I left the problem of Brenda for the moment and harked back to[49] a phrase of Sophia’s which had disturbed me.
‘Why did you say,’ I asked, ‘that you were afraid?’
Sophia shivered a little and pressed her hands together.
‘Because it’s true,’ she said in a low voice. ‘It’s very important, Charles, that I should make you understand this. You see, we’re a very queer family… There’s a lot of rutblessness in us—and—different kinds of ruthlessness. That’s what’s so disturbing. The different kinds.’
She must have seen incomprehension in my face. She went on, speaking energetically.
‘I’ll try and make what I mean clear. Grandfather, for instance. Once when he was telling us about his boyhood in Smyrna, he mentioned, quite casually, that he had stabbed two men. It was some kind of a brawl—there had been some unforgivable insult—I don’t know—but it was just a thing that had happened quite naturally. He’d really practically forgotten about it. But it was, somehow, such a queer thing to hear about, quite casually, in England.’
I nodded.
‘That’s one kind of ruthlessness,’ went on Sophia, ‘and then there was my grandmother. I only just remember her, but I’ve heard a good deal about her. I think she might have had the ruthlessness that comes from having no imagination whatever. All those fox-hunting forebears—and the old Generals, the shoot-’em-down type. Full of rectitude and arrogance, and not a bit afraid of taking responsibility in matters of life and death.’
‘Isn’t that a bit far-fetched?’
‘Yes, I dare say—but I’m always rather afraid of that type. It’s full of rectitude but it is ruthless. And then there’s my own mother—she’s an actress—she’s a darling, but she’s got absolutely no sense of proportion. She’s one of those unconscious egoists who can only see things in relation to how it affects them. That’s rather frightening, sometimes, you know. And there’s Clemency, Uncle Roger’s wife. She’s a scientist—she’s doing some kind of very important research—she’s ruthless too, in a kind of cold-blooded impersonal way. Uncle Roger’s the exact opposite—he’s the kindest and most lovable person in the world, but he’s got a really terrific temper. Things make his blood boil and then he hardly knows what he’s doing. And there’s father—’
She made a long pause.
‘Father,’ she said slowly, ‘is almost too well controlled. You never know what he’s thinking. He never shows any emotion at all. It’s probably a kind of unconscious self-defence against mother’s absolute orgies of emotion, but sometimes—it worries me a little.’
‘My dear child,’ I said, ‘you’re working yourself up unnecessarily. What it comes to in the end is that everybody, perhaps, is capable of murder.’
‘I suppose that’s true. Even me.’
‘Not you!’
‘Oh yes, Charles, you can’t make me an exception. I suppose I could murder someone…’ She was silent a moment or two, then added, ‘But if so, it would have to be for something really worth while[50]!’
I laughed then. I couldn’t help it. And Sophia smiled.
‘Perhaps I’m a fool,’ she said, ‘but we’ve got to find out the truth about grandfather’s death. We’ve got to. If only it was Brenda…’
I felt suddenly rather sorry for Brenda Leonides.
Chapter 5
Along the path towards us came a tall figure walking briskly. It had on a battered old felt hat, a shapeless skirt, and a rather cumbersome jersey.
‘Aunt Edith,’ said Sophia.
The figure paused once or twice, stooping to the flower borders, then it advanced upon us. I rose to my feet.
‘This is Charles Hayward, Aunt Edith. My aunt, Miss de Haviland.’
Edith de Haviland was a woman of about seventy. She had a mass of untidy grey hair, a weather-beaten face and a shrewd and piercing glance.
‘How d’ye do?’ she said. ‘I’ve heard about you. Back from the East. How’s your father?’
Rather surprised, I said he was very well.
‘Knew him when he was a boy,’ said Miss de Haviland. ‘Knew his mother very well. You look rather like her. Have you come to help us—or the other thing?’
‘I hope to help,’ I said rather uncomfortably.
She nodded.
‘We could do with some help. Place swarming with policemen. Pop out at you all over the place. Don’t like some of the types. A boy who’s been to a decent school oughtn’t to go into the police. Saw Moyra Kinoul’s boy the other day holding up the traffic at Marble Arch. Makes you feel you don’t know where you are!’
She turned to Sophia.
‘Nannie’s asking for you, Sophia. Fish.’
‘Bother[51],’ said Sophia. ‘I’ll go and telephone about it.’
She walked briskly towards the house. Miss de Haviland turned and walked slowly in the same directon. I fell into step beside her.
‘Don’t know what we’d all do without nannies,’ said Miss de Haviland. ‘Nearly everybody’s got an old nannie. They come back and wash and iron and cook and do housework. Faithful. Chose this one myself—years ago.’
She stopped and pulled viciously at an entangling twining bit of green.
‘Hateful stuff—bindweed! Worst weed there is! Choking, entangling—and you can’t get at it properly, runs along underground.’
With her heel she ground the handful of greenstuff viciously underfoot.
‘This is a bad business, Charles Hayward,’ she said. She was looking towards the house. ‘What do the police think about it? Suppose I mustn’t ask you that. Seems odd to think of Aristide being poisoned. For that matter it seems odd to think of him being dead. I never liked him—never! But I can’t get used to the idea of his being dead… Makes the house seem so—empty.’
I said nothing. For all her curt way of speech, Edith de Haviland seemed in a reminiscent mood.
‘Was thinking this morning—I’ve lived here a long time. Over forty years. Came here when my sister died. He asked me to. Seven children—and the youngest only a year old… Couldn’t leave ’em to be brought up by their father, could I? An impossible marriage, of course. I always felt Marcia must have been—well—bewitched. He gave me a free hand—I will say that. Nurses, governesses, school. And proper wholesome nursery food—not those queer spiced rice dishes he used to eat.’
‘And you’ve been here ever since?’ I murmured.
‘Yes. Queer in a way… I could have left, I suppose, when the children grew up and married… I suppose, really, I’d got interested in the garden. And then there was Philip. If a man marries an actress he can’t expect to have any home life. Don’t know why actresses have children. As soon as a baby’s born they rush off and play in Repertory in Edinburgh or somewhere as remote as possible. Philip did the sensible thing—moved in here with his books.’
‘What does Philip Leonides do?’
‘Writes books. Can’t think why. Nobody wants to read them. All about obscure historical details. You’ve never even heard of them, have you?’
I admitted it.
‘Too much money, that’s what he’s had,’ said Miss de Haviland. ‘Most people have to stop being cranks and earn a living.’
‘Don’t his books pay?’
‘Of course not. He’s supposed to be a great authority on certain periods and all that. But he doesn’t have to make his books pay—Aristide settled something like a hundred thousand pounds—something quite fantastic—on him! To avoid death duties[52]! Aristide made them all financially independent. Roger runs Associated Catering—Sophia has a very handsome allowance. The children’s money is in trust for them.’