The Seven Dials Mystery. Agatha Christie

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      Bill, who had returned from the garage, broke in reassuringly.

      ‘That’s all right, Lady Coote. Bundle Brent–Lord Caterham’s daughter–is a great friend of mine. And there’s nothing she’d stick at–absolutely nothing! You can take it from me. And anyway there’s not going to be any damage done. This is quite a quiet affair.’

      ‘Subtle,’ said the girl called Socks.

      Lady Coote went sadly along the terrace just as Gerald Wade emerged from the breakfast-room. Jimmy Thesiger was a fair, cherubic young man, and all that could be said of Gerald Wade was that he was fairer and more cherubic, and that his vacuous expression made Jimmy’s face quite intelligent by contrast.

      ‘’Morning, Lady Coote,’ said Gerald Wade. ‘Where are all the others?’

      ‘They’ve all gone to Market Basing,’ said Lady Coote.

      ‘What for?’

      ‘Some joke,’ said Lady Coote in her deep, melancholy voice.

      ‘Rather early in the morning for jokes,’ said Mr Wade.

      ‘It’s not so very early in the morning,’ said Lady Coote pointedly.

      ‘I’m afraid I was a bit late coming down,’ said Mr Wade with engaging frankness. ‘It’s an extraordinary thing, but wherever I happen to be staying, I’m always last to be down.’

      ‘Very extraordinary,’ said Lady Coote.

      ‘I don’t know why it is,’ said Mr Wade, meditating. ‘I can’t think, I’m sure.’

      ‘Why don’t you just get up?’ suggested Lady Coote.

      ‘Oh!’ said Mr Wade. The simplicity of the solution rather took him aback.

      Lady Coote went on earnestly.

      ‘I’ve heard Sir Oswald say so many times that there’s nothing for getting a young man on in the world like punctual habits.’

      ‘Oh, I know,’ said Mr Wade. ‘And I have to when I’m in town. I mean, I have to be round at the jolly old Foreign Office by eleven o’clock. You mustn’t think I’m always a slacker, Lady Coote. I say, what awfully jolly flowers you’ve got down in that lower border. I can’t remember the names of them, but we’ve got some at home–those mauve thingummybobs. My sister’s tremendously keen on gardening.’

      Lady Coote was immediately diverted. Her wrongs rankled within her.

      ‘What kind of gardeners do you have?’

      ‘Oh just one. Rather an old fool, I believe. Doesn’t know much, but he does what he’s told. And that’s a great thing, isn’t it?’

      Lady Coote agreed that it was with a depth of feeling in her voice that would have been invaluable to her as an emotional actress. They began to discourse on the iniquities of gardeners.

      Meanwhile the expedition was doing well. The principal emporium of Market Basing had been invaded and the sudden demand for alarum clocks was considerably puzzling the proprietor.

      ‘I wish we’d got Bundle here,’ murmured Bill. ‘You know her, don’t you, Jimmy? Oh, you’d like her. She’s a splendid girl–a real good sport–and mark you, she’s got brains too. You know her, Ronny?’

      Ronny shook his head.

      ‘Don’t know Bundle? Where have you been vegetating? She’s simply it.’

      ‘Be a bit more subtle, Bill,’ said Socks. ‘Stop blethering about your lady friends and get on with the business.’

      Mr Murgatroyd, owner of Murgatroyd’s Stores, burst into eloquence.

      ‘If you’ll allow me to advise you, Miss, I should say –not the 7/11 one. It’s a good clock–I’m not running it down, mark you, but I should strongly advise this kind at 10/6. Well worth the extra money. Reliability, you understand. I shouldn’t like you to say afterwards–’

      It was evident to everybody that Mr Murgatroyd must be turned off like a tap.

      ‘We don’t want a reliable clock, said Nancy.

      ‘It’s got to go for one day, that’s all,’ said Helen.

      ‘We don’t want a subtle one,’ said Socks. ‘We want one with a good loud ring.’

      ‘We want–’ began Bill, but was unable to finish, because Jimmy, who was of a mechanical turn of mind, had at last grasped the mechanism. For the next five minutes the shop was hideous with the loud raucous ringing of many alarum clocks.

      In the end six excellent starters were selected.

      ‘And I’ll tell you what,’ said Ronny handsomely, ‘I’ll get one for Pongo. It was his idea, and it’s a shame that he should be out of it. He shall be represented among those present.’

      ‘That’s right,’ said Bill. ‘And I’ll take an extra one for Lady Coote. The more the merrier. And she’s doing some of the spade work. Probably gassing away to old Gerry now.’

      Indeed at this precise moment Lady Coote was detailing a long story about MacDonald and a prize peach and enjoying herself very much.

      The clocks were wrapped up and paid for. Mr Murgatroyd watched the cars drive away with a puzzled air. Very spirited the young people of the upper classes nowadays, very spirited indeed, but not at all easy to understand. He turned with relief to attend to the vicar’s wife, who wanted a new kind of dripless teapot.

      Chapter 2

      Concerning Alarum Clocks

      ‘Now where shall we put them?’

      Dinner was over. Lady Coote had been once more detailed for duty. Sir Oswald had unexpectedly come to the rescue by suggesting bridge–not that suggesting is the right word. Sir Oswald, as became one of ‘Our Captains of Industry’ (No 7 of Series I), merely expressed a preference and those around him hastened to accommodate themselves to the great man’s wishes.

      Rupert Bateman and Sir Oswald were partners against Lady Coote and Gerald Wade, which was a very happy arrangement. Sir Oswald played bridge, like he did everything else, extremely well, and liked a partner to correspond. Bateman was as efficient a bridge player as he was a secretary. Both of them confined themselves strictly to the matter in hand, merely uttering in curt short barks, ‘Two no trumps,’ ‘Double,’ ‘Three spades.’ Lady Coote and Gerald Wade were amiable and discursive, and the young man never failed to say at the conclusion of each hand, ‘I say, partner, you played that simply splendidly,’ in tones of simple admiration which Lady Coote found both novel and extremely soothing. They also held very good cards.

      The others were supposed to be dancing to the wireless in the big ballroom. In reality they were grouped around the door of Gerald Wade’s bedroom, and the air was full of subdued giggles and the loud ticking of clocks.

      ‘Under the bed in a row,’ suggested Jimmy in answer СКАЧАТЬ