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Vandemeyer looked so rich, and so beautifully dressed, that I felt convinced they'd take her word against mine, and think it was part of my mental trouble to think myself 'persecuted' I felt that the horrors in store for me would be too awful once they knew I'd been only shamming." Sir James nodded comprehendingly. "Mrs. Vandemeyer was a woman of great personality.
Tuppence paled a little. "Are you going to poison me?" she asked in a whisper. "Perhaps," said Mrs. Vandemeyer, smiling agreeably. "Then I shan't drink it," said Tuppence firmly. "I'd much rather be shot. At any rate that would make a row, and some one might hear it. But I won't be killed off quietly like a lamb." Mrs. Vandemeyer stamped her foot. "Don't be a little fool!
Tuppence did not even glance at him as she passed meekly out. The adventure had begun, but she felt less elated than she had done earlier in the morning. It crossed her mind that if the unknown Jane Finn had fallen into the hands of Mrs. Vandemeyer, it was likely to have gone hard with her. TUPPENCE betrayed no awkwardness in her new duties.
Tuppence felt a terrific rise in her spirits. It impelled her to more audacious efforts. "There's one thing more." "Well?" Tuppence leaned forward and lowered her voice. Her quick eyes saw the sudden paling of the beautiful face. With an effort Mrs. Vandemeyer pulled herself together and tried to resume her former manner. But the attempt was a mere parody. She shrugged her shoulders.
But Tuppence continued to cling and sob, interjecting her sobs with incoherent appeals for mercy. Every minute gained was to the good. Moreover, as she grovelled, she moved imperceptibly nearer to her objective. Mrs. Vandemeyer gave a sharp impatient exclamation, and jerked the girl to her knees. "Drink it at once!" Imperiously she pressed the glass to the girl's lips.
Moved by a sudden impulse, the girl said quickly: "I shan't leave the flat. I shall sit up all night." A flash of relief showed before the lids descended once more. Apparently Mrs. Vandemeyer slept. But her words had awakened a new uneasiness in Tuppence. What had she meant by that low murmur: "Mr. Brown?" Tuppence caught herself nervously looking over her shoulder.
Would Rita Vandemeyer prove to be the weak spot in the armour of Mr. Brown? Keeping her eyes fixed steadily on the other's face, Tuppence replied quietly: "Money " Mrs. Vandemeyer started. Clearly, the reply was unexpected. "What do you mean?" "I'll tell you. You said just now that you had a long memory. A long memory isn't half as useful as a long purse!
The 'sinews of war, you know, Boris!" "Money money! That is always the danger with you, Rita. I believe you would sell your soul for money. I believe " He paused, then in a low, sinister voice he said slowly: "Sometimes I believe that you would sell us!" Mrs. Vandemeyer smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "The price, at any rate, would have to be enormous," she said lightly.
"I felt from the first that there was something wrong about him, and I always suspected that it was he who silenced Mrs. Vandemeyer so appositely. But it wasn't till I heard that the order for Tommy's execution came right on the heels of our interview with him that Sunday that I began to tumble to the fact that he was the big bug himself." "I never suspected it at all," lamented Tuppence.
"You refuse?" There was an ugly ring in the Russian's voice. "I do." "Then, by Heaven," snarled the Russian, "we will see " But Mrs. Vandemeyer also rose to her feet, her eyes flashing. "You forget, Boris," she said. "I am accountable to no one. I take my orders only from Mr. Brown." The other threw up his hands in despair. "You are impossible," he muttered. "Impossible!
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