'We have company.'
'Hostile?'
She reached into her shoulder bag and gripped the. 32 Browning. When she looked back as Tweed climbed out she saw Newman's Merc pull in behind them. She got out to join Tweed. In the rear seat behind Newman sat Harry Butler and his partner, Pete Nield.
'Just what is the meaning of this?' Tweed demanded. 'Simple,' replied Newman, still seated behind the wheel. 'We think you need protection.'
'I thought I emphasized before I left Park Crescent that I was coming down here by myself.'
'You've got Paula with you.'
'Paula met Sir Guy Strangeways awhile ago at a dinner in London. They got on well. I think he'll be more relaxed with Paula present. He won't be if he sees you three. He's a bit of a martinet.'
'May I remind you,' Newman told him, 'that when I was bringing Cord Dillon this way we saw the Cadillac with four American thugs drive inside Irongates? Those gentlemen may still be there. Have you forgotten your experience at the Embassy?'
'I have not. Strangeways is English. Now that you're here find a place open in Parham. Go in and have afternoon tea.'
'I don't think you can get afternoon tea in this country these days,' Nield remarked amiably.
Harry Butler and Pete Nield worked well as a team. There was a great contrast between the two men. Butler was short, burly, with broad shoulders, his dark hair roughly brushed, a man who used words as though he regarded them as money. Pete Nield was slim, had fairish hair and a thin moustache. Unlike Butler, wearing a shabby windcheater and a pair of well-worn slacks, Nield took trouble with his appearance. He was clad in a smart grey suit, a pair of shoes from Aquascutum, a raincoat from the same shop. He was never backward in voicing his thoughts.
'You'll find a tea shop in Parham,' Tweed told him. 'Just keep away from Irongates. This will be a quiet visit.'
'Famous last words,' Paula said under her breath.
Returning with her to his car, Tweed drove on. In his rear-view mirror he noted the Merc was still stationary. Paula was furious.
'That's no way to talk to them after what happened this morning. They rescued you from God knows what.'
'And I thanked them when we got back to Park Crescent. Here is the beginning of Parham.'
He guided the car along the old village street, turned into the first, larger square, then into the smaller square with no other exit. There was no sign of life outside the large mansion and the gates were closed. Tweed stopped the car.
'There's a speak-phone in the right-hand pillar. Would you mind letting our host know we've arrived?'
'Of course not,' she snapped.
She got out, still steaming. Tweed was taking risks in a situation which had already proved potentially lethal. It was not only the incident at the American Embassy she had in mind. She was recalling the brutal attempt to murder Cord Dillon in the middle of London. Pressing a button by the side of the speak-phone, she waited. A buzz. Then a commanding voice she recognized. Strangeways.
'Who the hell is it?'
'Paula Grey. I have Mr Tweed with me. We understood you-'
'Enter.'
'The gates are closed.'
'Use your eyes.'
She caught sight of movement. The large gates were opening inwards. She ran to the car, jumped into her seat. Tweed immediately drove forward at a slow pace. Behind them the gates closed, making no sound.
'Hinges must be well oiled,' Tweed remarked.
Their tyres crunched on the gravel surface. High banks of rhododendron bushes masked any view on both sides. Paula was experiencing a feeling of claustrophobia – shut away from the outside world like the approach to a monastery where the monks had an evil reputation. At the end of the gently curving drive crouched the house, an ancient mansion, three storeys high and dormer windows in the mansard roof, round like ports for cannons. The style of the mansion was Gothic, grim, its dark stone bleak. Gargoyles leered down at them below the turrets flanking each end of the house.
'Strangeways himself answered me,' Paula recalled. 'He sounded strange – no pun intended. Like a bear with a sore head. When I sat next to him at that dinner he was charming. Amiable and jokey.'
'Interesting.'
She realized Tweed was only half-listening to her. He was peering up at the right-hand turret. He parked the car at the foot of a wide flight of old stone steps leading up to a balustraded terrace. As he locked the car Tweed again looked up at the turret.
'What a ghastly place to live,' Paula whispered.
'You have to remember Strangeways spent twenty years in the army as a young man before he went into business. Prior to that he was at a public school. That sort of background does not make you aware of your surroundings. You take no interest in taste or comfort.'
A heavy front door opened as they reached it. Framed in the doorway was Strangeways. Five foot ten tall, well built, his fleshy face was red, his nose like a hawk's, the eyes dark and forbidding, his mouth tight-lipped above an aggressive jaw. Grey-haired, he sported a trim moustache, stood ramrod erect and was wearing a blue business suit.
'You're late,' he rapped out.
'We're on time. Your watch must be wrong,' Tweed said mildly.
'I pride myself on punctuality,' Strangeways barked. 'An old army habit.'
'My watch is an Accurist. Greenwich mean time. Better buy one for yourself,' Tweed rapped back. 'Are we going to stand out here all afternoon in the cold?'
'Of course not. Please do come in.' Their host's manner had mellowed. As he closed the door he lowered his voice. 'My apologies to you both, but my wretched son turned up out of the blue. I'll introduce you, then tell him to push off…'
They followed Strangeways across a large stark hall with woodblock flooring. The only furniture was a large ugly oak chest stood against one wall. No pictures. Strangeways opened a door into a large room, again without a carpet or rugs. Close to the left-hand wall was a plain desk supporting an outsize globe and behind it a map of the world. A heavy oak table occupied the middle of the room and the chairs which surrounded it were hard-backed and looked uncomfortable to Paula. The interior of the house reminded her of a prison.
'This is my son, Rupert,' their host said without enthusiasm.
Sprawled on a couch was a man of about thirty. He wore riding kit with jodhpurs thrust inside gleaming knee-length boots. His right hand held a riding crop which he was tapping against his thigh. His boots were resting on the end of the couch.
'Get those damned boots off the furniture,' Strangeways growled. 'This is a friend of mine with his assistant, Paula.'
Rupert took his time about planting his boots on the floor. He stood up, five feet eight inches tall, a slim man, his jet-black hair neatly trimmed. He had his father's hawkish nose, his dark eyes alert, and a foxy chin, and he surveyed Paula insolently. She bridled inwardly as he slowly took in her legs, higher up her body and then her face.
'Rather like the look of you, Paula. You're not bad.' 'I'm supposed to take that as a compliment?'
'I take my time.'
Tweed had been studying Rupert, who ignored him. Strangeways guided Tweed to a seat at the table. Standing behind him he stood erect, looking embarrassed. He coughed, glanced at Paula.
'I don't quite know how to phrase this. The last thing I want to do is to appear impolite.'
'But you'd prefer it if the two of you, could talk alone,' Paula suggested with a smile.
'My dear, there's a library on your left as you go back into the hall. If you're interested in books it's quite an unusual collection I've built up over the years.'
