CHAPTER 2-3

 

 

　　Lady Selina who had clearly never wondered anythingof the kind, looked rather startled.

　　"She‘s got packets ofmoney, I suppose," she said doubtfully. "Alimony and all that. Of course that isn’teverything…."

　　"No, indeed."

　　"And she‘s usually gota man – or several men – in tow."

　　"Yes?"

　　"Of course when some women get to that age, that’s all they want…. But somehow –”

　　She paused.

　　"No," said MissMarple. "I don‘t think so either."

　　There were people who would have smiled in gentlederision at this pronouncement on the part of an old-fashioned old lady who could hardlybe expected to be an authority on nymphomania, and indeed it was not a word that MissMarple would have used – her own phrase would have been "always too fond of men." But Lady Selina acceptedher opinion as a confirmation of her own.

　　"There have been a lot of men in her life,"she pointed out.

　　"Oh yes, but I should say, wouldn’t you, that men were an adventure to her, not a need?"

　　And would any woman, Miss Marple wondered, come toBertram‘s Hotel for an assignation with a man? Bertram’s wasvery definitely not the sort of place. But possibly that could be, to someone of BessSedgwick‘s disposition, the very reason for choosing it.

　　She sighed, looked up at the handsome grandfatherclock decorously ticking in the corner, and rose with the careful effort of the rheumaticto her feet. She walked slowly towards the lift. Lady Selina cast a glance around her andpounced upon an elderly gentleman of military appearance who was reading the Spectator.

　　"How nice to see you again. Er – it is General Arlington, isn’t it?"

　　But with great courtesy the old gentleman declinedbeing General Arlington. Lady Selina apologised, but was not unduly discomposed. Shecombined short sight with optimism and since the thing she enjoyed most was meeting oldfriends and acquaintances, she was always making this kind of mistake. Many other peopledid the same, since the lights were pleasantly dim and heavily shaded. But nobody evertook offence – usually indeed it seemed to give them pleasure.

　　Miss Marple smiled to herself as she waited for thelift to come down. So like Selina! Always convinced that she knew everybody. She herselfcould not compete. Her solitary achievement in that line had been the handsome andwell-gaitered Bishop of Westchester whom she had addressed affectionately as "dear Robbie" and who had responded with equalaffection and with memories of himself as a child in a Hampshire vicarage calling outlustily "Be a crocodile now, Auntie Janie. Be a crocodile andeat me."

　　The lift came down, the uniformed middle-aged manthrew open the door. Rather to Miss Marple‘s surprise thealighting passenger was Bess Sedgwick whom she had seen go up only a minute or two before.

　　And then, one foot poised, Bess Sedgwick stoppeddead, with a suddenness that surprised Miss Marple and made her own forward step falter.Bess Sedgwick was staring over Miss Marple’s shoulder withsuch concentration that the old lady turned her own head.

　　The commissionaire had just pushed open the twoswing doors of the entrance and was holding them to let two women pass through into thelounge. One of them was a fussy looking middle-aged lady wearing a rather unfortunateflowered violet hat, the other was a tall, simply but smartly dressed, girl of perhapsseventeen or eighteen with long straight flaxen hair.

　　Bess Sedgwick pulled herself together, wheeled roundabruptly and re-entered the lift. As Miss Marple followed her in, she turned to her andapologised.

　　"I‘m so sorry. Inearly ran into you." She had a warm friendly voice. "I just remembered I’d forgotten something –which sounds nonsense but isn‘t really."

　　"Second floor?" saidthe operator. Miss Marple smiled and nodded in acknowledgment of the apology, got out andwalked slowly along her room, pleasurably turning over sundry little unimportant problemsin her mind as was so often her custom.

　　For instance what lady Sedgwick had said wasn’t true. She had only just gone up to her room, and it must have been thenthat she "remembered she had forgotten something" (if there had been any truth in that statement at all) and had come down tofind it. Or had she perhaps come down to meet someone or look for someone? But if so, whatshe had seen as the lift door opened had startled and upset her, and she had immediatelyswung round into the lift again and gone up so as not to meet whoever it was she had seen.

　　It must have been the two newcomers. The middle-agedwoman and the girl. Mother and daughter? No, Miss Marple thought, not mother and daughter.

　　Even at Bertram‘s,thought Miss Marple, happily, interesting things could happen….

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