Mysterious Mr. Quin - Agatha Christie [59]
Sweet of you to send me the chocolates, darling, but surely just a wee bit silly, wasn’t it? I mean, there’s such wonderful confectionery out here.
Bye-bye, darling, and have a lovely time laying the family ghosts. Bimbo says my tennis is coming on marvellously. Oceans of love.
Yours,
Barbara.
‘Mother always wants me to call her Barbara,’ said Margery. ‘Simply silly, I think.’
Mr Satterthwaite smiled a little. He realized that the stolid conservatism of her daughter must on occasions be very trying to Lady Stranleigh. The contents of her letter struck him in a way in which obviously they did not strike Margery.
‘Did you send your mother a box of chocolates?’ he asked.
Margery shook her head. ‘No, I didn’t, it must have been someone else.’
Mr Satterthwaite looked grave. Two things struck him as of significance. Lady Stranleigh had received a gift of a box of chocolates and she was suffering from a severe attack of poisoning. Apparently she had not connected these two things. Was there a connection? He himself was inclined to think there was.
A tall dark girl lounged out of the morning-room and joined them.
She was introduced to Mr Satterthwaite as Marcia Keane. She smiled on the little man in an easy good-humoured fashion.
‘Have you come down to hunt Margery’s pet ghost?’ she asked in a drawling voice. ‘We all rot her about that ghost. Hello, here’s Roley.’
A car had just drawn up at the front door. Out of it tumbled a tall young man with fair hair and an eager boyish manner.
‘Hello, Margery,’ he cried. ‘Hello, Marcia! I have brought down reinforcements.’ He turned to the two women who were just entering the hall. Mr Satterthwaite recognized in the first one of the two the Mrs Casson of whom Margery had spoken just now.
‘You must forgive me, Margery, dear,’ she drawled, smiling broadly. ‘Mr Vavasour told us that it would be quite all right. It was really his idea that I should bring down Mrs Lloyd with me.’
She indicated her companion with a slight gesture of the hand.
‘This is Mrs Lloyd,’ she said in a tone of triumph. ‘Simply the most wonderful medium that ever existed.’
Mrs Lloyd uttered no modest protest, she bowed and remained with her hands crossed in front of her. She was a highly-coloured young woman of commonplace appearance. Her clothes were unfashionable but rather ornate. She wore a chain of moonstones and several rings.
Margery Gale, as Mr Satterthwaite could see, was not too pleased at this intrusion. She threw an angry look at Roley Vavasour, who seemed quite unconscious of the offence he had caused.
‘Lunch is ready, I think,’ said Margery.
‘Good,’ said Mrs Casson. ‘We will hold a séance immediately afterwards. Have you got some fruit for Mrs Lloyd? She never eats a solid meal before a séance.’
They all went into the dining-room. The medium ate two bananas and an apple, and replied cautiously and briefly to the various polite remarks which Margery addressed to her from time to time. Just before they rose from the table, she flung back her head suddenly and sniffed the air.
‘There is something very wrong in this house. I feel it.’
‘Isn’t she wonderful?’ said Mrs Casson in a low delighted voice.
‘Oh! undoubtedly,’ said Mr Satterthwaite dryly.
The séance was held in the library. The hostess was, as Mr Satterthwaite could see, very unwilling, only the obvious delight of her guests in the proceedings reconciled her to the ordeal.
The arrangements were made with a good deal of care by Mrs Casson, who was evidently well up in those matters, the chairs were set round in a circle, the curtains were drawn, and presently the medium announced herself ready to begin.
‘Six people,’ she said, looking round the room. ‘That is bad. We must have an uneven number, Seven is ideal. I get my best results out of a circle of seven.’
‘One of the servants,’ suggested Roley. He rose. ‘I will rout out the butler.’
‘Let’s have Clayton,’ said Margery.
Mr Satterthwaite saw a look of annoyance pass over Roley Vavasour’s good-looking