• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

‘Well, that’s natural,’ said Henry. ‘Well, see here, if I come across anything or hear anything I’ll come up and offer to do a bit of work here. How’s that? Then I can tell you what I know and nobody’d hear us and–but I don’t know anything right at the moment. But I’ve got friends.’ He drew himself up suddenly and put on an air clearly adopted from something he’d seen on television. ‘I know things. People don’t know as I know things. They don’t think I’ve listened and they don’t think I’d remember, but I know sometimes–you know, they’ll say something and then they’ll say who else knows about it and then they’ll–well, you know, if you keep quiet you get to hear a lot. And I expect it’s all very important, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ said Tuppence, ‘I think it’s important. But we have to be very careful, Henry. You understand that?’

‘Oh, I do. Of course I’ll be careful. Careful as you know how. He knew a lot about this place, you know,’ went on Henry. ‘My Uncle Isaac did.’

‘About this house, you mean, or this garden?’

‘That’s right. He knew some of the stories about it, you know. Where people were seen going and what they did with things maybe, and where they met people. Where there were hiding-places and things. He used to talk sometimes, he did. Of course Mom, she didn’t listen much. She’d just think it was all silly. Johnny–that’s my older brother–he thinks it’s all nonsense and he didn’t listen. But I listened and Clarence is interested in that sort of thing. You know, he liked those kind of films and all that. He said to me, “Chuck, it’s just like a film.” So we talked about it together.’

‘Did you ever hear anyone talked about whose name was Mary Jordan?’

‘Ah yes, of course. She was the German girl who was a spy, wasn’t she? Got naval secrets out of naval officers, didn’t she?’

‘Something of that kind, I believe,’ said Tuppence, feeling it safer to stick to that version, though in her mind apologizing to the ghost of Mary Jordan.

‘I expect she was very lovely, wasn’t she? Very beautiful?’

‘Well, I don’t know,’ said Tuppence, ‘because, I mean, she probably died when I was about three years old.’

‘Yes, of course, it would be so, wouldn’t it? Oh, one hears her talked about sometimes.’

II

‘You seem very excited and out of breath, Tuppence,’ said Tommy as his wife, dressed in her garden clothes, came in through the side door, panting a little as she came.

‘Well,’ said Tuppence, ‘I am in a way.’

‘Not been overdoing it in the garden?’

‘No. Actually I haven’t been doing anything at all. I’ve just been standing by the lettuces talking, or being talked to–whichever way you put it–’

‘Who’s been talking to you?’

‘A boy,’ said Tuppence. ‘A boy.’

‘Offering to help in the garden?’

‘Not exactly,’ said Tuppence. ‘That would be very nice too, of course. No. Actually, he was expressing admiration.’

‘Of the garden?’

‘No,’ said Tuppence, ‘of me.’

‘Of you?’

‘Don’t look surprised,’ said Tuppence, ‘and oh, don’t sound surprised either. Still, I admit these bonnes bouches come in sometimes when you least expect them.’

‘Oh. What is the admiration of–your beauty or your garden overall?’

‘My past,’ said Tuppence.

‘Your past!’

‘Yes. He was fairly thrilled to think I had been the lady, as he put it, who had unmasked a German spy in the last war. A false naval commander, retired, who was nothing of the kind.’

‘Good gracious,’ said Tommy. ‘N or M again. Dear me, shan’t we ever be able to live that down?’

‘Well, I’m not very sure I want to live it down,’ said Tuppence. ‘I mean, why should we? If we’d been a celebrated actress or actor we’d quite like to be reminded of it.’

‘I see the point,’ said Tommy.

‘And I think it might be very useful with what we’re trying to do here.’

‘If he’s a boy, how old did you say he was?’

‘Oh, I should think about ten or twelve. Looks ten but he’s twelve, I think. And he has a friend called Clarence.’

‘What’s that got to do with it?’

‘Well, nothing at the moment,’ said Tuppence, ‘but he and Clarence are allies and would like, I think, to attach themselves to our service. To find out things