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III
When Henrietta drove in, Midge was sitting on the low wall of the terrace, and waved to her
cheerfully. Henrietta was pleased to see Midge, whom she liked.
Lady Angkatell came out of the house and said:
“Oh, there you are, Henrietta. When you’ve taken your car into the stables and given it a bran
mash, lunch will be ready.”
“What a penetrating remark of Lucy’s,” said Henrietta as she drove round the house, Midge
accompanying her on the step. “You know, I always prided myself on having completely escaped
the horsy taint of my Irish forebears. When you’ve been brought up amongst people who talk
nothing but horse, you go all superior about not caring for them. And now Lucy has just shown me
that I treat my car exactly like a horse. It’s quite true. I do.”
“I know,” said Midge. “Lucy is quite devastating. She told me this morning that I was to be as
rude as I liked whilst I was here.”
Henrietta considered this for a moment and then nodded.
“Of course,” she said. “The shop!”
“Yes. When one has to spend every day of one’s life in a damnable little box being polite to
rude women, calling them Madam, pulling frocks over their heads, smiling and swallowing their
damned cheek whatever they like to say to one — well, one does want to cuss! You know,
Henrietta, I always wonder why people think it’s so humiliating to go “into service” and that it’s
grand and independent to be in a shop. One puts up with far more insolence in a shop than
Gudgeon or Simmons or any decent domestic does.”
“It must be foul, darling. I wish you weren’t so grand and proud and insistent on earning your
own living.”
“Anyway, Lucy’s an angel. I shall be gloriously rude to everyone this weekend.”
“Who’s here?” said Henrietta as she got out of the car.
“The Christows are coming.” Midge paused and then went on, “Edward’s just arrived.”
“Edward? How nice. I haven’t seen Edward for ages. Anybody else?”
“David Angkatell. That, according to Lucy, is where you are going to come in useful. You’re
going to stop him biting his nails.”
“It sounds very unlike me,” said Henrietta. “I hate interfering with people, and I wouldn’t dream
of checking their personal habits. What did Lucy really say?”
“It amounted to that! He’s got an Adam’s apple, too!”
“I’m not expected to do anything about that, am I?” asked Henrietta, alarmed.
“And you’re to be kind to Gerda.”
“How I should hate Lucy if I were Gerda!”
“And someone who solves crimes is coming to lunch tomorrow.”
“We’re not going to play the Murder Game, are we?”
“I don’t think so. I think it is just neighbourly hospitality.”
Midge’s voice changed a little.
“Here’s Edward coming out to meet us.”
“Dear Edward,” thought Henrietta with a sudden rush of warm affection.
Edward Angkatell was very tall and thin. He was smiling now as he came towards the two
young women.
“Hallo, Henrietta, I haven’t seen you for over a year.”
“Hallo, Edward.”
How nice Edward was! That gentle smile of his, the little creases at the corners of his eyes. And
all his nice knobbly bones. “I believe it’s his bones I like so much,” thought Henrietta. The
warmth of her affection for Edward startled her. She had forgotten that she liked Edward so much.
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