“I rather thought of not going.”
“Then everyone
“Snakes and bastards!” Agatha let out a puff of angry cigarette smoke and took a gulp of brandy. “I wonder what she’s like?”
“There’s only one way to find out. Go.”
“I suppose so. I wonder why. I mean, he always struck me as a confirmed bachelor. Even when we were married, he went on as if I were some sort of junior officer. Look, thank you so much for saving me. I wonder if George really would have killed me?”
“He’s a dangerous man,” said Mrs. Bloxby with a shudder. “I’d better get back to the vicarage.”
As she walked through the hall, Mrs. Bloxby said, “A bit of the jar must have broken after all. Look! There’s a bit of glass on the floor.” She bent down and picked it up. “It’s a contact lens, a green contact lens.”
Agatha grinned. “So much for George’s beautiful green eyes.”
When Agatha met Roy as he arrived by train on Friday, she had to endure being clasped to his thin bosom. “You poor, poor darling,” said Roy.
“Get off me!” snarled Agatha. “If you think I am in mourning over James’s engagement, forget about it.”
“There’s no need to be so rude,” retorted Roy angrily. “Really, sweetie, it’s a wonder you’ve got any friends left, the way you go on.”
“I can’t stand the idea of everyone being sorry for me,” said Agatha. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. Come along. I’ll take you for dinner.”
Roy was dressed conservatively in a dark suit, white shirt and striped silk tie. “Sticky account?” asked Agatha sympathetically.
“Very sticky. Jason’s Country Clothes. I’ve to make a big push to promote them.”
“Then I would have thought you’d have been kitted out in a Barbour and shooting breeches.”
“I was,” said Roy as they walked to Agatha’s car, his thin face flushed with annoyance. “I even wore a tweed fishing hat and the managing director said I looked ridiculous.”
“You weren’t wearing your gold earring with the fishing hat, were you?”
“Well, I was. I forgot to take it off. I’ve got some casuals in my bag.”
After they had dined and returned to the cottage, Roy asked, “What are all those boxes of old photos doing on your kitchen table?”
Agatha told him. “I’ve been through them, and so has Charles.”
“I’m not tired,” said Roy. “Fix me a coffee and I’ll have a look.”
Agatha made him a cup of coffee and took herself off to bed. She was awakened an hour later by Roy shaking her. “Leave me alone, Charles,” she mumbled.
“It’s not him, it’s me,” said Roy.
Agatha switched on the bedside light and struggled up against the pillows. “What’s up? Found something?”
“It’s what I haven’t found which is interesting.”
“That being?”
“It’s what’s
“Well, they’d hardly have it with the rest,” complained Agatha. “I bet it’s framed in silver somewhere in the vicarage. What did you think? They might not really be married?”
“Something like that.”
“Dream on.”
“We could nip over there tomorrow. I didn’t like Trixie.”
“Neither did I. Oh, very well. The vicar might have heard some gossip.”
Roy and Agatha set out next morning for Comfrey Magna. Roy was wearing a white silk blouson with skintight blue velvet trousers and ankle boots with stacked heels. Agatha reflected that the jeering comment that some man looked like a big girl’s blouse could certainly apply to Roy, but she held her tongue. If she criticized his dress, she was sure he would sulk for the rest of the day.
Agatha had phoned the police earlier that morning to say she would not be pressing charges against George. She had no desire to appear in court to be ripped apart in public by some defence counsel.
Arthur Chance opened the door to them himself. “Oh, Mrs. Raisin. Do come in. I am so sorry about Mr. Selby. The poor man must have been terribly overwrought, but all things end happily.”
“Really?” Agatha and Roy followed him in. “How happy?” asked Agatha when they were seated in the vicarage living room.
“Mr. Selby—George—called on me this morning. He checked himself out of hospital. He gave me the glad news.”
“That he and Gilda are to be married?”
“That was merely a fabrication of the press. No, he is to be married to Miss Frederica Corrie.”
“What! That’s sudden.”
“Evidently they had been courting for some time.”
