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Authors: Agatha Christie
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serious responsibilities of married life, and wished us happiness. Then we went out, free and married. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rogers! We spent a week in a seaside hotel and then we went abroad. We had a glorious three weeks travelling about wherever the fancy took us and no expense spared.
We went to Greece, and we went to Florence, and to Venice and lay on the Lido, then to the French Riviera and then to the Dolomites. Half the places I forget the names of now. We took planes or chartered a yacht or hired large and handsome cars. And while we enjoyed ourselves, Greta, I gathered from Ellie, was still on the Home Front doing her stuff.
Travelling about in her own way, sending letters and forwarding all the various post-cards and letters that Ellie had left with her.
“There'll be a day of reckoning, of course,” said Ellie. “They'll come down on us like a cloud of vultures. But we might as well enjoy ourselves until that happens.”
“What about Greta?” I said, “won't they be rather angry with her when they find out?”
“Oh, of course,” said Ellie, “but Greta won't mind. She's tough.”
“Mightn't it stop her getting another job?”
“Why should she get another job?” said Ellie. “She'll come and live with us.”
“No!” I said.
“What do you mean, no, Mike?”
“We don't want anyone living with us,” I said.
“Greta wouldn't be in the way,” said Ellie, “and she'd be very useful. Really, I don't know what I'd do without her. I mean, she manages and arranges everything.”
I frowned. “I don't think I'd like that. Besides, we want our own house - our dream house, after all, Ellie - we want it to ourselves.”
“Yes,” said Ellie, “I know what you mean. But all the same -” She hesitated. “I mean, it would be very hard on Greta not to have anywhere to live. After all, she's been with me, done everything for me for four years now. And look how she's helped me to get married and all that.”
“I won't have her butting in between us all the time!”
“But she's not like that at all, Mike. You haven't even met her yet.”
“No. No, I know I haven't but, but it's nothing to do with, oh with liking her or not. We want to be by ourselves, Ellie.”
“Darling Mike,” said Ellie softly.
We left it at that for the moment.
During the course of our travels we had met Santonix. That was in Greece. He had been in a small fisherman's cottage near the sea. I was startled by how ill he looked, much worse than when I had seen him a year ago. He greeted both Ellie and myself very warmly.
“So you've done it, you two,” he said.
“Yes,” said Ellie, “and now we're going to have our house built, aren't we?”
“I've got the drawings for you here, the plans,” he said to me. “She's told you, hasn't she, how she came and ferreted me out and gave me her - commands,” he said, choosing the word thoughtfully.
“Oh! not commands,” said Ellie. “I just pleaded.”
“You know we've bought the site?” I said.
“Ellie wired and told me. She sent me dozens of photographs.”
“Of course you've got to come and see it first,” said Ellie. “You mightn't like the site.”
“I do like it.”
“You can't really know till you've seen it.”
“But I have seen it, child. I flew over five days ago. I met one of your hatchet-faced lawyers there - the English one.”
“Mr. Crawford?”
“That's the man. In fact, operations have already started; clearing the ground, removing the ruins of the old house, foundations - drains. When you get back to England I'll be there to meet you.” He got out his plans then and we sat talking and looking at our house to be. There was even a rough water-colour sketch of it as well as the architectural elevations and plans.
“Do you like it, Mike?”
I drew a deep breath.
“Yes,” I said, “that's it. That's absolutely it.”
“You used to talk about it enough, Mike. When I was in fanciful mood I used to think that piece of land had
We went to Greece, and we went to Florence, and to Venice and lay on the Lido, then to the French Riviera and then to the Dolomites. Half the places I forget the names of now. We took planes or chartered a yacht or hired large and handsome cars. And while we enjoyed ourselves, Greta, I gathered from Ellie, was still on the Home Front doing her stuff.
Travelling about in her own way, sending letters and forwarding all the various post-cards and letters that Ellie had left with her.
“There'll be a day of reckoning, of course,” said Ellie. “They'll come down on us like a cloud of vultures. But we might as well enjoy ourselves until that happens.”
“What about Greta?” I said, “won't they be rather angry with her when they find out?”
“Oh, of course,” said Ellie, “but Greta won't mind. She's tough.”
“Mightn't it stop her getting another job?”
“Why should she get another job?” said Ellie. “She'll come and live with us.”
“No!” I said.
“What do you mean, no, Mike?”
“We don't want anyone living with us,” I said.
“Greta wouldn't be in the way,” said Ellie, “and she'd be very useful. Really, I don't know what I'd do without her. I mean, she manages and arranges everything.”
I frowned. “I don't think I'd like that. Besides, we want our own house - our dream house, after all, Ellie - we want it to ourselves.”
“Yes,” said Ellie, “I know what you mean. But all the same -” She hesitated. “I mean, it would be very hard on Greta not to have anywhere to live. After all, she's been with me, done everything for me for four years now. And look how she's helped me to get married and all that.”
“I won't have her butting in between us all the time!”
“But she's not like that at all, Mike. You haven't even met her yet.”
“No. No, I know I haven't but, but it's nothing to do with, oh with liking her or not. We want to be by ourselves, Ellie.”
“Darling Mike,” said Ellie softly.
We left it at that for the moment.
During the course of our travels we had met Santonix. That was in Greece. He had been in a small fisherman's cottage near the sea. I was startled by how ill he looked, much worse than when I had seen him a year ago. He greeted both Ellie and myself very warmly.
“So you've done it, you two,” he said.
“Yes,” said Ellie, “and now we're going to have our house built, aren't we?”
“I've got the drawings for you here, the plans,” he said to me. “She's told you, hasn't she, how she came and ferreted me out and gave me her - commands,” he said, choosing the word thoughtfully.
“Oh! not commands,” said Ellie. “I just pleaded.”
“You know we've bought the site?” I said.
“Ellie wired and told me. She sent me dozens of photographs.”
“Of course you've got to come and see it first,” said Ellie. “You mightn't like the site.”
“I do like it.”
“You can't really know till you've seen it.”
“But I have seen it, child. I flew over five days ago. I met one of your hatchet-faced lawyers there - the English one.”
“Mr. Crawford?”
“That's the man. In fact, operations have already started; clearing the ground, removing the ruins of the old house, foundations - drains. When you get back to England I'll be there to meet you.” He got out his plans then and we sat talking and looking at our house to be. There was even a rough water-colour sketch of it as well as the architectural elevations and plans.
“Do you like it, Mike?”
I drew a deep breath.
“Yes,” I said, “that's it. That's absolutely it.”
“You used to talk about it enough, Mike. When I was in fanciful mood I used to think that piece of land had
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