before that there was a secret drawer there.Secret drawer!

This does not fool the police.But now there are no police inside or outside the house, she said.They were there in the morning and they are all gone now. They were presumably busy investigating the source of toxins in food.Let's hope they haven't searched the house room by room.Maybe they'd have to apply or get a search warrant to do that. If he acted now, maybe—the image of the house clearly appeared in his mind.As it was getting dark, refreshments would be served in the library or drawing room.Everyone gathered downstairs, and the servants drank tea in the servants' hall.There must be no one on the second floor.It is easy to walk through the gardens along the well-shaded yew hedges.There was a small side door leading onto the large terrace, which was never locked until bedtime, and one could slip in through that, and slip upstairs at the right moment.

Mary Douf walked slowly down the grand staircase, pausing for a moment at the window on the half-way landing from which she had seen Inspector Neal arrive yesterday.Now she looked out the window into the fading daylight and saw the figure of a man disappearing around the yew hedge.She suspected the prodigal son Lance Fortescue.Maybe he sent the car away at the gate and walked around the garden himself, reminiscing about old times before dealing with potentially hostile family members.Mary Douf sympathized with Lance.She walked downstairs with a smile on her lips.In the hall, she met Gretty, and the little girl jumped up nervously when she saw her.

Mary asked, "Is this the call I just heard? Who is it?" Gretty spoke in a breathless, hasty manner. "Oh, it was the wrong number—thought we were a laundry. That's Mr. Dubose up ahead. He wants to speak to the mistress." "I see." Mary looked back across the hall and said, "I think it's time for tea. Haven't you brought it yet?" Gretty said, "Miss, I don't think it's half-past four?" "Twenty minutes to five. Bring it in now." Mary Douf went into the library, and Adele Fortescu sat on the sofa, staring at the fire, with a little lace handkerchief in her little finger.Adele said wearily:

"Where's the tea?" Mary Douf said, "It's coming in." A log fell out of the fireplace, and Mary Douf knelt by the grate, put it in place with tongs, and added another log and a little coal. Mrs. Crump was mixing a big bowl of pastry on the cooking table as Gretty came into the kitchen, and she raised an angry red face. "The electric bell in the library rang and rang. Girl, it's time for you to bring some tea in." "Well, well, Mrs. Crump." Mrs. Crump muttered, "I'm going to tell Crump tonight that I'm going to sue him."

Gladys went into the pantry.She didn't cut the sandwich.Oh, she doesn't like to cut sandwiches.They still have plenty to eat without sandwiches, right?Two cakes, with biscuits, buns and honey, and fresh black market cream.She didn't have to bother cutting up tomatoes or a foie gras sandwich, it was hearty enough.She has other things to think about.Mr. Crump was out this afternoon, so Mrs. Crump was in a bad temper.Hey, today is his day off, right?Glady thought to himself that he was not wrong.Mrs. Crump called from the kitchen: "The water has been boiling for a long time, and the lid of the pot has been lifted off. Are you making tea or not?"

"Come on." She grabbed a handful of tea leaves, put them into the big silver pot without even measuring them, mentioned the kitchen, poured the boiling water into it, arranged the teapot and kettle on the big silver tray, brought the whole thing into the library, and placed it on the sofa near the sofa. On the coffee table.She hurried back with another tray of snacks.She carried the tray of snacks to the hall, when the grandfather clock suddenly rang and was about to strike, she jumped up suddenly. In the library, Adele Fortescu grumbles at Mary Douf. "Where did everyone go this afternoon?"

"Mrs. Fortescue, I really don't know. Miss Fortescue just came back. I think Miss Percival is in her room writing." Adele said petulantly: "Write letters, write letters, that woman writes letters all the time. That's the way people of her class love death and disaster. Cruel, I'll say it, 100 per cent cruel." Mary whispered tactfully, "I'll go and tell her that tea is ready." She walked to the door and stepped back a little as Ellen Fortescu stepped into the room.Alan said: "It's so cold." After speaking, he sat by the stove and rubbed his hands against the flames. Mary stood for a moment in the hall.A large tray of pastries was placed on a low cabinet.As the hallway darkened, Mary turned on the light.Now she vaguely heard Jennifer Fortescu coming along the upstairs corridor.But no one came down, so Mary went up the stairs and down the long corridor. Percival Fortescu and his wife lived in a separate wing of the house.Mary knocked on the living room door.Mrs. Percival liked knocking, and Crump often despised her for it.She said briskly: "Come in." Mary opened the door and whispered: "Miss Percival, the refreshments are here." She was surprised to see Jennifer Fortescue in her out-of-town clothes.Jennifer was taking off a camel hair coat. "I didn't know you were out," said Mary. Mrs. Percival seemed a little out of breath. "Oh, I'm just out in the garden--to get some fresh air. It's cold, though. I'd love to go downstairs and have a fire. The central heating isn't working well here. Somebody has to talk to the gardeners, Miss Douf." .” "I will," Mary promised. Jennifer Fortescu put her coat on the chair and walked out of the room with Mary. She went downstairs before Mary, who stepped back a little to let her go first.In the hall, Mary was surprised to find that the snack tray was still there.She was going to call Gretty from the pantry when Adele Fortescu came to the library door and said angrily: "Is there any dessert to go with our tea?" Mary quickly picked up the tray, carried it into the library, and displayed all kinds of things on the low table near the fireplace.She came out with the empty tray and went into the foyer when the front door bell rang.Mary put down the tray and went to open the door herself.If the prodigal son came home at last, she would really like to see what he looked like.Mary opened the door, saw the other person's dark and thin face and a sarcastic smile, and thought to herself: "It's not like the Fortescu family." She said quietly: "Mr. Lance Fortescue?" "Exactly." Mary looked behind him. "Where's your luggage?" "I paid and sent the taxi away. I only have this one piece of luggage." He picked up a medium zippered tote.Mary was slightly surprised in her heart, and she said: "Oh, you came by taxi. I thought you came up. Where's your Madam?" Lance's face showed a bitter look and said: "My wife won't come, at least not yet." "I see, Master Fortescue, this way, please. Everyone is having tea in the library." She took him to the library door and walked away, thinking how charming Lance Fortescue was.Then another thought came to mind-maybe many women have thought this way. "Lance!" Alan hurried towards him.She put her arms around his neck and hugged him like a little girl, Lance was surprised. "Hey, here I come." He broke loose gently. "This is Jennifer, right?" Jennifer Fortescu eyed him curiously. She said, "Val's staying in town, I'm afraid. There's a lot to do, you know—arrangements and stuff. It all falls to Val, of course. He's in charge of everything. You can't really think What we are all suffering." Lance said seriously, "You must feel terrible." He turned to the woman on the sofa, who was sitting with a honey bun, watching him quietly. Jennifer exclaimed, "Of course you don't know Adele?" Lance took Adele's hand and whispered, "Oh, I know." Her eyelids quivered a few times as he looked down at her.She put down the bread she was eating in her left hand and stroked her hair.It was a feminine gesture, acknowledging the entry of an attractive man.She said in a thick and soft voice: "Lance, sit on the couch next to me." She poured him a cup of tea and added, "I'm so glad you came. We need another man in our family." Lance said: "You must let me do my best to help." "You know--perhaps you don't know--we have the police here. They think--they think--" She broke off suddenly, and exclaimed enthusiastically, "Oh, dreadful! Terrible!" Lance is serious and sympathetic. "I know. They're meeting me at the London airport." "The police are going to pick you up?" "yes." "what did they say?" Lance said disapprovingly, "Oh, they told me what happened." Adele said: "He was poisoned, they thought it, they said it. It wasn't food poisoning, it was poisoned. I believe, I really believe they thought it was one of us. " Lance suddenly smiled at her. He comforted: "This is their flying target. It's useless for us to worry. Great tea! I haven't seen a good English tea for a long time." Others soon caught his mood.Adele said suddenly: "Your wife—Lance, don't you have a wife?" "I have a wife, yes. She's in London." "You don't—why don't you bring her here?" Lance said, "Lots of time to make plans. Patty—oh, it's nice to have Patty over there." Ellen said sharply: "Didn't you say—didn't you think—" Lance said quickly: "Beautiful looking chocolate cake. I have to eat some." He cut a piece and asked: "Is Aunt Effie still alive?" "Oh yes, Lance. She doesn't come down to eat or do anything with us, but she's fine. It's just that she's been weird." Lance said, "She's always been queer. I'll have to go up and see her after tea." Jennifer Fortescu mumbled: "At her age, we really think she's going to be in some sort of shelter. I mean she's going to be taken care of properly." Lance said, "God bless any old women's asylum that'll take Aunt Alfie." And then, "Who's the old lady who opened the door for me?" Adele looked surprised. "Didn't Crump open the door for you? A butler? Oh no, I forgot. He's off today. But Gretty—" Lance briefly described. "Blue eyes, hair parted in the middle, soft voice, the cream in his mouth can't melt. What kind of person he is, I can't be sure." Jennifer said, "That must be Mary Douf." Alan said: "She is like housekeeper for us." "real?" "She really works," Adele said. Lance said thoughtfully, "Yeah, I think she does." Jennifer said, "She's good at doing her job. She's never presumptuous, you know what I mean." Lance said, "Smart Mary Douf." Then he ate another piece of chocolate cake.