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- Herausgeber: Al-Mashreq eBookstore
- Kategorie: Krimi
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
The Judas Kiss by Herbert Adams is a gripping murder mystery wrapped in betrayal, deceit, and the darkest corners of human nature. When a wealthy businessman is found dead under mysterious circumstances, suspicion falls on those closest to him. With secrets unraveling and every alibi in question, it becomes clear that someone is hiding the truth. As the investigation deepens, shocking revelations come to light, and the price of betrayal grows ever higher. In a world where trust is a commodity and loyalty is tested, who will deliver the final, fatal kiss? This spellbinding thriller will keep you guessing until the very last twist.
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Table of Contents
The Judas Kiss
1: Surprising News
2: The Arrival
3: Pearl and Jasper
4: Garnet and Emerald
5: The Diamond Star
6: The Bennions
7: Temptation
8: "The End of Life Beginneth Strife."
9: Jasper's Discovery
10: Turning the Tables
11: Pearl
12: Another Tragedy
13: The Mystery Deepens
14: Roger's Theory
15: Garnet Missing
16: A Tap at the Window
17: Garnet's Return
18: Love Tangles
19: Battle Royal
20: The Marmalade Murder
21: "Can't Harm Him Now."
22: A Small Hole
23: The Crimson Splash
24: Grimsby's Great Hour
25: The Final Witness
26: Ruth's Moral
Landmarks
Table of Contents
Cover
The Judas Kiss
1: Surprising News
THE young clergyman cleared his throat.
"As we are all met together," he began, "I will read you a letter I have received from our father."
"Listen, girls," said Jasper flippantly, "our reverend brother has apparently had a message from On High. It may be important."
"Where is he, Garnie?" enquired Emerald, the older sister.
"Does he say when he will be back?" asked Pearl, the youngest of them all.
Garnet replied to their questions in what they called his parson voice.
"I will read the letter," he repeated. "It will tell you all I know."
Again he cleared his throat, and holding his missive in front of him, he started--
'My dear Garnet,
It is nearly three months since I left you, to convalesce after that bout of 'flu. It was good of you all to offer to accompany me, but I thought it best to be alone, especially as I did not know exactly where I meant to go and wished to be free to wander as I felt inclined. I have always tried to make you independent, so that you could carve your own careers. I trust I have in some measure succeeded. It would not have helped for you to be tied to me.
I sincerely hope that no one of you will feel there is any measure of reproach in what I have to tell you. When your Mother died, four years ago, you shared my grief but you imagined that the radio, cross-word puzzles and an occasional game of bowls or golf would satisfy and fill my life for such years as might be left me. But you were wrong! The natural urges of life do not end at fifty!'
"What is he getting at?" Emerald injected. "He is fifty-seven."
Garnet ignored her. He proceeded--'As my occasional postcards will have shown you, I have wandered far and wide. I have had many interesting experiences and think I can say I am as fit as ever I was. I have now met a lady who I am sure can make me happy. I am about to marry her--'
Jasper whistled.
Emerald echoed, "To marry her!"
Garnet went on:
'I will not attempt to describe her to you, as you will so soon see her for yourselves. We plan to be home in about a fortnight. I will wire the day of our arrival as soon as it is settled. I hope you will love her for my sake and am confident, when you know her, you will love her still better for her own.
Naturally I have told her about you and she is anxious to meet you all. We want you to carry on the home just as in the past--until any of you have other plans. We discussed what you should call her. I fully realise no one can ever be to you what your dear Mother was, and we agreed it would be best for you to call her by her first name, Adelaide.
We send our love, assured that a warm welcome awaits us.
Your affectionate father,
GEORGE MICHELMORE.'
The silence that followed the conclusion of the letter lasted for several moments. It was broken by Jasper.
"Oughtn't we to send a telegram of congratulations and good wishes, or something?"
"He gives no address," Garnet said. "The postmark on the envelope is St. Malo."
"Is he married or is he about to be married?" Emerald asked, rather indignantly. "He might have given us the chance to be there. Why not bring her home and marry here?"
"It would be unusual for a man to marry his father," Garnet remarked, "but I would have liked at least to attend the ceremony."
"Poor Daddy!" Pearl murmured. "I had no idea he was so lonely. I often sat with him and watched the TV. I would have done anything he asked, but he never would."
"Perhaps he wanted something a daughter could not give," Jasper said.
"I hope she will make him happy," Pearl replied.
The door of the room opened and a slight figure dressed in black entered.
"I will bring the coffee, if you're ready," she said. "I didn't 'ear the bell."
"We have had rather a shock, Nan," Emerald explained. "Father has just written that he has married again."
Nan was nearing sixty. She had been nurse to all of them and had stayed on as housekeeper. She prided herself on never showing surprise at anything any member of the family might do.
"Indeed. May I ask who to?" Her tone was quite unemotional.
"He does not tell us," Garnet answered. "He wishes it to be a pleasant surprise. We are to expect them in about a fortnight."
"Then p'raps I shall not be wanted no more?"
"Don't say that, Nan!" Pearl cried impetuously. "We can not do without you. We may need you more than ever."
"He says they wish us to carry on as before," Jasper added.
"Then I'll get the coffee."
She left the room and there was silence until she returned with it. Emerald had picked up the letter to read it through again.
They were a good-looking group of young people. Sitting each at one side of a small table, they had just finished their evening meal, though Jasper forked half a tinned peach from the heavily cut glass dish, and poured the last few drops of cream from a silver ewer over it. Garnet, the oldest of them, aged twenty-seven, had dark eyes and well-formed features. He looked earnest and his spare form suggested that he observed all the recognised fasts of the church and enjoyed doing it. Jasper, on his left, had similar dark eyes, but there was a twinkle of mischief in them. Emerald, who faced her elder brother and was next in age to him, would have been beautiful had it not been for a rather hard mouth and a look of discontent. Pearl, the baby of the family, just twenty-two, was definitely pretty, of the Greuze type. She had wide dark-blue eyes but there was more life and laughter in them than that artist generally showed in his charming maidens.
The flat was barely furnished but everything in it was good. The chairs and sideboard were Chippendale, or by an early disciple of his. The well-polished table was of dark mahogany and the lace table mats excellent of their kind. There were few ornaments and the only picture, hanging over the mantelpiece, was of a beautiful woman, the mother of them all.
Garnet wore clerical attire with a short black coat. The girls had light, short-sleeved frocks, but Jasper showed up in a tweed jacket, a coloured shirt and blue corduroy trousers. In the opinion of many he could have done with a hair-cut.
Nan brought the coffee and left it without saying a word.
"It is most extraordinary," Emerald remarked when they were again alone. "That bit about not blaming us looks as though he wanted an excuse. And surely he might have sent a photograph. There is no hint as to whether she is young or old, single or a widow."
"What intrigues me," said Jasper, "is the reference to natural urges. Do you think our venerable parent has thoughts of rearing another family?"
"Heavens, no!" Emerald exclaimed. "It would hardly be decent."
"A baby in the house would be rather fun," Pearl said.
"Or maybe Adelaide already has a family," Jasper suggested.
"He would have said so were that the case," Garnet assured them. "I mean if there were more than themselves to prepare for. I think you can take it she is about his own age."
"How do you get that?" Emerald asked.
"From the name--Adelaide. Names, as the christenings show, have a way of dating people. At present Jacqueline, Jill, Elizabeth and Margaret are most popular. Twenty years or so ago Pamela, Patricia and Phyllis had a great vogue. Before that it was Dorothy or Doris, taken, I believe, from the title of a play. Clarissa, Agnes and Amelia were earlier, but Adelaide probably preceded them. There was once a Queen Adelaide."
"The wife of William the Fourth. She died about a hundred years ago," Emerald said. History was her strong point.
"So you reckon our Adelaide--or rather our parent's Adelaide--is probably fat, fair and forty-to-fiftyish," Jasper observed.
"That is as I see it," Garnet nodded.
"I fear I find the reasoning unconvincing," the younger brother said. "We of course bow to your experience. I believe you have christened six--or is it seven?--muling infants, not all female; but you overlook the fact that many are named after an elderly maiden aunt from whom there are expectations, or even after an aged grandmother. So the generation idea does not hold the baptismal water."
"I have studied the subject," Garnet said loftily.
"But we do not know that she is English," Emerald pointed out. "If he met her in St. Malo she might be French. Queen Adelaide was German."
"And you cannot rule out the possibility that you will have an American stepmother," Jasper added. "Believe it or not a dealer in St. Malo sold one of my pictures to an American."
"What are we to tell people?" Emerald demanded. "We shall look such utter fools if we cannot answer the simplest questions."
"Why tell people anything?" Pearl asked. "We shall know when we see her and can truly say it was a big surprise. He is Daddy and I shall love him just the same."
"Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings," Jasper murmured. "I think the child is right."
"Thank you, old hoary head," Pearl retorted.
"I agree with that," Garnet said. "You had to tell Nan, as she must prepare for them, but ask her to be silent about it until we know more."
2: The Arrival
IF the Michelmores were an unusual family, their home was also out of the ordinary. A comparatively small abode when George Michelmore bought it, it had been enlarged by the addition of a wing at either side, projecting at an angle from the main building. As it faced south it thus earned its name, "Sunbay."
Each wing formed two flats and each flat was given up to one of his children, so that all possessed a self-contained home of their own, with a sitting-room, a bedroom, a bath room and a tiny kitchenette. Every flat had its own front door, the upper ones being approached by a narrow staircase.
The dining-room and lounge in the main building were shared by all, when they so chose, but they could entertain their own friends in their own way in their own apartment. They could also work undisturbed in the particular line they elected to adopt. The older son, Garnet, having entered the Church, the arrangement suited him very well. He had a ground floor flat. Jasper, with artistic ambitions, occupied the one over it, his sitting-room or studio boasting a north light.
As for the girls, Emerald had the upper flat on the other side. She was a writer, though so far little of her work had found a publisher. When Pearl became of age, she had been presented with the key of the remaining suite. She was proud of it but, having domestic rather than professional inclinations, she spent much of her time with her father or, when he was away, with Nan, whose real name, if anyone remembered it, was Hannah Wood. Pearl also had a Cairn terrier, Sandy--her faithful guardian and companion.
It was part of the arrangement that each flat owner was responsible for the care and cleanliness of his or her own apartment. That was admirable for the girls, but Garnet and Jasper paid a few shillings occasionally for a "do" by Mrs. Hopkins, the daily helper in the house. Their father had made them all an allowance. As food, light and fuel were provided, it was adequate for their needs but not enough to keep them in perpetual idleness. He wished them to be independent, but wanted them to follow the calling that appealed to them and to make a success of it.
If it was suggested to him that their semi-detached mode of existence might lead them into trouble, he would say such a thing was less likely than if they went off by them selves into some big town. "Sunbay" was one of the few larger houses in the village of Beckford, a mile or so from the sea and about midway between Felixstowe and Aideburgh on the Suffolk coast. He was proud of his arrangement. He pointed out that the day of big residences was past, but there would never be any difficulty in finding tenants for his sectional homes.
The news of his second marriage had come as a shock to his children. While their mother had been alive she had been keenly interested in the Church and all the local activities. When she died their father had gradually dropped them. But it had never occurred to them that he might start a new life of his own. Perhaps they did not realise that his theories of independence might apply to himself as well as to them.
When they met at meal-times, which they generally did, though a message to Nan always brought them a breakfast tray if they wished it, they discussed the matter over and over again. But it was several days before they heard any thing further. Then came a telegram from Paris--'Returning Friday for dinner. Love. George and Adelaide.'
"Hardly calls for the fatted calf," Jasper commented. "What is the appropriate dish for the prodigal father, Garnie?"
"Ewe mutton," Emerald answered for him.
"Being Friday I would prefer fish," Garnet said, "but I realise it is a special occasion."
"Indeed it is!" Pearl cried. "We must get something jolly good. Let us ask Nan."
When summoned and informed of the impending arrival, Nan told them in her unemotional way she could secure a goose.
"I do not like that idea at all," Jasper said. "It is too suggestive. A pair of ducks would be far more appropriate. Besides, the parent likes duck almost as much as I do."
So that was settled. Pearl busied herself with special flowers and decorations and conspired with Nan to make a cake with almond icing and much sugar ornamentation. Jasper thought champagne the most essential thing and was pleased to find his father's cellar possessed a few bottles. Emerald kept aloof as though disapproving of the whole affair.
At length the great day arrived. They were all excited and a new point arose.
"Where and how do we receive them?" Garnet asked.
"We shall be in the lounge and Nan will announce them," Emerald said.
"The Dad announced in his own home!" Jasper objected. "Don't be daft. He will just walk in."
"I do not know what you others will do," Pearl declared. "I shall be waiting for them at the gate."
In the end that is what they all did. And they got the surprise of their life. The newly-weds arrived from London by car. When it pulled tip, their father sprang out, bronzed and far fitter than when they had last seen him. He turned to assist his companion to alight. A young woman, little older than themselves, and more lovely than anyone they had ever before beheld.
"This is Adelaide," he said.
There was a moment's pause. She was so unlike anything they had expected. Then Pearl sprang forward and threw her arms round his neck and kissed him.
"Welcome home, Daddy. I hope you will both be very happy."
"Thank you," he laughed. "Adelaide, this is Pearl, our baby."
Adelaide took her hands, drew her forward and kissed her. "I thank you too," she said softly.
The ice thus broken, Emerald kissed her father and turned a cold cheek for her stepmother's caress.
"This is Garnet," said the father, gripping the hand of his first-born. "He is a shining light and an example for all of us.
"I do not think I have ever kissed a clergyman," Adelaide smiled. "May I?" She did.
"Jasper, our artistic hope."
Jasper did not wait to be asked. He pressed a kiss on each cheek.
"Welcome indeed!" he said.
Then, chatting and laughing, they passed into the house. Emerald, asserting her position as hostess--was it for the last time?--said: "Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Will you have a drink and then do any changing you want to?"
Jasper came forward with the sherry and proposed an appropriate toast.
It was not until they were seated at the table that they were really able to take stock of the new arrival. She was every bit as beautiful as they had at first thought. She had real golden hair, with delightful waves the girls could appreciate, a flawless skin, eyes of the deepest grey, small features and a pretty mouth that enclosed perfect teeth. The only notable sign of make-up was the vivid lip-stick that gave an air of sophistication to an expression otherwise almost incredibly innocent. A pearl necklace and a diamond bracelet were her only ornaments, other than her wedding ring.
Nan was introduced when she brought in the food. Adelaide got up and shook hands with her, saying she had heard how good she was to all of them.
After some delicious soup there were fried fillets of sole done to a turn. Conversation was at first spasmodic and trivial, but when Jasper got busy with the champagne their tongues were loosened.
"Where did you get married?" Emerald enquired. "Why did you not ask us to the wedding?"
"It was all rather hurried," Adelaide smiled. "You see, George was impatient to get home and we wanted to spend a few days in Paris."
"Where was it?" the girl repeated.
"In the Cathedral at St. Malo, but it was very quiet. I have few relations."
"I know an art dealer in St. Malo," Jasper said. "He must be a genius; he sold a picture of mine." It was a fact he liked to proclaim.
"An appreciative genius," was the reply. "Who is he?"
"His name is Lanier., He has a little shop near the Cathedral."
"I do not know him, though I worked for a time in St. Malo. Before that I was in Dinard."
"That is a spot you should see, my boy," his father said. "There is a service of little boats they call videttes between the two places. It is well-named the Emerald Coast because the sea is such a clear and wonderful green. You ought to have eyes like that, my dear," he added to his older daughter. "But I prefer them as they are. Jasper might do some good pictures there."
"Is that your line?" Adelaide asked.
"Definitely not," Jasper said. "I do figures, but I am experimenting in what you might call abstract subjects."
"You must let me see them," she said. "You all seem so wonderfully clever to me. You, I believe, are a writer," she added to Emerald.
"So far, unlike Jasper, without a patron--or a publisher," was the reply.
"She has had a lot of jolly good articles and stories in local papers," Pearl said, speaking up for her. "And her book, when she finishes it, ought to be a winner."
"I am writing it in collaboration with a friend," Emerald said, "so if it does appear the credit will be partly his."
"I always wonder how collaborators work," Adelaide commented. "Do they write alternate chapters or does one do the descriptions and the other the dialogue?"
"It is a matter of arrangement," Emerald replied rather coldly.
Garnet had been very silent. He hardly dared to look at his astonishing stepmother. He felt he ought to show his disapproval of that daring neck line. But she did not spare him.
"Is this your parish?" she asked him.
"No," he said. "I am an assistant priest at Torbury, the next village."
"The vicar," Pearl added, "Mr. Forbes Fortescue, ought really to retire. He leaves all the work to Garnie."
"Except the preaching," Jasper added silly. "The old boy still likes to talk on Sundays, doesn't he, Garnie? The same sermons he has used for years."
Garnet looked embarrassed, but his father gave the talk a new turn.
"Who made that gorgeous cake?" he asked, indicating the elaborate confection in the centre of the table.
"I did," Pearl blushed.
"It looks more than tempting, but after all we have had I doubt if we can tackle it." The ducks had been appreciated.
"But you and--and Adelaide--must cut it, even if you only eat a crumb. Nan helped with the mixture, so it should be all right."
"Of course we will," Adelaide laughed. "I said it was a wonderful family. A clergyman, a writer, an artist and a sculptor in sugar. How I envy you all!"
One of her decidedly lesser charms was her quaint way of licking her lips, poking out her pointed little tongue after she had made a remark. Her comment on their talents gave Emerald a chance for which she had been waiting.
"What did you do before you married?" she asked.
"Me? I hope you will not be ashamed of me. I worked in a perfumier's shop. That is where George found me."
"What was he doing in a perfumier's shop?" Jasper grinned.
"I went to get a hair-cut," his father said. "When I left the execution chair I saw the loveliest--I saw Adelaide. I could not think what to say to her, but I had to say some thing. I asked her if she thought I would look better with a beard."
"I said decidedly not," she smiled, "and I sold him some lotion to use after shaving."
"Which I still have, unused," he chuckled. "But I went back every day for something. And that is how it happened."
They all laughed. "Modern love potions," Jasper murmured.
Emerald asked "Were you born in France? Your English is perfect."
"I was born in England but my mother was French. My father was killed in the Normandy landing and after that we went to live there. My mother died, but my English was useful in getting a job where most of the visitors are English or American."
Taken altogether it was a happy meal. It concluded with the cutting of the cake by the bridal pair with a large knife. Pearl was deservedly congratulated on her achievement.
After that, they adjourned to the lounge. Emerald asked Adelaide if she could sing, hoping perhaps to find a fault somewhere.
"I would not be so unkind," was the smiling reply. "I do play a little."
They pressed her to do so. They had a good piano and she rendered some pieces by Grieg and Chopin really well. Pearl, who had a pleasing voice, sang a couple of songs and then George insisted that he and Adelaide must retire as they had had a very long day.
"Well, what do you think of her?" Emerald asked, when the four were at last alone.
"The parent has picked a perfect peach," Jasper said. "Can't think how he managed it. I must paint her."
"A peach from a barber's shop!" Emerald sneered. "What do you say, Garnie?"
"I pass no judgment till we know her better," the curate replied.
"I think she is lovely," Pearl said. "I like her."
"You would," commented her sister. "Look at the vulgar way she puts out her tongue!"
"Probably she was nervous," Pearl suggested. "I would be in such circumstances."
"Nervous--not a bit of it! She saw her chance and grabbed it. I would bet there is plenty in her past we will never know. Poor Dad! I do not see a very happy future for him with her in a dead-alive place like this!"
"Give her a chance," Jasper grinned. "Not afraid she will run away with your boy friend, are you?"
"Don't be a fool!" Emerald said angrily, and she left the room, slamming the door after her.
3: Pearl and Jasper
THE next morning George and Adelaide had their breakfast in bed. If they dallied over it, who shall blame them?
"Well, my love," he asked teasingly, "what do you think of your little brood?"
"Is it not more important what they think of me?"
"Dumb with admiration. Was it wise to tell them all you did?"
"They were bound to be curious. I only hope they were satisfied. I shall try to make them like me. It will not be easy with Emerald and I am not sure about Garnet."
Adelaide was no fool and she had summed up their feelings with remarkable accuracy. After a little more banter George decided to dress. He was definitely handsome and looked younger than his years. The holiday with its surprising ending had undoubtedly done him good. Now he was anxious to see how his garden, some two acres in all, had fared in his absence and whether Teague, his gardener, had carried out certain alterations he had suggested.
Left to herself Adelaide made a leisurely toilet. She thought she had made a fairly favourable impression on her "step-children" but wanted to see them separately to establish as friendly an atmosphere as was possible.
When she went down she was wearing a tweed skirt and a knitted pullover that was discreet in every way, even if it could not conceal the shapely lines of her figure. The first of the family she met was Pearl, which was as she would have wished. It should be an easy start.
She kissed her and after a few words as to a good night's rest, asked if she might see her flat. Pearl was pleased to show it to her. They went to the entrance door on the ground level which the young girl with some pride opened with her own latchkey.
"You are not afraid to sleep down here by yourself?" Adelaide asked.
"Not a bit. Emerald is just above and there is a bell to the house. Sandy takes care of me." She introduced her little dog who sniffed approvingly at the newcomer.
The rooms were small but very daintily appointed. After a peep at the bedroom and bathroom, they sat in the two easy-chairs in the sitting-room.
"You know, Pearl, I was terribly afraid of you all."
"Of us?" asked the girl. "Why?"
"George told me how clever you all were and I thought you would suppose I had trapped him in some way because I am rather younger than he is. That was a surprise? You thought I would be about his own age?"
"Well--he didn't tell us very much."
"I know. I wanted him to, but he thought it best to do things his way. I love him and I think I can make him happy, especially if you will help me. I want to be one of yourselves. Will Nan regard me as an intruder?"
Pearl hesitated. "She may be a little difficult at first, till she gets used to things. You see we have grown up with her, and she was devoted to Mummie."
"I understand. Will you please tell her from me that I want her to carry on as she has always done. I shall tell her so myself, but you may help to make her believe it. I am really a dreadfully lazy person, only too glad to be able to rely on her. I shall devote myself to George."
"You will not take him away from us?"
"Of course not, darling. But he told me you were all so full of your own affairs."
"I am not."
"But the others are? What do you do?"
"Nothing much. I am just the plain domestic type. I enjoy having a home and making it look nice. When Daddy did not want me I spent a good deal of my time with Nan. For one thing, I love cooking;"
"How splendid--though a little bit lonely? But you are not plain, you are very pretty. Have you any boy friends?"
Pearl blushed. "I have some friends."
"Of course you have. Please remember, darling, I want to help you in every way I can, if you will let me. I wish I had a little sister like you. I was lonely when my mother and father died. If George takes me about, as he talks of doing, you must come, too, sometimes."
"If he wants me."
"I am sure he will. It was a terrible shock to him when your mother died, but he had talked a lot about your independence and he rather felt he was no use to anyone. You and I must cure him of that."
They talked intimately for some time. Then Adelaide said she wanted to see Jasper. Did Pearl think he would mind?
"I am sure not," was the reply. "He has the top flat on the other side. Would you like me to tell him?"
"No. I will take my chance."
The open door to Jasper's private staircase proclaimed that he was at home. Adelaide mounted the stairs and tapped at what she knew must be his sitting-room door.
"Come in!"
She entered and found him in an easy-chair with a block on his knee, drawing.
"Am I disturbing anything?" she asked.
"Not at all," he said, rising to find her a seat. "As a matter of fact I was trying to do you. But it is no good." He tore it off and threw it into the fireplace.
"May I not see it?"
"Certainly not. We do not show our first impressions to our victims. I hope you will let me paint you properly."
"I should be honoured," she smiled.
The studio was untidy, as studios often are. On an easel stood a semi-nude almost completed and two or three canvases rested against the wall, only their backs being visible. On a throne lay a portfolio, presumably of sketches. Paints, palettes and brushes were strewn on table and shelves.
"What did you think of us last night?" Jasper asked.
"As someone once said, not half had been told me."
"Rather enigmatic. We might say the same. We were expecting someone--how shall I put it?--rather more mature?"
"Hence your disappointment?"
Jasper grinned. He thought they should get on well together. "Fishing?" he asked.
"Not at all. You needed mothering and I did not look equal to the task."
"You can but try. I had a wonderful idea before I got up how I would like to paint you."
"Tell me."
"It would be called 'Good Morning.' You are sitting up in bed, your arms stretched above your head--"
"And my mouth open in a big yawn?"
"Oh, no; just a sweet smile. Your nightie is slipping from your shoulder--"
"The further it slips the better, I suppose?"
"Yes," Jasper said eagerly. "Down to your waist, if you do not mind."
"I am afraid I do mind. What would your father say about it?"
"Dad appreciates art and beauty."
"That takes us both for granted, doesn't it?"
"He knows my work. As for you, I saw enough last night--"
"You mean my frock was too revealing? I am sorry about that. I put it on in your honour as it is the prettiest I possess."
"Let me paint you in that."
"If he agrees, I would love it." She glanced at the figure on the easel. "What do you generally do about models?"
"That is rather a snag. Plenty at the art schools, of course, but a devilish expense to get them down here."
"I hope you do not make love to them."
"No, Mamma," he mocked. "One soon grows out of that. You are interested in your job and the two things don't mix. A model--that is a professional model--is a shape without a soul. You pose her as you want her and don't think about her as a person. Pearl has helped me a lot. She sat for that."
He indicated the figure on the easel.
"She does not mind?"
"Why should she? I am her brother. She has nice limbs and is a good sport. Of course I put other faces to them."
Adelaide rose and examined the picture more closely. He was certainly good at his work; colour and drawing were excellent.
"Tell me about what you call your abstracts," she said.
"If you wanted to paint a picture of Grief," he replied, "how would you do it?"
"I might show a child crying over a broken toy. Or possibly a woman, utterly miserable, with a letter in her hand."
"You probably would. But they are examples of grief, not the thing itself."
"But how can you--?"
"Look."
He took one of the canvases from the wall and put it on the easel in place of the nude. At first it seemed a formless mess of colour, blotches and spirals. But considering it more carefully, Adelaide saw that the lower portion was a blend of crimson and gold which grew more dim as it rose and then blended into a dull grey and finally black. It was some thing like an inverted bonfire.
"You mean," she said slowly, "the sunshine and gladness of life die away and give place to gloom and despair."
"Good! I thought you would understand. Anyone can paint a weeping infant, but to portray Grief you must think it out for yourself."
"The other way up you could call it Joy."
"Perhaps." Jasper was not quite so pleased. "I should work out something fresh for that."
"I think it is terribly clever," she assured him. "I hope they will be very successful. You must do a set--Love, Hatred, Malice, and things like that. Of course I am old-fashioned, but I do see what you mean. I will help you if I can."
"I will promise not to paint you with three square legs and eyes in odd places," he laughed. "I am not all that mad."
"I am sure you are not," she said. "What does Garnet think about them?"
"Works of the devil! He believes only in photography; landscapes or well-clad humans."
"I want to see him. Do you think I might?"
"He is downstairs. I expect you will find him in, preparing an address for a mothers' meeting or something of the sort. You might help him."
"I could try. Thank you, Jasper, for what you have shown me. I do wish you the greatest possible luck."
"Thank you, Mamma. Don't you kiss the child goodbye?"
"This is not goodbye," she laughed. "Only au revoir."
4: Garnet and Emerald
As she went down the stairs Garnet emerged from the lower flat. He was surprised to see her leaving his brother's rooms and seemed a little embarrassed.
"Oh--er--good morning," he muttered.
"Good morning, Garnet," she said. "I am trying to do a little in your line."
"In my line?"
"Calling on my parishioners in their own homes. I was coming to see you."
"I am going to Torbury."
"Is it far?"
"Four miles over the fields. Further by road."
"Walking?"
"Yes."
"Perhaps I could come part of the way with you."
"Rather rough going." She could see he did not want her, but she persevered.
"I have stout shoes," she said, raising her skirt a little higher that he might clearly see her neat, well-shod feet, not to mention her shapely ankles. "I want to talk to you. I am so interested in your work."
"I am rather late."
"Then we must walk quickly."
He did not reply and they crossed the garden which looked beautiful with the fresh colouring of spring. Not all of it was under cultivation, but the trees had been chosen for their foliage and the prunellas gave a fine display of colour. They did not speak until they reached a gate that opened on to a meadow rented by a neighbouring farmer.
"Is it a very beautiful church?" Adelaide asked.
"Indeed it is," he said. "There are many wonderful churches in this part of the country, far too big for the population of the villages. But things have changed."
"In what way?"
"At one time East Anglia was the centre of the wool industry. There were more people and the churches were alive." He stopped abruptly. Then he said, "I have been thinking about you. Are you a Roman Catholic?"
"Why do you ask?" Adelaide was defensive.
"You were married in that Cathedral."
"My mother was a Catholic."
