# A Christie's the mysterious affair at styles, first ~10000 wrds
# Last edited on 1999-07-26 22:15:00 by stolfi

the mysterious affair at styles

the intense interest aroused in the public by what was known at the
time as the styles case has now somewhat subsided nevertheless in
view of the world wide notoriety which attended it i have been asked
both by my friend poirot and the family themselves to write an account
of the whole story this we trust will effectually silence the
sensational rumours which still persist

i will therefore briefly set down the circumstances which led to my
being connected with the affair

i had been invalided home from the front and after spending some
months in a rather depressing convalescent home was given a month s
sick leave having no near relations or friends i was trying to make
up my mind what to do when i ran across john cavendish i had seen
very little of him for some years indeed i had never known him
particularly well he was a good fifteen years my senior for one
thing though he hardly looked his forty five years as a boy though
i had often stayed at styles his mother s place in essex

we had a good yarn about old times and it ended in his inviting me
down to styles to spend my leave there

the mater will be delighted to see you again after all those years
he added

your mother keeps well i asked

oh yes i suppose you know that she has married again

i am afraid i showed my surprise rather plainly mrs cavendish who
had married john s father when he was a widower with two sons had been
a handsome woman of middle age as i remembered her she certainly could
not be a day less than seventy now i recalled her as an energetic
autocratic personality somewhat inclined to charitable and social
notoriety with a fondness for opening bazaars and playing the lady
bountiful she was a most generous woman and possessed a considerable
fortune of her own

their country place styles court had been purchased by mr cavendish
early in their married life he had been completely under his wife s
ascendancy so much so that on dying he left the place to her for her
lifetime as well as the larger part of his income an arrangement that
was distinctly unfair to his two sons their step mother however had
always been most generous to them indeed they were so young at the
time of their father s remarriage that they always thought of her as
their own mother

lawrence the younger had been a delicate youth he had qualified as a
doctor but early relinquished the profession of medicine and lived at
home while pursuing literary ambitions though his verses never had any
marked success

john practised for some time as a barrister but had finally settled
down to the more congenial life of a country squire he had married two
years ago and had taken his wife to live at styles though i
entertained a shrewd suspicion that he would have preferred his mother
to increase his allowance which would have enabled him to have a home
of his own mrs cavendish however was a lady who liked to make her
own plans and expected other people to fall in with them and in this
case she certainly had the whip hand namely the purse strings

john noticed my surprise at the news of his mother s remarriage and
smiled rather ruefully

rotten little bounder too he said savagely i can tell you
hastings it s making life jolly difficult for us as for evie you
remember evie

no

oh i suppose she was after your time she s the mater s factotum
companion jack of all trades a great sport old evie not precisely
young and beautiful but as game as they make them

you were going to say

oh this fellow he turned up from nowhere on the pretext of being a
second cousin or something of evie s though she didn t seem
particularly keen to acknowledge the relationship the fellow is an
absolute outsider anyone can see that he s got a great black beard
and wears patent leather boots in all weathers but the mater cottoned
to him at once took him on as secretary you know how she s always
running a hundred societies

i nodded

well of course the war has turned the hundreds into thousands no
doubt the fellow was very useful to her but you could have knocked us
all down with a feather when three months ago she suddenly announced
that she and alfred were engaged the fellow must be at least twenty
years younger than she is it s simply bare faced fortune hunting but
there you are she is her own mistress and she s married him

it must be a difficult situation for you all

difficult it s damnable

thus it came about that three days later i descended from the train
at styles st mary an absurd little station with no apparent reason
for existence perched up in the midst of green fields and country
lanes john cavendish was waiting on the platform and piloted me out
to the car

got a drop or two of petrol still you see he remarked mainly
owing to the mater s activities

the village of styles st mary was situated about two miles from the
little station and styles court lay a mile the other side of it it
was a still warm day in early july as one looked out over the flat
essex country lying so green and peaceful under the afternoon sun it
seemed almost impossible to believe that not so very far away a great
war was running its appointed course i felt i had suddenly strayed
into another world as we turned in at the lodge gates john said

i m afraid you ll find it very quiet down here hastings

my dear fellow that s just what i want

oh it s pleasant enough if you want to lead the idle life i drill
with the volunteers twice a week and lend a hand at the farms my wife
works regularly on the land she is up at five every morning to milk
and keeps at it steadily until lunch time it s a jolly good life
taking it all round if it weren t for that fellow alfred
inglethorp he checked the car suddenly and glanced at his watch i
wonder if we ve time to pick up cynthia no she ll have started from
the hospital by now

cynthia that s not your wife

no cynthia is a protegee of my mother s the daughter of an old
schoolfellow of hers who married a rascally solicitor he came a
cropper and the girl was left an orphan and penniless my mother came
to the rescue and cynthia has been with us nearly two years now she
works in the red cross hospital at tadminster seven miles away

as he spoke the last words we drew up in front of the fine old house
a lady in a stout tweed skirt who was bending over a flower bed
straightened herself at our approach

hullo evie here s our wounded hero mr hastings miss howard

miss howard shook hands with a hearty almost painful grip i had an
impression of very blue eyes in a sunburnt face she was a
pleasant looking woman of about forty with a deep voice almost manly
in its stentorian tones and had a large sensible square body with
feet to match these last encased in good thick boots her
conversation i soon found was couched in the telegraphic style

weeds grow like house afire can t keep even with em shall press you
in better be careful

i m sure i shall be only too delighted to make myself useful i
responded

don t say it never does wish you hadn t later

you re a cynic evie said john laughing where s tea
to day inside or out

out too fine a day to be cooped up in the house

come on then you ve done enough gardening for to day the labourer
is worthy of his hire you know come and be refreshed

well said miss howard drawing off her gardening gloves i m
inclined to agree with you

she led the way round the house to where tea was spread under the shade
of a large sycamore

a figure rose from one of the basket chairs and came a few steps to
meet us

my wife hastings said john

i shall never forget my first sight of mary cavendish her tall
slender form outlined against the bright light the vivid sense of
slumbering fire that seemed to find expression only in those wonderful
tawny eyes of hers remarkable eyes different from any other woman s
that i have ever known the intense power of stillness she possessed
which nevertheless conveyed the impression of a wild untamed spirit in
an exquisitely civilised body all these things are burnt into my
memory i shall never forget them

she greeted me with a few words of pleasant welcome in a low clear
voice and i sank into a basket chair feeling distinctly glad that i
had accepted john s invitation mrs cavendish gave me some tea and
her few quiet remarks heightened my first impression of her as a
thoroughly fascinating woman an appreciative listener is always
stimulating and i described in a humorous manner certain incidents
of my convalescent home in a way which i flatter myself greatly
amused my hostess john of course good fellow though he is could
hardly be called a brilliant conversationalist

at that moment a well remembered voice floated through the open french
window near at hand

then you ll write to the princess after tea alfred i ll write to
lady tadminster for the second day myself or shall we wait until we
hear from the princess in case of a refusal lady tadminster might
open it the first day and mrs crosbie the second then there s the
duchess about the school fete

there was the murmur of a man s voice and then mrs inglethorp s rose
in reply

yes certainly after tea will do quite well you are so thoughtful
alfred dear

the french window swung open a little wider and a handsome
white haired old lady with a somewhat masterful cast of features
stepped out of it on to the lawn a man followed her a suggestion of
deference in his manner

mrs inglethorp greeted me with effusion

why if it isn t too delightful to see you again mr hastings after
all these years alfred darling mr hastings my husband

i looked with some curiosity at alfred darling he certainly struck a
rather alien note i did not wonder at john objecting to his beard it
was one of the longest and blackest i have ever seen he wore
gold rimmed pince nez and had a curious impassivity of feature it
struck me that he might look natural on a stage but was strangely out
of place in real life his voice was rather deep and unctuous he
placed a wooden hand in mine and said

this is a pleasure mr hastings then turning to his wife emily
dearest i think that cushion is a little damp

she beamed fondly on him as he substituted another with every
demonstration of the tenderest care strange infatuation of an
otherwise sensible woman

with the presence of mr inglethorp a sense of constraint and veiled
hostility seemed to settle down upon the company miss howard in
particular took no pains to conceal her feelings mrs inglethorp
however seemed to notice nothing unusual her volubility which i
remembered of old had lost nothing in the intervening years and she
poured out a steady flood of conversation mainly on the subject of the
forthcoming bazaar which she was organizing and which was to take place
shortly occasionally she referred to her husband over a question of
days or dates his watchful and attentive manner never varied from the
very first i took a firm and rooted dislike to him and i flatter
myself that my first judgments are usually fairly shrewd

presently mrs inglethorp turned to give some instructions about
letters to evelyn howard and her husband addressed me in his
painstaking voice

is soldiering your regular profession mr hastings

no before the war i was in lloyd s

and you will return there after it is over

perhaps either that or a fresh start altogether

mary cavendish leant forward

what would you really choose as a profession if you could just
consult your inclination

well that depends

no secret hobby she asked tell me you re drawn to something
every one is usually something absurd

you ll laugh at me

she smiled

perhaps

well i ve always had a secret hankering to be a detective

the real thing scotland yard or sherlock holmes

oh sherlock holmes by all means but really seriously i am awfully
drawn to it i came across a man in belgium once a very famous
detective and he quite inflamed me he was a marvellous little fellow
he used to say that all good detective work was a mere matter of
method my system is based on his though of course i have progressed
rather further he was a funny little man a great dandy but
wonderfully clever

like a good detective story myself remarked miss howard lots of
nonsense written though criminal discovered in last chapter every
one dumfounded real crime you d know at once

there have been a great number of undiscovered crimes i argued

don t mean the police but the people that are right in it the
family you couldn t really hoodwink them they d know

then i said much amused you think that if you were mixed up in a
crime say a murder you d be able to spot the murderer right off

of course i should mightn t be able to prove it to a pack of lawyers
but i m certain i d know i d feel it in my finger tips if he came near
me

it might be a she i suggested

might but murder s a violent crime associate it more with a man

not in a case of poisoning mrs cavendish s clear voice startled me
dr bauerstein was saying yesterday that owing to the general
ignorance of the more uncommon poisons among the medical profession
there were probably countless cases of poisoning quite unsuspected

why mary what a gruesome conversation cried mrs inglethorp it
makes me feel as if a goose were walking over my grave oh there s
cynthia

a young girl in v a d uniform ran lightly across the lawn

why cynthia you are late to day this is mr hastings miss
murdoch

cynthia murdoch was a fresh looking young creature full of life and
vigour she tossed off her little v a d cap and i admired the great
loose waves of her auburn hair and the smallness and whiteness of the
hand she held out to claim her tea with dark eyes and eyelashes she
would have been a beauty

she flung herself down on the ground beside john and as i handed her a
plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me

sit down here on the grass do it s ever so much nicer

i dropped down obediently

you work at tadminster don t you miss murdoch

she nodded

for my sins

do they bully you then i asked smiling

i should like to see them cried cynthia with dignity

i have got a cousin who is nursing i remarked and she is terrified
of sisters

i don t wonder sisters are you know mr hastings they simply are
you ve no idea but i m not a nurse thank heaven i work in the
dispensary

how many people do you poison i asked smiling

cynthia smiled too

oh hundreds she said

cynthia called mrs inglethorp do you think you could write a few
notes for me

certainly aunt emily

she jumped up promptly and something in her manner reminded me that
her position was a dependent one and that mrs inglethorp kind as she
might be in the main did not allow her to forget it

my hostess turned to me

john will show you your room supper is at half past seven we have
given up late dinner for some time now lady tadminster our member s
wife she was the late lord abbotsbury s daughter does the same she
agrees with me that one must set an example of economy we are quite a
war household nothing is wasted here every scrap of waste paper
even is saved and sent away in sacks

i expressed my appreciation and john took me into the house and up the
broad staircase which forked right and left half way to different
wings of the building my room was in the left wing and looked out
over the park

john left me and a few minutes later i saw him from my window walking
slowly across the grass arm in arm with cynthia murdoch i heard mrs
inglethorp call cynthia impatiently and the girl started and ran
back to the house at the same moment a man stepped out from the
shadow of a tree and walked slowly in the same direction he looked
about forty very dark with a melancholy clean shaven face some
violent emotion seemed to be mastering him he looked up at my window
as he passed and i recognized him though he had changed much in the
fifteen years that had elapsed since we last met it was john s younger
brother lawrence cavendish i wondered what it was that had brought
that singular expression to his face

then i dismissed him from my mind and returned to the contemplation of
my own affairs

the evening passed pleasantly enough and i dreamed that night of that
enigmatical woman mary cavendish

the next morning dawned bright and sunny and i was full of the
anticipation of a delightful visit

i did not see mrs cavendish until lunch time when she volunteered to
take me for a walk and we spent a charming afternoon roaming in the
woods returning to the house about five

as we entered the large hall john beckoned us both into the
smoking room i saw at once by his face that something disturbing had
occurred we followed him in and he shut the door after us

look here mary there s the deuce of a mess evie s had a row with
alfred inglethorp and she s off

evie off

john nodded gloomily

yes you see she went to the mater and oh here s evie herself

miss howard entered her lips were set grimly together and she carried
a small suit case she looked excited and determined and slightly on
the defensive

at any rate she burst out i ve spoken my mind

my dear evelyn cried mrs cavendish this can t be true

miss howard nodded grimly

true enough afraid i said some things to emily she won t forget or
forgive in a hurry don t mind if they ve only sunk in a bit probably
water off a duck s back though i said right out you re an old
woman emily and there s no fool like an old fool the man s twenty
years younger than you and don t you fool yourself as to what he
married you for money well don t let him have too much of it farmer
raikes has got a very pretty young wife just ask your alfred how much
time he spends over there she was very angry natural i went on
i m going to warn you whether you like it or not that man would as
soon murder you in your bed as look at you he s a bad lot you can say
what you like to me but remember what i ve told you he s a bad lot

what did she say

miss howard made an extremely expressive grimace darling
alfred dearest alfred wicked calumnies wicked lies wicked
woman to accuse her dear husband the sooner i left her house the
better so i m off

but not now

this minute

for a moment we sat and stared at her finally john cavendish finding
his persuasions of no avail went off to look up the trains his wife
followed him murmuring something about persuading mrs inglethorp to
think better of it

as she left the room miss howard s face changed she leant towards me
eagerly

mr hastings you re honest i can trust you

i was a little startled she laid her hand on my arm and sank her
voice to a whisper

look after her mr hastings my poor emily they re a lot of
sharks all of them oh i know what i m talking about there isn t one
of them that s not hard up and trying to get money out of her i ve
protected her as much as i could now i m out of the way they ll
impose upon her

of course miss howard i said i ll do everything i can but i m
sure you re excited and overwrought

she interrupted me by slowly shaking her forefinger

young man trust me i ve lived in the world rather longer than you
have all i ask you is to keep your eyes open you ll see what i mean

the throb of the motor came through the open window and miss howard
rose and moved to the door john s voice sounded outside with her hand
on the handle she turned her head over her shoulder and beckoned to
me

above all mr hastings watch that devil her husband

there was no time for more miss howard was swallowed up in an eager
chorus of protests and good byes the inglethorps did not appear

as the motor drove away mrs cavendish suddenly detached herself from
the group and moved across the drive to the lawn to meet a tall
bearded man who had been evidently making for the house the colour
rose in her cheeks as she held out her hand to him

who is that i asked sharply for instinctively i distrusted the man

that s dr bauerstein said john shortly

and who is dr bauerstein

he s staying in the village doing a rest cure after a bad nervous
breakdown he s a london specialist a very clever man one of the
greatest living experts on poisons i believe

and he s a great friend of mary s put in cynthia the irrepressible

john cavendish frowned and changed the subject

come for a stroll hastings this has been a most rotten business she
always had a rough tongue but there is no stauncher friend in england
than evelyn howard

he took the path through the plantation and we walked down to the
village through the woods which bordered one side of the estate

as we passed through one of the gates on our way home again a pretty
young woman of gipsy type coming in the opposite direction bowed and
smiled

that s a pretty girl i remarked appreciatively

john s face hardened

that is mrs raikes

the one that miss howard

exactly said john with rather unnecessary abruptness

i thought of the white haired old lady in the big house and that vivid
wicked little face that had just smiled into ours and a vague chill of
foreboding crept over me i brushed it aside

styles is really a glorious old place i said to john

he nodded rather gloomily

yes it s a fine property it ll be mine some day should be mine now
by rights if my father had only made a decent will and then i
shouldn t be so damned hard up as i am now

hard up are you

my dear hastings i don t mind telling you that i m at my wit s end
for money

couldn t your brother help you

lawrence he s gone through every penny he ever had publishing rotten
verses in fancy bindings no we re an impecunious lot my mother s
always been awfully good to us i must say that is up to now since
her marriage of course he broke off frowning

for the first time i felt that with evelyn howard something
indefinable had gone from the atmosphere her presence had spelt
security now that security was removed and the air seemed rife with
suspicion the sinister face of dr bauerstein recurred to me
unpleasantly a vague suspicion of every one and everything filled my
mind just for a moment i had a premonition of approaching evil





i had arrived at styles on the nth of july i come now to the events of
the lnth and lnth of that month for the convenience of the reader i
will recapitulate the incidents of those days in as exact a manner as
possible they were elicited subsequently at the trial by a process of
long and tedious cross examinations

i received a letter from evelyn howard a couple of days after her
departure telling me she was working as a nurse at the big hospital in
middlingham a manufacturing town some fifteen miles away and begging
me to let her know if mrs inglethorp should show any wish to be
reconciled

the only fly in the ointment of my peaceful days was mrs cavendish s
extraordinary and for my part unaccountable preference for the
society of dr bauerstein what she saw in the man i cannot imagine
but she was always asking him up to the house and often went off for
long expeditions with him i must confess that i was quite unable to
see his attraction

the lnth of july fell on a monday it was a day of turmoil the famous
bazaar had taken place on saturday and an entertainment in connection
with the same charity at which mrs inglethorp was to recite a war
poem was to be held that night we were all busy during the morning
arranging and decorating the hall in the village where it was to take
place we had a late luncheon and spent the afternoon resting in the
garden i noticed that john s manner was somewhat unusual he seemed
very excited and restless

after tea mrs inglethorp went to lie down to rest before her efforts
in the evening and i challenged mary cavendish to a single at tennis

about a quarter to seven mrs inglethorp called us that we should be
late as supper was early that night we had rather a scramble to get
ready in time and before the meal was over the motor was waiting at
the door

the entertainment was a great success mrs inglethorp s recitation
receiving tremendous applause there were also some tableaux in which
cynthia took part she did not return with us having been asked to a
supper party and to remain the night with some friends who had been
acting with her in the tableaux

the following morning mrs inglethorp stayed in bed to breakfast as
she was rather overtired but she appeared in her briskest mood about
and swept lawrence and myself off to a luncheon party

such a charming invitation from mrs rolleston lady tadminster s
sister you know the rollestons came over with the conqueror one of
our oldest families

mary had excused herself on the plea of an engagement with dr
bauerstein

we had a pleasant luncheon and as we drove away lawrence suggested
that we should return by tadminster which was barely a mile out of our
way and pay a visit to cynthia in her dispensary mrs inglethorp
replied that this was an excellent idea but as she had several letters
to write she would drop us there and we could come back with cynthia
in the pony trap

we were detained under suspicion by the hospital porter until cynthia
appeared to vouch for us looking very cool and sweet in her long white
overall she took us up to her sanctum and introduced us to her fellow
dispenser a rather awe inspiring individual whom cynthia cheerily
addressed as nibs

what a lot of bottles i exclaimed as my eye travelled round the
small room do you really know what s in them all

say something original groaned cynthia every single person who
comes up here says that we are really thinking of bestowing a prize on
the first individual who does not say what a lot of bottles and i
know the next thing you re going to say is how many people have you
poisoned

i pleaded guilty with a laugh

if you people only knew how fatally easy it is to poison some one by
mistake you wouldn t joke about it come on let s have tea we ve got
all sorts of secret stories in that cupboard no lawrence that s the
poison cupboard the big cupboard that s right

we had a very cheery tea and assisted cynthia to wash up afterwards
we had just put away the last tea spoon when a knock came at the door
the countenances of cynthia and nibs were suddenly petrified into a
stern and forbidding expression

come in said cynthia in a sharp professional tone

a young and rather scared looking nurse appeared with a bottle which
she proffered to nibs who waved her towards cynthia with the somewhat
enigmatical remark

i m not really here to day

cynthia took the bottle and examined it with the severity of a judge

this should have been sent up this morning

sister is very sorry she forgot

sister should read the rules outside the door

i gathered from the little nurse s expression that there was not the
least likelihood of her having the hardihood to relate this message to
the dreaded sister

so now it can t be done until to morrow finished cynthia

don t you think you could possibly let us have it to night

well said cynthia graciously we are very busy but if we have time
it shall be done

the little nurse withdrew and cynthia promptly took a jar from the
shelf refilled the bottle and placed it on the table outside the
door

i laughed

discipline must be maintained

exactly come out on our little balcony you can see all the outside
wards there

i followed cynthia and her friend and they pointed out the different
wards to me lawrence remained behind but after a few moments cynthia
called to him over her shoulder to come and join us then she looked at
her watch

nothing more to do nibs

no

all right then we can lock up and go

i had seen lawrence in quite a different light that afternoon compared
to john he was an astoundingly difficult person to get to know he was
the opposite of his brother in almost every respect being unusually
shy and reserved yet he had a certain charm of manner and i fancied
that if one really knew him well one could have a deep affection for
him i had always fancied that his manner to cynthia was rather
constrained and that she on her side was inclined to be shy of him
but they were both gay enough this afternoon and chatted together like
a couple of children

as we drove through the village i remembered that i wanted some
stamps so accordingly we pulled up at the post office

as i came out again i cannoned into a little man who was just
entering i drew aside and apologised when suddenly with a loud
exclamation he clasped me in his arms and kissed me warmly

mon ami hastings he cried it is indeed mon ami hastings

poirot i exclaimed

i turned to the pony trap

this is a very pleasant meeting for me miss cynthia this is my old
friend monsieur poirot whom i have not seen for years

oh we know monsieur poirot said cynthia gaily but i had no idea
he was a friend of yours

yes indeed said poirot seriously i know mademoiselle cynthia it
is by the charity of that good mrs inglethorp that i am here then
as i looked at him inquiringly yes my friend she had kindly
extended hospitality to seven of my countrypeople who alas are
refugees from their native land we belgians will always remember her
with gratitude

poirot was an extraordinary looking little man he was hardly more than
five feet four inches but carried himself with great dignity his
head was exactly the shape of an egg and he always perched it a little
on one side his moustache was very stiff and military the neatness of
his attire was almost incredible i believe a speck of dust would have
caused him more pain than a bullet wound yet this quaint dandyfied
little man who i was sorry to see now limped badly had been in his
time one of the most celebrated members of the belgian police as a
detective his flair had been extraordinary and he had achieved
triumphs by unravelling some of the most baffling cases of the day

he pointed out to me the little house inhabited by him and his fellow
belgians and i promised to go and see him at an early date then he
raised his hat with a flourish to cynthia and we drove away

he s a dear little man said cynthia i d no idea you knew him

you ve been entertaining a celebrity unawares i replied

and for the rest of the way home i recited to them the various
exploits and triumphs of hercule poirot

we arrived back in a very cheerful mood as we entered the hall mrs
inglethorp came out of her boudoir she looked flushed and upset

oh it s you she said

is there anything the matter aunt emily asked cynthia

certainly not said mrs inglethorp sharply what should there be
then catching sight of dorcas the parlourmaid going into the
dining room she called to her to bring some stamps into the boudoir

yes m m the old servant hesitated then added diffidently don t
you think m m you d better get to bed you re looking very tired

perhaps you re right dorcas yes no not now i ve some letters i
must finish by post time have you lighted the fire in my room as i
told you

yes m m

then i ll go to bed directly after supper

she went into the boudoir again and cynthia stared after her

goodness gracious i wonder what s up she said to lawrence

he did not seem to have heard her for without a word he turned on his
heel and went out of the house

i suggested a quick game of tennis before supper and cynthia agreeing
i ran upstairs to fetch my racquet

mrs cavendish was coming down the stairs it may have been my fancy
but she too was looking odd and disturbed

had a good walk with dr bauerstein i asked trying to appear as
indifferent as i could

i didn t go she replied abruptly where is mrs inglethorp

in the boudoir

her hand clenched itself on the banisters then she seemed to nerve
herself for some encounter and went rapidly past me down the stairs
across the hall to the boudoir the door of which she shut behind her

as i ran out to the tennis court a few moments later i had to pass the
open boudoir window and was unable to help overhearing the following
scrap of dialogue mary cavendish was saying in the voice of a woman
desperately controlling herself

then you won t show it to me

to which mrs inglethorp replied

my dear mary it has nothing to do with that matter

then show it to me

i tell you it is not what you imagine it does not concern you in the
least

to which mary cavendish replied with a rising bitterness

of course i might have known you would shield him

cynthia was waiting for me and greeted me eagerly with

i say there s been the most awful row i ve got it all out of
dorcas

what kind of a row

between aunt emily and him i do hope she s found him out at last

was dorcas there then

of course not she happened to be near the door it was a real old
bust up i do wish i knew what it was all about

i thought of mrs raikes s gipsy face and evelyn howard s warnings
but wisely decided to hold my peace whilst cynthia exhausted every
possible hypothesis and cheerfully hoped aunt emily will send him
away and will never speak to him again

i was anxious to get hold of john but he was nowhere to be seen
evidently something very momentous had occurred that afternoon i tried
to forget the few words i had overheard but do what i would i could
not dismiss them altogether from my mind what was mary cavendish s
concern in the matter

mr inglethorp was in the drawing room when i came down to supper his
face was impassive as ever and the strange unreality of the man struck
me afresh

mrs inglethorp came down last she still looked agitated and during
the meal there was a somewhat constrained silence inglethorp was
unusually quiet as a rule he surrounded his wife with little
attentions placing a cushion at her back and altogether playing the
part of the devoted husband immediately after supper mrs inglethorp
retired to her boudoir again

send my coffee in here mary she called i ve just five minutes to
catch the post

cynthia and i went and sat by the open window in the drawing room mary
cavendish brought our coffee to us she seemed excited

do you young people want lights or do you enjoy the twilight she
asked will you take mrs inglethorp her coffee cynthia i will pour
it out

do not trouble mary said inglethorp i will take it to emily he
poured it out and went out of the room carrying it carefully

lawrence followed him and mrs cavendish sat down by us

we three sat for some time in silence it was a glorious night hot and
still mrs cavendish fanned herself gently with a palm leaf

it s almost too hot she murmured we shall have a thunderstorm

alas that these harmonious moments can never endure my paradise was
rudely shattered by the sound of a well known and heartily disliked
voice in the hall

dr bauerstein exclaimed cynthia what a funny time to come

i glanced jealously at mary cavendish but she seemed quite
undisturbed the delicate pallor of her cheeks did not vary

in a few moments alfred inglethorp had ushered the doctor in the
latter laughing and protesting that be was in no fit state for a
drawing room in truth he presented a sorry spectacle being literally
plastered with mud

what have you been doing doctor cried mrs cavendish

i must make my apologies said the doctor i did not really mean to
come in but mr inglethorp insisted

well bauerstein you are in a plight said john strolling in from
the hall have some coffee and tell us what you have been up to

thank you i will he laughed rather ruefully as he described how he
had discovered a very rare species of fern in an inaccessible place
and in his efforts to obtain it had lost his footing and slipped
ignominiously into a neighbouring pond

the sun soon dried me off he added but i m afraid my appearance is
very disreputable

at this juncture mrs inglethorp called to cynthia from the hall and
the girl ran out

just carry up my despatch case will you dear i m going to bed

the door into the hall was a wide one i had risen when cynthia did
john was close by me there were therefore three witnesses who could
swear that mrs inglethorp was carrying her coffee as yet untasted in
her hand

my evening was utterly and entirely spoilt by the presence of dr
bauerstein it seemed to me the man would never go he rose at last
however and i breathed a sigh of relief

i ll walk down to the village with you said mr inglethorp i must
see our agent over those estate accounts he turned to john no one
need sit up i will take the latch key





to make this part of my story clear i append the following plan of the
first floor of styles the servants rooms are reached through the door
b they have no communication with the right wing where the
inglethorps rooms were situated

it seemed to be the middle of the night when i was awakened by lawrence
cavendish he had a candle in his hand and the agitation of his face
told me at once that something was seriously wrong

what s the matter i asked sitting up in bed and trying to collect
my scattered thoughts

we are afraid my mother is very ill she seems to be having some kind
of fit unfortunately she has locked herself in

i ll come at once

i sprang out of bed and pulling on a dressing gown followed lawrence
along the passage and the gallery to the right wing of the house

john cavendish joined us and one or two of the servants were standing
round in a state of awe stricken excitement lawrence turned to his
brother

what do you think we had better do

never i thought had his indecision of character been more apparent

john rattled the handle of mrs inglethorp s door violently but with
no effect it was obviously locked or bolted on the inside the whole
household was aroused by now the most alarming sounds were audible
from the interior of the room clearly something must be done

try going through mr inglethorp s room sir cried dorcas oh the
poor mistress

suddenly i realized that alfred inglethorp was not with us that he
alone had given no sign of his presence john opened the door of his
room it was pitch dark but lawrence was following with the candle
and by its feeble light we saw that the bed had not been slept in and
that there was no sign of the room having been occupied

we went straight to the connecting door that too was locked or
bolted on the inside what was to be done

oh dear sir cried dorcas wringing her hands what ever shall we
do

we must try and break the door in i suppose it ll be a tough job
though here let one of the maids go down and wake baily and tell him
to go for dr wilkins at once now then we ll have a try at the door
half a moment though isn t there a door into miss cynthia s rooms

yes sir but that s always bolted it s never been undone

well we might just see

he ran rapidly down the corner to cynthia s room mary cavendish was
there shaking the girl who must have been an unusually sound
sleeper and trying to wake her

in a moment or two he was back

no good that s bolted too we must break in the door i think this
one is a shade less solid than the one in the passage

we strained and heaved together the framework of the door was solid
and for a long time it resisted our efforts but at last we felt it
give beneath our weight and finally with a resounding crash it was
burst open

we stumbled in together lawrence still holding his candle mrs
inglethorp was lying on the bed her whole form agitated by violent
convulsions in one of which she must have overturned the table beside
her as we entered however her limbs relaxed and she fell back upon
the pillows

john strode across the room and lit the gas turning to annie one of
the housemaids he sent her downstairs to the dining room for brandy
then he went across to his mother whilst i unbolted the door that gave
on the corridor

i turned to lawrence to suggest that i had better leave them now that
there was no further need of my services but the words were frozen on
my lips never have i seen such a ghastly look on any man s face he
was white as chalk the candle he held in his shaking hand was
sputtering onto the carpet and his eyes petrified with terror or
some such kindred emotion stared fixedly over my head at a point on
the further wall it was as though he had seen something that turned
him to stone i instinctively followed the direction of his eyes but i
could see nothing unusual the still feebly flickering ashes in the
grate and the row of prim ornaments on the mantelpiece were surely
harmless enough

the violence of mrs inglethorp s attack seemed to be passing she was
able to speak in short gasps

better now very sudden stupid of me to lock myself in

a shadow fell on the bed and looking up i saw mary cavendish standing
near the door with her arm around cynthia she seemed to be supporting
the girl who looked utterly dazed and unlike herself her face was
heavily flushed and she yawned repeatedly

poor cynthia is quite frightened said mrs cavendish in a low clear
voice she herself i noticed was dressed in her white land smock
then it must be later than i thought i saw that a faint streak of
daylight was showing through the curtains of the windows and that the
clock on the mantelpiece pointed to close upon five o clock

a strangled cry from the bed startled me a fresh access of pain seized
the unfortunate old lady the convulsions were of a violence terrible
to behold everything was confusion we thronged round her powerless
to help or alleviate a final convulsion lifted her from the bed until
she appeared to rest upon her head and her heels with her body arched
in an extraordinary manner in vain mary and john tried to administer
more brandy the moments flew again the body arched itself in that
peculiar fashion

at that moment dr bauerstein pushed his way authoritatively into the
room for one instant he stopped dead staring at the figure on the
bed and at the same instant mrs inglethorp cried out in a strangled
voice her eyes fixed on the doctor

alfred alfred then she fell back motionless on the pillows

with a stride the doctor reached the bed and seizing her arms worked
them energetically applying what i knew to be artificial respiration
he issued a few short sharp orders to the servants an imperious wave
of his hand drove us all to the door we watched him fascinated
though i think we all knew in our hearts that it was too late and that
nothing could be done now i could see by the expression on his face
that he himself had little hope

finally he abandoned his task shaking his bead gravely at that
moment we heard footsteps outside and dr wilkins mrs inglethorp s
own doctor a portly fussy little man came bustling in

in a few words dr bauerstein explained how he had happened to be
passing the lodge gates as the car came out and had run up to the
house as fast as he could whilst the car went on to fetch dr wilkins
with a faint gesture of the hand he indicated the figure on the bed

ve ry sad ve ry sad murmured dr wilkins poor dear lady always
did far too much far too much against my advice i warned her her
heart was far from strong take it easy i said to her
take it easy but no her zeal for good works was too great nature
rebelled na ture re belled

dr bauerstein i noticed was watching the local doctor narrowly he
still kept his eyes fixed on him as he spoke

the convulsions were of a peculiar violence dr wilkins i am sorry
you were not here in time to witness them they were quite titanic in
character

ah said dr wilkins wisely

i should like to speak to you in private said dr bauerstein he
turned to john you do not object

certainly not

we all trooped out into the corridor leaving the two doctors alone
and i heard the key turned in the lock behind us

we went slowly down the stairs i was violently excited i have a
certain talent for deduction and dr bauerstein s manner had started a
flock of wild surmises in my mind mary cavendish laid her hand upon my
arm

what is it why did dr bauerstein seem so peculiar

i looked at her

do you know what i think

what

listen i looked round the others were out of earshot i lowered my
voice to a whisper i believe she has been poisoned i m certain dr
bauerstein suspects it

what she shrank against the wall the pupils of her eyes dilating
wildly then with a sudden cry that startled me she cried out no
no not that not that and breaking from me fled up the stairs i
followed her afraid that she was going to faint i found her leaning
against the bannisters deadly pale she waved me away impatiently

no no leave me i d rather be alone let me just be quiet for a
minute or two go down to the others

i obeyed her reluctantly john and lawrence were in the dining room i
joined them we were all silent but i suppose i voiced the thoughts of
us all when i at last broke it by saying

where is mr inglethorp

john shook his head

he s not in the house

our eyes met where was alfred inglethorp his absence was strange and
inexplicable i remembered mrs inglethorp s dying words what lay
beneath them what more could she have told us if she had had time

at last we heard the doctors descending the stairs dr wilkins was
looking important and excited and trying to conceal an inward
exultation under a manner of decorous calm dr bauerstein remained in
the background his grave bearded face unchanged dr wilkins was the
spokesman for the two he addressed himself to john

mr cavendish i should like your consent to a post mortem

is that necessary asked john gravely a spasm of pain crossed his
face

absolutely said dr bauerstein

you mean by that

that neither dr wilkins nor myself could give a death certificate
under the circumstances

john bent his head

in that case i have no alternative but to agree

thank you said dr wilkins briskly we propose that it should take
place to morrow night or rather to night and he glanced at the
daylight under the circumstances i am afraid an inquest can hardly
be avoided these formalities are necessary but i beg that you won t
distress yourselves

there was a pause and then dr bauerstein drew two keys from his
pocket and handed them to john

these are the keys of the two rooms i have locked them and in my
opinion they would be better kept locked for the present

the doctors then departed

i had been turning over an idea in my head and i felt that the moment
had now come to broach it yet i was a little chary of doing so john
i knew had a horror of any kind of publicity and was an easy going
optimist who preferred never to meet trouble half way it might be
difficult to convince him of the soundness of my plan lawrence on the
other hand being less conventional and having more imagination i
felt i might count upon as an ally there was no doubt that the moment
had come for me to take the lead

john i said i am going to ask you something

well

you remember my speaking of my friend poirot the belgian who is here
he has been a most famous detective

yes

i want you to let me call him in to investigate this matter

what now before the post mortem yes time is an advantage
if if there has been foul play

rubbish cried lawrence angrily in my opinion the whole thing is a
mare s nest of bauerstein s wilkins hadn t an idea of such a thing
until bauerstein put it into his head but like all specialists
bauerstein s got a bee in his bonnet poisons are his hobby so of
course he sees them everywhere

i confess that i was surprised by lawrence s attitude he was so seldom
vehement about anything

john hesitated

i can t feel as you do lawrence he said at last i m inclined to
give hastings a free hand though i should prefer to wait a bit we
don t want any unnecessary scandal

no no i cried eagerly you need have no fear of that poirot is
discretion itself

very well then have it your own way i leave it in your hands
though if it is as we suspect it seems a clear enough case god
forgive me if i am wronging him

i looked at my watch it was six o clock i determined to lose no time

five minutes delay however i allowed myself i spent it in
ransacking the library until i discovered a medical book which gave a
description of strychnine poisoning





the house which the belgians occupied in the village was quite close to
the park gates one could save time by taking a narrow path through the
long grass which cut off the detours of the winding drive so i
accordingly went that way i had nearly reached the lodge when my
attention was arrested by the running figure of a man approaching me
it was mr inglethorp where had he been how did he intend to explain
his absence

he accosted me eagerly

my god this is terrible my poor wife i have only just heard

where have you been i asked

denby kept me late last night it was one o clock before we d
finished then i found that i d forgotten the latch key after all i
didn t want to arouse the household so denby gave me a bed

how did you hear the news i asked

wilkins knocked denby up to tell him my poor emily she was so
self sacrificing such a noble character she overtaxed her strength

a wave of revulsion swept over me what a consummate hypocrite the man
was

i must hurry on i said thankful that he did not ask me whither i
was bound

in a few minutes i was knocking at the door of leastways cottage

getting no answer i repeated my summons impatiently a window above me
was cautiously opened and poirot himself looked out

he gave an exclamation of surprise at seeing me in a few brief words
i explained the tragedy that had occurred and that i wanted his help

wait my friend i will let you in and you shall recount to me the
affair whilst i dress

in a few moments he had unbarred the door and i followed him up to his
room there he installed me in a chair and i related the whole story
keeping back nothing and omitting no circumstance however
insignificant whilst he himself made a careful and deliberate toilet

i told him of my awakening of mrs inglethorp s dying words of her
husband s absence of the quarrel the day before of the scrap of
conversation between mary and her mother in law that i had overheard
of the former quarrel between mrs inglethorp and evelyn howard and of
the latter s innuendoes

i was hardly as clear as i could wish i repeated myself several times
and occasionally had to go back to some detail that i had forgotten
poirot smiled kindly on me

the mind is confused is it not so take time mon ami you are
agitated you are excited it is but natural presently when we are
calmer we will arrange the facts neatly each in his proper place we
will examine and reject those of importance we will put on one side
those of no importance pouf he screwed up his cherub like face and
puffed comically enough blow them away

that s all very well i objected but how are you going to decide
what is important and what isn t that always seems the difficulty to
me

poirot shook his head energetically he was now arranging his moustache
with exquisite care

not so voyons one fact leads to another so we continue does the
next fit in with that a merveille good we can proceed this next
little fact no ah that is curious there is something missing a
link in the chain that is not there we examine we search and that
little curious fact that possibly paltry little detail that will not
tally we put it here he made an extravagant gesture with his hand
it is significant it is tremendous

y es

ah poirot shook his forefinger so fiercely at me that i quailed
before it beware peril to the detective who says it is so
small it does not matter it will not agree i will forget it that
way lies confusion everything matters

i know you always told me that that s why i have gone into all the
details of this thing whether they seemed to me relevant or not

and i am pleased with you you have a good memory and you have given
me the facts faithfully of the order in which you present them i say
nothing truly it is deplorable but i make allowances you are upset
to that i attribute the circumstance that you have omitted one fact of
paramount importance

what is that i asked

you have not told me if mrs inglethorp ate well last night

i stared at him surely the war had affected the little man s brain he
was carefully engaged in brushing his coat before putting it on and
seemed wholly engrossed in the task

i don t remember i said and anyway i don t see

you do not see but it is of the first importance

i can t see why i said rather nettled as far as i can remember
she didn t eat much she was obviously upset and it had taken her
appetite away that was only natural

yes said poirot thoughtfully it was only natural

he opened a drawer and took out a small despatch case then turned to
me

now i am ready we will proceed to the chateau and study matters on
the spot excuse me mon ami you dressed in haste and your tie is on
one side permit me with a deft gesture he rearranged it