tufts of grey. He was courteous and calm, taking murder, or, as he pointed out, perhaps suicide or misadventure — it was too early to come to any conclusion — as something about which he was not inclined to make too much of a fuss.
‘And perhaps you'd better take the dogs with you,’ he said to Avril, once he had discovered to whom theybelonged. ‘Natural they shouldn't care for all of us tramping around.’
By then there were a number of men in the house, and several cars in the lane.
Avril, who had grown oddly calm with their coming, collected the dogs and the four of us left the house and went along the lane and in at our gate.
It was dark by then. When we entered the house, the first thing that had to be done was to deal with the dogs. Avril had put them all on leads, and though the unfamiliar men and cars as we walked along the lane had made them nervous, they seemed tired and ready to settle down anywhere that was sufficiently comfortable. The retriever stretched himself out on our sofa, the Labrador in an easy-chair and the Belgian shepherd on the hearthrug. Avril seemed inclined to make the ones that had annexed our chairs get out of them, but Malcolm told her not to bother, and to leave them in peace. In a few minutes, the retriever was snoring.
It was Avril who suddenly said, ‘The rehearsal!’
‘Yes,’ Malcolm said, ‘we'll have to put it off. We'll have to phone round and tell people not to come.’ He looked at me. ‘Could you do that?’
‘I suppose so,’ I said, ‘but what do we tell them? I don't feel like breaking the news a dozen times or so that we've had a murder.’
‘Say that Peter's been taken ill and it's no use our trying to go ahead without Mercutio.’
‘Anyway, the news will be all round the place almost at once,’ Brian said. ‘All those police cars in the lane won't have gone unnoticed.’
‘I imagine we're going to cancel the whole thing,’ I said. ‘I can't see our going ahead with it in the circumstances.’
‘Oh, you mustn't do that!’ Avril cried. ‘Peter wouldn't have wanted it. But of course, I'll step out of it and youcan get someone else to take my part. Jane Kerwood, for instance.’
‘No, I think everyone will want to call it off,’ Malcolm said. ‘It would be difficult to put on a cheerful sort of show when one of the cast has only recently been killed.’
‘But
Romeo and Juliet
isn't a cheerful sort of show,’ Avril protested. ‘It's very tragic.’
‘Of course, of course, but in our hands, at the best of times, the tragedy might not have been too successful. And we don't want to find ourselves playing to an audience that's come mostly out of morbid curiosity.’
‘But Lynne said she'd come,’ Avril said. ‘I told her all about it, and she was quite interested, and she promised to come down sometime soon to see if she could help us. And I'm sure she meant it. And everyone will be so disappointed if we put her off.’
‘She can come if she wants to, even if we aren't going ahead with our play.’ Malcolm turned to me. ‘What about that telephoning?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘but I'm just thinking that we must arrange what Avril's going to do tonight. She can't go back to that house. You'll stay here with us, won't you, Avril?’
‘That's very good of you,’ she said. ‘It's true that nothing would make me spend the night over there, but I could go to the Green Man. I don't want to put you out.’
‘It won't be putting us out at all,’ I said. ‘That's settled, you're staying here. One of us can go over later and fetch the things you'll need, if you'll tell us where they are, or you can borrow from me if those men are still there and don't want to let anyone in to take anything away.’
‘Have we got the numbers of all the people you'll have to phone?’ Malcolm asked.
‘I think so,’ I said. ‘I've got the numbers of everyone in the society.’
‘Then let's get ahead with the job.’
Our telephone was on a table in
‘And perhaps you'd better take the dogs with you,’ he said to Avril, once he had discovered to whom theybelonged. ‘Natural they shouldn't care for all of us tramping around.’
By then there were a number of men in the house, and several cars in the lane.
Avril, who had grown oddly calm with their coming, collected the dogs and the four of us left the house and went along the lane and in at our gate.
It was dark by then. When we entered the house, the first thing that had to be done was to deal with the dogs. Avril had put them all on leads, and though the unfamiliar men and cars as we walked along the lane had made them nervous, they seemed tired and ready to settle down anywhere that was sufficiently comfortable. The retriever stretched himself out on our sofa, the Labrador in an easy-chair and the Belgian shepherd on the hearthrug. Avril seemed inclined to make the ones that had annexed our chairs get out of them, but Malcolm told her not to bother, and to leave them in peace. In a few minutes, the retriever was snoring.
It was Avril who suddenly said, ‘The rehearsal!’
‘Yes,’ Malcolm said, ‘we'll have to put it off. We'll have to phone round and tell people not to come.’ He looked at me. ‘Could you do that?’
‘I suppose so,’ I said, ‘but what do we tell them? I don't feel like breaking the news a dozen times or so that we've had a murder.’
‘Say that Peter's been taken ill and it's no use our trying to go ahead without Mercutio.’
‘Anyway, the news will be all round the place almost at once,’ Brian said. ‘All those police cars in the lane won't have gone unnoticed.’
‘I imagine we're going to cancel the whole thing,’ I said. ‘I can't see our going ahead with it in the circumstances.’
‘Oh, you mustn't do that!’ Avril cried. ‘Peter wouldn't have wanted it. But of course, I'll step out of it and youcan get someone else to take my part. Jane Kerwood, for instance.’
‘No, I think everyone will want to call it off,’ Malcolm said. ‘It would be difficult to put on a cheerful sort of show when one of the cast has only recently been killed.’
‘But
Romeo and Juliet
isn't a cheerful sort of show,’ Avril protested. ‘It's very tragic.’
‘Of course, of course, but in our hands, at the best of times, the tragedy might not have been too successful. And we don't want to find ourselves playing to an audience that's come mostly out of morbid curiosity.’
‘But Lynne said she'd come,’ Avril said. ‘I told her all about it, and she was quite interested, and she promised to come down sometime soon to see if she could help us. And I'm sure she meant it. And everyone will be so disappointed if we put her off.’
‘She can come if she wants to, even if we aren't going ahead with our play.’ Malcolm turned to me. ‘What about that telephoning?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘but I'm just thinking that we must arrange what Avril's going to do tonight. She can't go back to that house. You'll stay here with us, won't you, Avril?’
‘That's very good of you,’ she said. ‘It's true that nothing would make me spend the night over there, but I could go to the Green Man. I don't want to put you out.’
‘It won't be putting us out at all,’ I said. ‘That's settled, you're staying here. One of us can go over later and fetch the things you'll need, if you'll tell us where they are, or you can borrow from me if those men are still there and don't want to let anyone in to take anything away.’
‘Have we got the numbers of all the people you'll have to phone?’ Malcolm asked.
‘I think so,’ I said. ‘I've got the numbers of everyone in the society.’
‘Then let's get ahead with the job.’
Our telephone was on a table in
Similar Books
