N or M_ - Agatha Christie [55]
The rubber was not finished, for Mrs Cayley, looking at her watch, discovered the lateness of the hour with shrill little cries of horror and rushed out to Mr Cayley. The latter, as a neglected invalid, enjoyed himself a great deal, coughing in a sepulchral manner, shivering dramatically and saying several times:
‘Quite all right, my dear. I hope you enjoyed your game. It doesn’t matter about me at all. Even if I have caught a severe chill, what does it really matter? There’s a war on!’
II
At breakfast the next morning, Tuppence was aware at once of a certain tension in the atmosphere.
Mrs Perenna, her lips pursed very tightly together, was distinctly acrid in the few remarks she made. She left the room with what could only be described as a flounce.
Major Bletchley, spreading marmalade thickly on his toast, gave vent to a deep chuckle.
‘Touch of frost in the air,’ he remarked. ‘Well, well! Only to be expected, I suppose.’
‘Why, what has happened?’ demanded Miss Minton, leaning forward eagerly, her thin neck twitching with pleasurable anticipation.
‘Don’t know that I ought to tell tales out of school,’ replied the Major irritatingly.
‘Oh! Major Bletchley!’
‘Do tell us,’ said Tuppence.
Major Bletchley looked thoughtfully at his audience: Miss Minton, Mrs Blenkensop, Mrs Cayley and Mrs O’Rourke. Mrs Sprot and Betty had just left. He decided to talk.
‘It’s Meadowes,’ he said. ‘Been out on the tiles all night. Hasn’t come home yet.’
‘What?’ exclaimed Tuppence.
Major Bletchley threw her a pleased and malicious glance. He enjoyed the discomfiture of the designing widow.
‘Bit of a gay dog, Meadowes,’ he chortled. ‘The Perenna’s annoyed. Naturally.’
‘Oh dear,’ said Miss Minton, flushing painfully. Mrs Cayley looked shocked. Mrs O’Rourke merely chuckled.
‘Mrs Perenna told me already,’ she said. ‘Ah, well, the boys will be the boys.’
Miss Minton said eagerly:
‘Oh, but surely–perhaps Mr Meadowes has met with an accident. In the black-out, you know.’
‘Good old black-out,’ said Major Bletchley. ‘Responsible for a lot. I can tell you, it’s been an eye-opener being on patrol in the LDV. Stopping cars and all that. The amount of wives “just seeing their husbands home”. And different names on their identity cards! And the wife or the husband coming back the other way alone a few hours later. Ha ha!’ He chuckled, then quickly composed his face as he received the full blast of Mrs Blenkensop’s disapproving stare.
‘Human nature–a bit humorous, eh?’ he said appeasingly.
‘Oh, but Mr Meadowes,’ bleated Miss Minton. ‘He may really have met with an accident. Been knocked down by a car.’
‘That’ll be his story, I expect,’ said the Major. ‘Car hit him and knocked him out and he came to in the morning.’
‘He may have been taken to hospital.’
‘They’d have let us know. After all, he’s carrying his identity card, isn’t he?’
‘Oh dear,’ said Mrs Cayley, ‘I wonder what Mr Cayley will say?’
This rhetorical question remained unanswered. Tuppence, rising with an assumption of affronted dignity, got up and left the room.
Major Bletchley chuckled when the door closed behind her.
‘Poor old Meadowes,’ he said. ‘The fair widow’s annoyed about it. Thought she’d got her hooks into him.’
‘Oh, Major Bletchley,’ bleated Miss Minton.
Major Bletchley winked.
‘Remember your Dickens? Beware of widders, Sammy.’
III
Tuppence was a little upset by Tommy’s unannounced absence, but she tried to reassure herself. He might possibly have struck some hot trail and gone off upon it. The difficulties of communication with each other under such circumstances had been foreseen by them both, and they had agreed that the other one was not to be unduly perturbed by unexplained absences. They had arranged certain contrivances between them for such emergencies.
Mrs Perenna had, according to Mrs Sprot, been out last night. The vehemence of her own denial of the fact only made that absence of hers more interesting to speculate upon.
It was possible that Tommy had trailed her