"I"ve been Mrs. Piper eighteen years," replied Madame Flora composedly, "but I"ve always kep" on my business, Modam. It"s not much of a business now, worse luck! Ladies won"t part with their clothes, not when they"re dropping off them. In old days, if Piper was down, I was up, so we was all right. But we"ve both struck a streak of bad luck."
For a few moments neither of them spoke. Mrs. Crofton was staring, astonished, at her visitor, and through her shallow mind there ran the new thought of how very, very little any of us know of other people"s lives. After her first shock of dismayed surprise to find that Piper was married at all, she had imagined Piper"s wife as something young and, of course, in a way, attractive and easily managed.
"Did you ever come down to my house in Ess.e.x?" she asked, still trying to speak pleasantly.
"No, Modam, I never was there. Piper and I "as always kep" clear of each other"s jobs, and I wouldn"t be interfering _now_, but that the matter"s becoming serious. Piper"s worse than no good when "e"s idle." She hesitated, then went on, "If "e"s to keep off "is failing, "e must be working."
There was a pause, and then Enid Crofton spoke, in a low, uncertain tone.
"Believe me, Mrs. Piper, when I say that I really will do all I can for him. But it"s not easy now to hear of good jobs, and Piper doesn"t seem easy to suit."
"You wouldn"t care to take my "usband on again yourself, Modam?"
Again there followed that curious pause which somehow filled Enid with a vague fear.
"I wish I could," she said at last, "but I can"t afford it, Mrs. Piper.
As a matter of fact, I"ve done a foolish thing in coming here, to Beechfield, at all. Only the other day one of my husband"s relations advised me to let the house."
"Piper thinks, Modam, as how you might "elp "im to a job with Major Radmore." The name tripped quickly off the speaker"s tongue, as if she was quite used to the sound.
Enid felt a throb of dismay. Did the Pipers know G.o.dfrey Radmore was back?
"We was wondering," said the woman, "if you would give us the major"s address?"
Then they didn"t know he was back--or did they?
"I don"t know it."
Enid Crofton was one of those women--there are more than a truthful world suspects--who actually find it easier to lie than to tell the truth. But she saw the look of incredulity which flashed over the sallow face of her unwelcome visitor.
"Mr. Radmore," she went on hastily, "is taking a motor tour. But he"ll be back in London soon, and I"ll let you know the moment I know he"s settled down."
"I should "ave thought," said the woman, "that the Major would "ave "ad a club where Piper could "ave written."
"If he has, I don"t know it."
And then, all at once, Enid Crofton pulled herself together. After all the interview was going quite smoothly. Nothing--well, disagreeable--had been said.
She got up from her chair. "I hope you"ll forgive me, Mrs. Piper, for saying that Piper will never keep any job if he behaves as he did with these last people--I had a very disagreeable letter from the lady."
Mrs. Piper, alias Madame Flora, grew darkly red.
"Piper "ad a shock this last July," she said, moving a little farther into the room, and so nearer to Enid Crofton. "The thing"s been a-weighing on "is mind for a long time. It"s something "e won"t exactly explain. But it"s on "is conscience. Only yesterday "e says to me, "e says, "If I"m drinking, my dear, it"s to drown care; I ought to have spoken up very differently to what I done at the poor Colonel"s inquest."
The terrible little woman again took a step or two forward, and then she waited, as if she expected the lady to say something. But Enid, though she opened her lips, found that she could not speak. Hardly knowing what she was doing, she sat down again. And, after what seemed to the owner of the attractive, candle-lit room an awful silence, Mrs. Piper went on, speaking now in quite a different tone--easy, confidential, and with a touch of wheedling good nature in it.
"Thanks to your late gentleman, Piper knows all about dogs, and all "e requires, Modam, to set "im up as a dogfancier, so to speak, is a moderate bit o" money. As "e says "imself, five hundred pound would do it easy. If I may make so bold, that"s what reely brought me "ere, Mrs.
Crofton. It do seem to us both, that, under the circ.u.mstances, you might feel disposed to find the money?"
Enid looked down as she answered, falteringly: "I told Piper some time ago that it was quite impossible for me to do anything of the kind."
In her fear and distress she uttered the words more loudly than she was aware, and the woman looked round at the closed door with an apprehensive look: "Don"t speak so loud. We don"t want to tell everyone our business,"
she said sharply.
Now she came quite close up to her victim, for by now Enid Crofton knew that she was in very truth this woman"s victim.
"You think it over," whispered Madame Flora. "We"re not in a "urry to a day or two. And look here, Modam, I"ll be open with you! If you"ll do that for Piper, it"ll be in full discharge of anything you owe "im--d"you take my meaning?"
Enid Crofton got up slowly from her chair almost as an automaton might have done. She wanted to say that she did not in the least know what Mrs.
Piper _did_ mean. But somehow her lips refused to form the words. She was afraid even to shake her head.
"I told you a fib just now"--Mrs. Piper"s voice again dropped to a whisper. "Piper"s made a clean breast o" the matter to me, and I do think as what it"s common justice to admit that my "usband"s evidence at that inquest was worth more than twenty-five pound to you. It wasn"t what Piper said; _it was what "e didn"t say that mattered_, Mrs. Crofton. It"s been on "is mind awful--I"ll take my Bible oath on that. But "live and let live," that"s my motter. We don"t want to do anything unkind, but we"re in a fix ourselves--"
"I haven"t got five hundred pounds," said Enid Crofton desperately; "that"s G.o.d"s truth, Mrs. Piper."
To that a.s.sertion Madame Flora made no direct answer; she only observed, in a quiet conversational tone, and speaking no longer in a whisper. "The insurance gent told Piper as what "e was not entirely satisfied, and "e said as "e"d be pleased to see Piper any time if anything "appened as could throw further light on the Colonel"s death. "An extraordinary occurrence"--that"s what the insurance people"s gentleman called it, Mrs.
Crofton--"an extraordinary occurrence.""
And then Enid was stung into saying a very unwise thing. "The Coroner did not think it an extraordinary occurrence," she said quietly.
""E says sometimes as what "e ought to give "imself up and say what "e saw," went on Mrs. Piper with seeming irrelevance.
There was another brief pause: "If you "aven"t got five hundred pounds, Modam, I take it the insurance money has not yet been paid, for it was a matter of two thousand pounds--or so Piper understood from that party what came down to make enquiries."
Enid Crofton looked at her torturer dumbly. She did not know what to say--what to admit, and what to deny.
"Think it over," said the terrible little woman. "We"re not in a "urry to a day or two. We"ll give you a fortnight to find the money."
She put her hand, fat, yet claw-like, on Mrs. Crofton"s shoulder.
"There"s nothing to look so frightened about," she said a little gruffly.
"Piper and me aren"t blackmailers. But we"ve got to look out for ourselves, same as everybody else does. It"s Piper"s idea--that five hundred pounds is. "E says "twould ease "is conscience to carry on the pore old Colonel"s dog-breeding. As for me, I"d just as lief "ave "im in a good job--what gentlefolk call "a cushy job"--with a gentleman like this Major Radmore seems to be. But there! Piper"s just set on them nasty dogs, and "e"s planned it all out."
"Five hundred pounds is a great deal of money." Enid Crofton spoke in a dull, preoccupied tone.
"Not so much as it used to be, not by any manner of means," said Mrs. Piper shrewdly. "Think it over, Mrs. Crofton--and let us know what you _can_ do. Perhaps it needn"t be paid all in one; but best to write to Piper next time. "E says "e"d like to feel you and "im were partners-like. I"ll tell "im I arranged for you to "ave ten days to a fortnight to think it over."
"Thinking won"t make money," said Enid in a low voice.
"Such a beautiful young lady as yourself, Modam, can"t find it difficult to put "er "and on five hundred pounds," murmured Mrs. Piper, and as she said the words there came a leering smile over her small, pursed-up mouth.
And then, turning, she glided across the candle-lit room, and noiselessly opening the door, she slid through it.
Enid Crofton sank farther back into her chintz-covered easy-chair. She was trembling all over, and her hands were shaking. She had not felt so frightened as she felt now, even during the terrible moments which had preceded her being put in the witness-box at the inquest held on her husband"s body; and with a feeling of acute, unreasoning terror, she asked herself how she could cope with this new, dreadful situation.
What, for instance, did that allusion to the insurance company mean? She had had the two thousand pounds, and she had spent about a quarter of it paying bills of which her husband had known nothing. Then the settling in at The Trellis House had cost a great deal more than she had expected.
Of course she had some left, but five hundred pounds would make a hideous hole in her little store.
What could the Pipers do to her? Could they do anything? The sinister woman"s repet.i.tion of Piper"s curious remark, ""E says sometimes as what "e ought to give "imself up, and say what "e saw," came back to her with sickening vividness.