Chapters (12)
He knew by their silence that he had struck home. Pinky’s face alone would have told him as much. It was already too late when Warrender said defensively: ‘No need to put all his eggs in one basket, isn’t it?’
‘Exactly,’ Gantry agreed.
‘Did Miss Bellamy hold this view?’
‘I still fail to understand …’ Warrender began, but Bertie Saracen cried out in a sort of rage:
‘I really don’t see, I don’t for the life of me see why we should fiddle and fuss and fabricate! Honestly! It’s all very well to be nice about poor Mary’s memory and Dicky’s dilemma and everybody madly loving everybody else, but sooner or later Mr Alleyn’s going to find out and then we’ll all look peculiar and I for one won’t and I’m sorry, Timmy, but I’m going to spill beans and unbag cats galore and announce in a ringing headtone that Mary minded like hell and that she made a scene in the conservatory and insulted the girl and Dicky left in a rage and why not, because suppose somebody did do something frightful to Mary, it couldn’t be Dicky because Dicky flounced out of the house while Mary was still fighting fit and cutting her cake. And one other thing. I don’t know why Colonel Warrender should go all cagey and everything but he didn’t go straight back to the party. He went out. At the front door. I saw him on my way back from the loo. Now then!’
He had got to his feet and stood there, blinking, but defiant.
Gantry said: ‘Oh, well!’ and flung up his hands.
Pinky said: ‘I’m on Bertie’s side.’
But Warrender, purple in the face, advanced upon Bertie.
‘Don’t touch me!’ Bertie shouted angrily.
‘You little rat!’ Warrender said, and seized his arm.
Bertie gave an involuntary giggle. ‘That’s what she called me,’ he said.
‘Take,’ Warrender continued between his teeth, ‘that damned impertinent grin off your face and hold your tongue, sir, or by God I’ll give you something to make you.’
He grasped Bertie with his left hand. He had actually drawn back his right and Alleyn had moved in, when a voice from the door said: ‘Will somebody be good enough to tell me what goes on in this house?’
Warrender lowered his hand and let Bertie go, Gantry uttered a short oath and Pinky, a stifled ejaculation. Alleyn turned.
A young man with a white face and distracted air confronted him in the doorway.
‘Thank God!’ Bertie cried. ‘Dicky!’