All of which was ancient history and did not weigh on Frank at all. Only the gazebo came into his mind in a familiar manner and remained there.
Nicholas Carey went on with his statement.
‘Miss Graham met me as we had arranged, and we were discussing plans when Mrs Graham interrupted us.’
Frank Abbott said, ‘There was a scene?’
Nicholas looked darkly in front of him.
‘She made one. Miss Graham told her she would make herself ill, and I said I would come round and see her in the morning.’
‘Why?’
‘We were discussing arrangements about our marriage. Mrs Graham had put a stop to it five years ago, and she wanted to put a stop to it now.’
Curiously enough, at that moment Frank Abbott and Nicholas Carey entertained the same thought – on Frank’s side ‘He was a fool to say that’; on Nicholas’ side, ‘I suppose that was a stupid thing to say.’ He followed it up by going on aloud.
‘She wouldn’t listen, so Miss Graham told me I had better go away, and she took her mother back to the house.’
Frank’s cool gaze narrowed a little.
‘And then?’
‘I went.’
‘Straight back to – by the way, where are you living?’
‘I’m staying at Grove Hill House with Mr and Mrs Harrison.’
‘And you went back to Grove Hill House?’
‘No – I went for a walk.’
‘When did you return?’
‘I don’t know – pretty late. I was disturbed and I wanted to walk it off. I didn’t notice the time.’
‘I see. And this morning you heard that Mrs Graham was dead. Who told you?’
‘I went out directly after breakfast. We had planned to be married today. Miss Graham wanted a church wedding, and I had to see the parson – I thought I’d catch him before he got going. He used to be rather a friend of mine. I didn’t want to use the telephone. Well, he had had a call to someone who was ill, so I went back to Grove Hill House. Mrs Harrison said her daily maid had just come in to say Mrs Graham had died in the night.’
‘And who had told the daily maid?’
‘She said the milkman told her. I came round straight away.’
The questioning went on. In the end Nicholas Carey had said nothing that did not agree with the statement already made by Althea Graham. When he had signed his own statement they let him go.
As he walked into the drawing-room, Miss Silver emerged from it. She was still in her outdoor things – the black cloth coat with many years service behind it and the prospect of more to come, the black felt hat which was not her best but had been done up for the autumn with some of those ruchings of black and purple ribbon so unbecoming to elderly ladies but so constantly pressed upon them by the hat trade. The weather being mild, she was not wearing the archaic fur tippet, so warm, so cosy, which could be called upon to supplement the coat on colder days, but having regard to the changeable nature of the English climate, it reposed in the suit-case which had not yet been unpacked. She greeted Frank Abbott with the formality which she was always so careful to observe before strangers. In private she might, and did, address him as Frank and permit him the affectionate and familiar behaviour which she would have accorded to a relation, but in public there would be no lapse from the conventions. She said,
‘How do you do, Inspector Abbott?’ and received his entirely proper and respectful reply. After which, Inspector Sharp and the other local detective having departed, Frank took her into the dining-room and shut the door.
‘Well, ma’am?’ he said when they were seated. ‘And how did you get here, may I ask? The Chief will certainly suspect a lurking broomstick. Even I can’t help wondering how you beat us to it.’
Miss Silver smiled indulgently.
‘Miss Graham consulted me yesterday.’
‘And pray, what did she consult you about?’
She was silent for a moment. Then she said,
‘She tells me that she has made a statement. I suppose that you have seen it?’
He nodded.
‘Sharp showed it to me. What did she want to consult you about?’
‘Whether she would be justified in marrying against her mother’s wishes.’
‘And you said…’
She gave the slight cough with which she would sometimes introduce an important remark.
‘Considering the extremely selfish nature of those wishes and the fact that they had stood as a barrier between her and Mr Carey for the last seven years, I was of the opinion that a sufficient sacrifice had been made, and that they should now be disregarded. Mr Carey had secured a marriage licence. He was anxious that the marriage should take place immediately without consulting Mrs Graham any further. Since she has in the past invariably produced a heart attack whenever the subject came up, it seemed desirable to confront her with a fait accompli, and I was able to recommend a retired nurse who would be prepared to take over as her companion. It was therefore natural that Miss Graham should at once acquaint me with the present tragic development and ask me to come to her.’
Frank Abbott had taken up as easy a position as a dining-room chair allows. One long leg was crossed over the other, displaying an inch or two of discreet sock and the polish of a well-cut shoe. One of his very pale eyebrows lifted as he said,
‘Having gone to you in the first place, she would naturally call you in, but I should like to know how she came to go to you at all.’
Miss Silver smiled.
‘It is extremely simple. I was able to help a friend of hers some years ago. She talked about it, and about me. The other day I came down to a cocktail-party at the house of an old friend who lives at Grove Hill, and there I met Mrs Graham.’
‘Oh, you did, did you?’
‘She was the kind of woman who will talk to a stranger about her private affairs.’
He laughed.
‘People do talk to you, you know! What did the late Mrs Graham talk about?’
‘She talked about herself, and about an undesirable young man who was pestering her daughter, and about going away on a cruise in order to separate them. She pointed her daughter out to me and indicated Mr Carey as the undesirable young man. She appeared agitated at discovering that he was present and said that fortunately it had all come to nothing and he had been away, but that it really would be dreadful if it started all over again. Whilst Mrs Graham was speaking to me Miss Graham was making her way across the crowded room and out at the door. Mr Carey followed her. I was in a position to see this, but Mrs Graham was not. It was, I understand, their first meeting for five years. I saw them go, and I saw them return about half an hour later. It was perfectly plain that they had come to an understanding. Miss Graham looked as if she was in a dream. I was sitting on a sofa in a retired position. She came over to it and sat down. After a little while I spoke to her, mentioning her friend’s name and my own. We talked for a little, chiefly about some rather curious offers that were being made for the purchase of this house.’
‘Curious? In what way?’
‘In this way, Frank. The house was not up for sale, yet two would-be purchasers, each introduced by a different agent, had arrived with an order to view and were competing with offers which were proving a serious temptation to Mrs Graham. I gathered that what made this very awkward for Miss Graham was that the house is hers. From what I had seen of Mrs Graham I could imagine that she would find it convenient to forget this or any other fact which did not suit her. I really have very seldom encountered so self-centred a person. Miss Graham was quite restrained in what she said, but I discerned that the situation was weighing upon her. I was therefore not very much surprised when she rang me up and asked if she could come and see me. Now before we go any further, I should like to suggest an inquiry into the antecedents of these would-be purchasers.’