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Miss Pendarth's appearance, as is so often the case with an elderly, unmarried Englishwoman of her class, gave no clue to her clever, decisive, and original character. She had a thin, rather long mouth, what old-fashioned people call a good nose, and grey eyes, and she had kept the slight, rather stiff, figure of her girlhood.
Crofton had looked very pretty when she was giving evidence at the inquest; in fact, the descriptive reporter had called her "the dead man's beautiful young widow." And then, all at once, he bethought himself of Miss Pendarth's letter to his mother.
"Godfrey Radmore?" It was Miss Pendarth's turn to be genuinely surprised. "Godfrey Radmore! Then she's Australian? I thought there was something odd about her." Betty smiled, but she felt irritated. In some ways Miss Pendarth was surely very narrow-minded! "No, she's not Australian at least I'm pretty sure she's not. They met during the War, in Egypt.
The boy went through the glass door into the garden. He walked briskly up the path, kicking a pebble as he went, and then he sat down on the bench where, not so very long ago, Olivia Pendarth and Godfrey Radmore had sat discussing the curious and tragic occurrence which still filled Miss Pendarth's mind. Timmy asked himself what exactly was the meaning of the word inquest?
"I can't go to The Trellis House with Flick, and it's such a bore to shut him up." "Why can't Flick go with you?" "Mum! Don't you remember? Mrs. Crofton is terrified of dogs. Do let Jack take it!" "But are you sure Jack is going there this morning?" she asked, and then she remembered Miss Pendarth's ill-natured remark.
Janet took the roll of paper from her boy and slipped off the band absently: "What's this?" she exclaimed. And then, "How stupid of me! I remember now." She turned to her husband. "It's an account of the inquest held on Colonel Crofton. What a tremendous long thing! I shall have to put it aside till after lunch." She did, however, read through Miss Pendarth's letter. "Oh!
There was a most disagreeable scene, and from what one of the girls said the other day, it seems to have prejudiced the boy against her." Radmore looked straight into Miss Pendarth's face. Then she hadn't yet heard about last night? There was a slight pause. "Yes," said Radmore at last. "I'm afraid that Timmy does dislike Mrs. Crofton."
But Enid Crofton felt a little disappointed, for on Miss Pendarth's card had been written the words: "I look forward to making your acquaintance. I think I must have known Colonel Crofton many years ago. There was a Cecil Crofton who was a great friend of my brother's they joined the Ninetieth on the same day." She had rather hoped to find a kindly friend and ally in the still unknown caller.
Then he very carefully folded up the newspaper in its original creases, put Miss Pendarth's letter inside, and made as tidy a roll as he could with the help of the brown paper. Finally he slipped on the india-rubber band, and scrambling up from the floor, unlocked the door.
Now Timmy was well aware that it is not an honourable thing to read other people's letters; on the other hand, his mother always left Miss Pendarth's notes lying about on her writing table, and more than once she had exclaimed: "Betty? Do read that note, and tell me what's in it!" And so, after a short conflict between principle and curiosity, in which curiosity won, he began to read the letter.
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