FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121  
122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   >>   >|  
he two girls exchanged a look of understanding, but I had no notion what they intended by it. I had not learnt, then, how cleverly they played up to each other. "Yes, but suspicious of what, Mr. Jervaise?" Anne said, taking up the cross-examination. "Spying upon us," Jervaise growled. "Upon you or me?" asked Brenda. "Both," Jervaise said. "But why?" asked Anne. "Lord knows," Jervaise replied. I made no effort to interrupt them. The two girls were clearing my character for me by the simple obvious method that I had not had the wit to adopt for myself. I might have argued and protested for hours, and the only result would have been to confirm Jervaise's suspicions. Confronted by an innocent demand for explanation, he had not a leg to stand on. Brenda's eyebrows went up again, with that slightly bizarre, exotic air which was so arresting. She spoke to me this time. "And do you mean to say that they were all so horrid to you that you had to come away?" she asked. "Precisely that," I said. "But you don't tell us what Mr. Melhuish has _done!_" Anne persisted, continuing her cross-examination of Jervaise. "Well, for one thing, he went out to meet your brother at three o'clock this morning," he replied grudgingly. "Didn't come out to meet me," Banks put in. "We did meet all right, but it was the first time we'd ever seen each other." We all four looked at Jervaise, awaiting his next piece of evidence with the expectant air of children watching a conjurer. He began to lose his temper. "I can't see that this has got anything to do with what we're discussing..." he said, but I had no intention of letting him off too easily. He had saved me the trouble of making tedious explanations, and my character had been cleared before Anne and Brenda, which two things were all that I really cared about in this connection; but I wanted, for other reasons, to make Jervaise appear foolish. So I interrupted him by saying,-- "Hadn't you better tell them about Miss Tattersall?" He turned on me, quite savagely. "What the devil has this affair of ours got to do with you, Melhuish?" he asked. "Nothing whatever," I said. "You dragged me into it in the first instance by bringing me up here last night, but since then I haven't interfered one way or the other. What does affect me, however, is that you and your family have--well--insulted me, and for that you do owe me, at least, an explanation." "What made you c
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121  
122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Jervaise

 

Brenda

 

explanation

 

Melhuish

 

replied

 

character

 

examination

 
family
 

interfered

 

discussing


intention

 

insulted

 

easily

 

awaiting

 

letting

 

expectant

 
temper
 

watching

 

conjurer

 

affect


evidence

 

children

 

interrupted

 

foolish

 

looked

 

Tattersall

 
affair
 

Nothing

 

savagely

 

turned


dragged

 

explanations

 

cleared

 

tedious

 

trouble

 

making

 

things

 

connection

 
wanted
 

reasons


instance
 
bringing
 

obvious

 
method
 

simple

 
clearing
 

effort

 

interrupt

 

confirm

 

suspicions