‘No. At least she did just mention her.’

Carrie Louise sighed.

‘Poor Ruth! She was frightfully upset over Gina’s marriage. But I’ve told her again and again that I don’t blame her in the least. Ruth doesn’t realize, as I do, that the old barriers and class shibboleths are gone — or at any rate are going.

‘Gina was doing her war work — and she met this young man. He was a Marine and had a very good war record. And a week later they were married. It was all far too quick, of course, no time to find out if they were really suited to each other — but that’s the way of things nowadays. Young people belong to their generation. We may think they’re unwise in many of their doings, but we have to accept their decisions. Ruth, though, was terribly upset.’

‘She didn’t consider the young man suitable?’

‘She kept saying that one didn’t know anything about him. He came from the Middle West and he hadn’t any money — and naturally no profession. There are hundreds of boys like that everywhere — but it wasn’t Ruth’s idea of what was right for Gina. However, the thing was done. I was so glad when Gina accepted my invitation to come over here with her husband. There’s so much going on here — jobs of every kind, and if Walter wants to specialize in medicine or get a degree or anything he could do it in this country. After all, this is Gina’s home. It’s delightful to have her back, to have someone so warm and gay and alive in the house.’

Miss Marple nodded and looked out of the window again at the two young people standing near the lake.

‘They’re a remarkably handsome couple, too,’ she said. ‘I don’t wonder Gina fell in love with him!’

‘Oh, but that — that isn’t Wally.’ There was, quite suddenly, a touch of embarrassment, or restraint, in Mrs Serrocold’s voice. ‘That’s Steve — the younger of Johnnie Restarick’s two boys. When Johnnie — when he went away, he’d no place for the boys in the holidays, so I always had them here. They look on this as their home. And Steve’s here permanently now. He runs our dramatic branch. We have a theatre, you know, and plays — we encourage all the artistic instincts. Lewis says that so much of this juvenile crime is due to exhibitionism, most of the boys have had such a thwarted unhappy home life, and these hold-ups and burglaries make them feel heroes. We urge them to write their own plays and act in them and design and paint their own scenery. Steve is in charge of the theatre. He’s so keen and enthusiastic. It’s wonderful what life he’s put into the whole thing.’

‘I see,’ said Miss Marple slowly.

Her long-distance sight was good (as many of her neighbours knew to their cost in the village of St Mary Mead) and she saw very clearly the dark handsome face of Stephen Restarick as he stood facing Gina, talking eagerly. Gina’s face she could not see, since the girl had her back to them, but there was no mistaking the expression in Stephen Restarick’s face.