Page 18 of N or M? (Tommy & Tuppence 3)

"Why, of course, Mrs Blenkensop, why ever didn't you come and ask me?"

"Well, of course, yes, I should have done really. But I knew you were all at lunch, and I do hate, you know, making a fuss -"

Passing Tuppence, Mrs Perenna caught up the bottle of aspirin from the washstand.

"How many would you like?" she demanded crisply.

Mrs Blenkensop accepted three. Escorted by Mrs Perenna she crossed to her own room and hastily demurred to the suggestion of a hot water bottle.

Mrs Perenna used her parting shot as she left the room.

"But you have some aspirin of your own, Mrs Blenkensop. I've seen it."

Tuppence cried quickly:

"Oh, I know. I know I've got some somewhere, but, so stupid of me. I simply couldn't lay my hands on it."

Mrs Perenna said, with a, flash of her big white teeth:

"Well, have a good rest until tea time."

She went out, closing the door behind her. Tuppence drew a deep breath, lying on her bed rigidly lest Mrs Perenna should return.

Had the other suspected anything? Those teeth, so big and so white - the better to eat you with, my dear. Tuppence always thought of that when she noticed those teeth. Mrs Perenna's hands too, big cruel-looking hands.

She had appeared to accept Tuppence's presence in her bedroom quite naturally. But latter she would find the bureau drawer unlocked. Would she suspect then? Or would she think she had left it unlocked herself by accident? One did do such things. Had Tuppence been able to replace the papers in such a way that they looked much the same as before?

Surely, even if Mrs Perenna did notice anything amiss she would be more likely to suspect one of the servants than she would "Mrs Blenkensop." And if she did suspect the latter, wouldn't it be a mere case of suspecting her of undue curiosity? There were people, Tuppence knew, who did poke and pry.

But then, if Mrs Perenna were the renowned German agent, M, she would be suspicious of counterespionage.

Had anything in her bearing revealed undue alertness?

She had seemed natural enough - only that one sharply pointed remark about the aspirin.

Suddenly, Tuppence sat up on her bed. She remembered that her aspirin, together with some iodine and a bottle of soda mints were all together at the back of the writing table drawer where she had shoved them when unpacking.

It would seem, therefore, that she was not the only person to snoop in other people's rooms. Mrs Perenna had got there first.

Chapter 7

On the following day Mrs Sprot went up to London.

A few tentative remarks on her part had led immediately to various offers on the part of the inhabitants of Sans Souci to look after Betty.

When Mrs Sprot, with many final adjurations to Betty to be a very good girl, had departed, Betty attached herself to Tuppence, who had elected to take morning duty.

"Play," said Betty. "Play hide seek."

She was talking more easily every day and had adopted a most fetching habit of laying her head on one side, fixing her interlocutor with a bewitching smile and murmuring: "Peese."

Tuppence had intended taking her for a walk, but it was raining hard, so the two of them adjourned to the bedroom where Betty led the way to the bottom drawer of the bureau where her playthings were kept.

"Hide Bonzo, shall we?" asked Tuppence.

But Betty had changed her mind and demanded instead:

"Wead me story."

Tuppence pulled out a rather tattered book from one end of the cupboard - to be interrupted by a squeal from Betty.

"No, no. Narsty... Bad..."

Tuppence stared at her in surprise and then down at the book, which was a coloured version of Little Jack Horner.

"Was Jack a bad boy?" she asked. "Because he pulled out a plum?"

Betty reiterated with emphasis:

"Ba-a-ad!" and with a terrific effort, "Dirrrty!"

She seized the book from Tuppence and replaced it in the line, then tugged out an identical book from the other end of the shelf, announcing with a beaming face:

"K-k-klean ni-i-ice Jackorner!"

Tuppence realized that the dirty and worn books had been replaced by new and cleaner editions and was rather amused. Mrs Sprot was very much what Tuppence thought of as "the hygienic mother." Always terrified of germs, of impure food, or of the child suckling a soiled toy.

Tuppence, brought up in a free and easy Rectory life, was always rather contemptuous of exaggerated hygiene and had brought up her own two children to absorb what she called a "reasonable amount" of dirt. However, she obediently took out the clean copy of Jack Horner and read it to the child with the comments proper to the occasion. Betty murmuring, "That's Jack! - Plum! - In a Pie," pointing out these interesting objects with a sticky finger that bade fair to soon consign this second copy to the scrap heap. They proceeded to Goosey Goosey Gander and the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, and then Betty hid the books and Tuppence took an amazingly long time to find each of them, to Betty's great glee, and so the morning passed rapidly away.

After lunch Betty had her rest and it was then that Mrs O'Rourke invited Tuppence into her room.

Mrs O'Rourke's room was very untidy and smelt strongly of peppermint and stale cake with a faint odour of moth balls added. There were photographs on every table of Mrs O'Rourke's children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews. There were so many of them that Tuppence felt as though she were looking at a realistically produced play of the late Victorian period.

"'Tis a grand way you have with children, Mrs Blenkensop," observed Mrs O'Rourke, genially.

"Oh, well," said Tuppence, "with my own two -"

Mrs O'Rourke cut in quickly:

"Two? It was three boys I understood you had?"

"Oh, yes, three. But two of them are very near in age and I was thinking of the days spent with them."

"Ah! I see. Sit down now, Mrs Blenkensop. Make yourself at home."

Tuppence sat down obediently and wished that Mrs O'Rourke did not always make her feel so uncomfortable. She felt now exactly like Hansel or Gretel accepting the witch's invitation.

"Tell me now," said Mrs O'Rourke, "What do you think of Sans Souci?"

Tuppence began a somewhat gushing speech of eulogy, but Mrs O'Rourke cut short without ceremony.

"What I'd be asking you is if you don't feel there's something odd about the place?"

"Odd? No, I don't think so."

"Not about Mrs Perenna? You're interested in her, you must allow. I've seen you watching her and watching her."

Tuppence flushed.

"She - she's an interesting woman."

"She is not then," said Mrs O'Rourke. "She's a commonplace woman enough - that is if she's what she seems. But perhaps she isn't. Is that your idea?"

"Really, Mrs O'Rourke, I don't know what you mean."

"Have you ever stopped to think that many of us are that way - different to what we seem on the surface. Mr Meadowes, now. He's a puzzling kind of man. Sometimes I'd say he was a typical Englishman, stupid to the core, and there's other times I'll catch a look or a word that's not stupid at all. It's odd that, don't you think so?"

Tuppence said firmly:

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