谋杀启事41

III

“Phillipa, my dear, I want to talk to you.”

“Yes, Miss Blacklock?”

Phillipa Haymes looked up in slight surprise.

“You’re not worrying about anything, are you?”

“Worrying?”

“I’ve noticed that you’ve looked worried lately. There isn’t anythingwrong, is there?”

“Oh no, Miss Blacklock. Why should there be?”

“Well—I wondered. I thought, perhaps, that you and Patrick—?”

“Patrick?” Phillipa looked really surprised.

“It’s not so, then. Please forgive me if I’ve been impertinent. But you’vebeen thrown together a lot—and although Patrick is my cousin, I don’tthink he’s the type to make a satisfactory husband. Not for some time tocome, at all events.”

Phillipa’s face had frozen into a hard immobility.

“I shan’t marry again,” she said.

“Oh, yes, you will some day, my child. You’re young. But we needn’t dis-cuss that. There’s no other trouble. You’re not worried about—money, forinstance?”

“No, I’m quite all right.”

“I know you get anxious sometimes about your boy’s education. That’swhy I want to tell you something. I drove into Milchester this afternoon tosee Mr. Beddingfeld, my lawyer. Things haven’t been very settled latelyand I thought I would like to make a new will—in view of certain eventu-alities. Apart from Bunny’s legacy¹, everything goes to you, Phillipa.”

“What?” Phillipa spun² round. Her eyes stared. She looked dismayed, al-most frightened.

“But I don’t want it—really I don’t … Oh, I’d rather not … And anyway,why? Why to me?”

“Perhaps,” said Miss Blacklock in a peculiar³ voice, “because there’s noone else.”

“But there’s Patrick and Julia.”

“Yes, there’s Patrick and Julia.” The odd note in Miss Blacklock’s voicewas still there.

“They are your relations.”

“Very distant ones. They have no claim on me.”

“But I—I haven’t either—I don’t know what you think … Oh, I don’t wantit.”

Her gaze held more hostility⁴ than gratitude⁵. There was something al-most like fear in her manner.

“I know what I’m doing, Phillipa. I’ve become fond of you—and there’sthe boy … You won’t get very much if I should die now—but in a fewweeks’ time it might be different.”

Her eyes met Phillipa’s steadily⁶.

“But you’re not going to die!” Phillipa protested.

“Not if I can avoid it by taking due precautions.”

“Precautions?”

“Yes. Think it over … And don’t worry any more.”

She left the room abruptly⁷. Phillipa heard her speaking to Julia in thehall.

Julia entered the drawing room a few moments later.

There was a slightly steely glitter in her eyes.

“Played your cards rather well, haven’t you, Phillipa? I see you’re one ofthose quiet ones … a dark horse.”

“So you heard—?”

“Yes, I heard. I rather think I was meant to hear.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our Letty’s no fool … Well, anyway, you’re all right, Phillipa. Sittingpretty, aren’t you?”

“Oh, Julia—I didn’t mean—I never meant—”

“Didn’t you? Of course you did. You’re fairly up against things, aren’tyou? Hard up for money. But just remember this—if anyone bumps offAunt Letty now, you’ll be suspect No. 1.”

“But I shan’t be. It would be idiotic⁸ if I killed her now when—if I waited—”

“So you do know about old Mrs. Whatsername dying up in Scotland? Iwondered … Phillipa, I’m beginning to believe you’re a very dark horse in-deed.”

“I don’t want to do you and Patrick out of anything.”

“Don’t you, my dear? I’m sorry—but I don’t believe you.”

 

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