‘Who is “he”?’ demanded Miss Marple.

Edgar Lawson drew himself up to his full height. He might have looked pathetic and dignified. But actually he only looked ridiculous.

‘I’m speaking of my father.’

‘Viscount Montgomery — or do you mean Winston Churchill?’

Edgar threw her a glance of scorn.

‘They let me think that — just to keep me from guessing the truth. But I know now. I’ve got a friend — a real friend. A friend who tells me the truth and lets me know just how I’ve been deceived. Well, my father will have to reckon with me. I’ll throw his lies in his face! I’ll challenge him with the truth. We’ll see what he’s got to say to that.’

And suddenly breaking away, Edgar went off at a run and disappeared in the park.

Her face grave, Miss Marple went back to the house.

‘We’re all a little mad, dear lady,’ Dr Maverick had said.

But it seemed to her that in Edgar’s case it went rather further than that.

II

Lewis Serrocold arrived back at six-thirty. He stopped the car at the gates and walked to the house through the park. Looking out of her window, Miss Marple saw Christian Gulbrandsen go out to meet him and the two men, having greeted one another, turned and paced to and fro up and down the terrace.

Miss Marple had been careful to bring her bird glasses with her. At this moment she brought them into action. Was there, or was there not, a flight of siskins by that far clump of trees?

She noted as the glasses swept down before rising that both men were looking seriously disturbed. Miss Marple leant out a little farther. Scraps of conversation floated up to her now and then. If either of the men should look up, it would be quite clear that an enraptured bird watcher had her attention fixed on a point far removed from their conversation.

‘…how to spare Carrie Louise the knowledge — ’ Gulbrandsen was saying.

The next time they passed below, Lewis Serrocold was speaking.

‘…if it can be kept from her. I agree that it is she who must be considered…’

Other faint snatches came to the listener.

‘ — Really serious — ’ ‘ — not justified — ’ ‘ — too big a responsibility to take — ’ ‘ — we should, perhaps, take outside advice — ’

Finally Miss Marple heard Christian Gulbrandsen say:

‘Ach, it grows cold. We must go inside.’

Miss Marple drew her head in through the window with a puzzled expression. What she had heard was too fragmentary to be easily pieced together — but it served to confirm that vague apprehension that had been gradually growing upon her and about which Ruth Van Rydock had been so positive.

Whatever was wrong at Stonygates, it definitely affected Carrie Louise.

III

Dinner that evening was a somewhat constrained meal. Both Gulbrandsen and Lewis were absent-minded and absorbed in their own thoughts. Walter Hudd glowered even more than usual, and for once Gina and Stephen seemed to have little to say either to each other or to the company at large. Conversation was mostly sustained by Dr Maverick, who had a lengthy technical discussion with Mr Baumgarten, one of the Occupational Therapists.