of the trades people. Snobbery here raised
its hideous head and marooned Mrs. Emmett
on a permanent island of loneliness.
The necessity to talk grew upon Mrs.
Emmett, and on that particular day it had
burst its bounds, and Miss Marple had
251
received the full flood of the torrent. She had
been sorry for Mrs. Emmett then, and today
she was rather sorry for Mrs. Percival
Fortescue.
Mrs. Percival had had a lot of grievances to
bear and the relief of airing them to a more or
less total stranger was enormous.
“Of course I never want to complain,” said
Mrs. Percival. “I’ve never been of the complaining
kind. What I always say is that one
must put up with things. What can’t be cured
must be endured and I’m sure I’ve never said
a word to anyone. It’s really difficult to know
who I could have spoken to. In some ways one
is very isolated here–very isolated. It’s very
convenient, of course, and a great saving of
expense to have our own set of rooms in this
house. But of course it’s not at all like having
a place of your own. I’m sure you agree.”
Miss Marple said she agreed.
“Fortunately our new house is almost
ready to move into. It is a question really of
getting the painters and decorators out.
These men are so slow. My husband, of
course, has been quite satisfied living here.
But then it’s different for a man. That’s what
I always say–it’s so different for a man.
Don’t you agree?”
252
Miss Marple agreed that it was very
different for a man. She could say this
without a qualm as it was what she really
believed. “The gentlemen” were in Miss
Marple’s mind, in a totally different category
to her own sex. They required two eggs plus
bacon for breakfast, three good nourishing
meals a day and were never to be contradicted
or argued with before dinner. Mrs. Percival
went on:
“My husband, you see, is away all day in
the city. When he comes home he’s just tired
and wants to sit down and read. But I, on the
contrary, am alone here all day with no congenial
company at all. I’ve been perfectly
comfortable and all that. Excellent food. But
what I do feel one needs is a really pleasant
social circle. The people round here are really
not my kind. Part of them are what I call a
flashy, bridge-playing lot. Not nice bridge. I
like a hand at bridge myself as well as anyone, but of course they’re all very rich down here.
They play for enormously high stakes, and
there’s a great deal of drinking. In fact, the
sort of life that I call really fast society. Then, of course, there’s a sprinkling of–well, you
can only call them old pussies who love to
potter round with a trowel and do gardening.”
253
Miss Marple looked slightly guilty since
she was herself an inveterate gardener.
“I don’t want to say anything against the
dead,” resumed Mrs. Percy rapidly, “but
there’s no doubt about it, Mr. Fortescue, my
father-in-law, I mean, made a very foolish
second marriage. My—well I can’t call her my
mother-in-law, she was the same age as I am.
The real truth of it is she was man-mad.
Absolutely man-mad. And the way she spent
money! My father-in-law was an absolute fool
about her. Didn’t care what bills she ran up.
It vexed Percy very much, very much indeed.
Percy is always so careful about money
matters. He hates waste. And then what with
Mr. Fortescue being so peculiar and so bad
tempered, flashing out in these terrible rages,
spending money like water backing wildcat
schemes. Well—it wasn’t at all nice.”
Miss Marple ventured upon making a
remark.
“That must have worried your husband,
too?”
“Oh, yes, it did. For the last year Percy’s
been very worried indeed. It’s really made
him quite different. His manner, you know,
changed even towards me. Sometimes when I
talked to him he used not to answer.” Mrs.
254
Percy sighed, then went on, “Then Elaine,
my sister-in-law, you know, she’s a very odd
sort of girl. Very out of doors and all that.