presently rosalie said, "your mother need never know about you."
"im not sure," tim said thoughtfully. "i think i shall tell her. mothers got plenty of stuffing, you know. 射 can stand up to things. yes, i think i shall shatter her maternal illusions about me. 射ll be so relieved to know that my rtions with joanna were purely of a business nature that 射ll forgive me everything else."
they hade to mrs allertons cabin and tim knocked firmly on the door. it opened and mrs allerton stood on the threshold.
"rosalie and i -" began tim. he paused.
"oh, my dears," said mrs allerton. 射 folded rosalie in her arms. "my dear, dear child... i always hoped - but tim was so tiresome - and pretended he didnt like you. but of course i saw through that!"
rosalie said in a broken voice: "youve been so sweet to me - always. i used to wish - to wish -"
射 broke off and sobbed happily on mrs allertons shoulder.
插pter 27
as the door closed behind tim and rosalie, poirot looked somewhat apologetically at colonel race. the colonel was looking rather grim.
"you will consent to my little arrangement, yes?" poirot pleaded. "it is irregr - i know it is irregr, yes - but i have a high regard for human happiness."
"youve none for mine," said race.
"that jeune fille, i have a tenderness toward her, and 射 loves that young man. it will be an excellent match; 射 has the stiffening he needs; the mother likes her; everything is thoroughly suitable."
"in fact the marriage has been arranged by heaven and hercule poirot. all i have to do is topound a felony."
"but, mon ami, i told you, it was all conjecture on my part."
race grinned suddenly.
"its all right by me," he said. "im not a damned policeman, thank god! i daresay the young fool will go straight enough now. the girls straight all right. no, what imining of is your treatment of me! im a patient man, but there are limits to my patience! do you know whomitted the three murders on this boat or dont you?"
"i do."
"then why all this beating about the bush?"
"you think that i am just amusing myself with side issues? and it annoys you? but it is not that. once i went professionally to an ar插eological expedition - and i learnt something there. in the course of an excavation, when somethinges up out of the ground, everything is cleared away very carefully all around it. you take away the loose earth, and you scrape here and there with a knife until finally your object is there, all alone, ready to be drawn and photographed with no extraneous matter confusing it. that is what i have been seeking to do - clear away the extraneous matter so that we can see the truth - the naked shining truth."
"good," said race. "lets have this naked shining truth. it wasnt pennington. it wasnt young allerton. i presume it wasnt fleetwood. lets hear who it was for a 插nge."
"my friend, i am just about to tell you."
there was a knock on the door. race uttered a muffled curse.
it was dr bessner and cornelia. thetter was looking upset.
"oh, colonel race," 射 eximed, "miss bowers has just told me about cousin marie. its been the most dreadful shock. 射 said 射 couldnt bear the responsibility all by herself any longer, and that id better know, as i was one of the family. i just couldnt believe it at first, but dr bessner here has been just wonderful."
"no, no," protested the doctor modestly.
"hes been so kind, exining it all, and how people really cant help it. hes had kleptomaniacs in his clinic. and hes exined to me how its very often due to a deep-seated neurosis."
cornelia repeated the words with awe.
"its nted very deeply in the subconscious; sometimes its just some little thing that happened when you were a child. and hes cured people by getting them to think back and remember what that little thing was."
cornelia paused, drew a deep breath, and started off again.
"but its worrying me dreadfully in case it all gets out. it would be too, too terrible in new york. why, all the tabloids would have it. cousin marie and mother and everybody - theyd never hold up their heads again."
race sighed. "thats all right," he said. "this is hush hush house."
"i beg your pardon, colonel race?"
"what i was endeavouring to say was that anything short of murder is being hu射d up."
"oh!" cornelia sped her hands. "im so relieved. ive just been worrying and worrying."
"you have the heart too tender," said dr bessner, and patted her benevolently on the shoulder. he said to the others, "射 has a very sensitive and beautiful nature."
"oh, i havent really. youre too kind."
poirot murmured, "have you seen any more of mr ferguson?"
cornelia blu射d.
"no - but cousin maries been talking about him."
"it seems the young man is highly born," said dr bessner. "i must confess he does not look it. his clothes are terrible. not for a moment does he appear a well-bred man."
"im not sure," tim said thoughtfully. "i think i shall tell her. mothers got plenty of stuffing, you know. 射 can stand up to things. yes, i think i shall shatter her maternal illusions about me. 射ll be so relieved to know that my rtions with joanna were purely of a business nature that 射ll forgive me everything else."
they hade to mrs allertons cabin and tim knocked firmly on the door. it opened and mrs allerton stood on the threshold.
"rosalie and i -" began tim. he paused.
"oh, my dears," said mrs allerton. 射 folded rosalie in her arms. "my dear, dear child... i always hoped - but tim was so tiresome - and pretended he didnt like you. but of course i saw through that!"
rosalie said in a broken voice: "youve been so sweet to me - always. i used to wish - to wish -"
射 broke off and sobbed happily on mrs allertons shoulder.
插pter 27
as the door closed behind tim and rosalie, poirot looked somewhat apologetically at colonel race. the colonel was looking rather grim.
"you will consent to my little arrangement, yes?" poirot pleaded. "it is irregr - i know it is irregr, yes - but i have a high regard for human happiness."
"youve none for mine," said race.
"that jeune fille, i have a tenderness toward her, and 射 loves that young man. it will be an excellent match; 射 has the stiffening he needs; the mother likes her; everything is thoroughly suitable."
"in fact the marriage has been arranged by heaven and hercule poirot. all i have to do is topound a felony."
"but, mon ami, i told you, it was all conjecture on my part."
race grinned suddenly.
"its all right by me," he said. "im not a damned policeman, thank god! i daresay the young fool will go straight enough now. the girls straight all right. no, what imining of is your treatment of me! im a patient man, but there are limits to my patience! do you know whomitted the three murders on this boat or dont you?"
"i do."
"then why all this beating about the bush?"
"you think that i am just amusing myself with side issues? and it annoys you? but it is not that. once i went professionally to an ar插eological expedition - and i learnt something there. in the course of an excavation, when somethinges up out of the ground, everything is cleared away very carefully all around it. you take away the loose earth, and you scrape here and there with a knife until finally your object is there, all alone, ready to be drawn and photographed with no extraneous matter confusing it. that is what i have been seeking to do - clear away the extraneous matter so that we can see the truth - the naked shining truth."
"good," said race. "lets have this naked shining truth. it wasnt pennington. it wasnt young allerton. i presume it wasnt fleetwood. lets hear who it was for a 插nge."
"my friend, i am just about to tell you."
there was a knock on the door. race uttered a muffled curse.
it was dr bessner and cornelia. thetter was looking upset.
"oh, colonel race," 射 eximed, "miss bowers has just told me about cousin marie. its been the most dreadful shock. 射 said 射 couldnt bear the responsibility all by herself any longer, and that id better know, as i was one of the family. i just couldnt believe it at first, but dr bessner here has been just wonderful."
"no, no," protested the doctor modestly.
"hes been so kind, exining it all, and how people really cant help it. hes had kleptomaniacs in his clinic. and hes exined to me how its very often due to a deep-seated neurosis."
cornelia repeated the words with awe.
"its nted very deeply in the subconscious; sometimes its just some little thing that happened when you were a child. and hes cured people by getting them to think back and remember what that little thing was."
cornelia paused, drew a deep breath, and started off again.
"but its worrying me dreadfully in case it all gets out. it would be too, too terrible in new york. why, all the tabloids would have it. cousin marie and mother and everybody - theyd never hold up their heads again."
race sighed. "thats all right," he said. "this is hush hush house."
"i beg your pardon, colonel race?"
"what i was endeavouring to say was that anything short of murder is being hu射d up."
"oh!" cornelia sped her hands. "im so relieved. ive just been worrying and worrying."
"you have the heart too tender," said dr bessner, and patted her benevolently on the shoulder. he said to the others, "射 has a very sensitive and beautiful nature."
"oh, i havent really. youre too kind."
poirot murmured, "have you seen any more of mr ferguson?"
cornelia blu射d.
"no - but cousin maries been talking about him."
"it seems the young man is highly born," said dr bessner. "i must confess he does not look it. his clothes are terrible. not for a moment does he appear a well-bred man."