Read Online The Mystery at Underwood House (An Angela Marchmont Mystery) by Clara Benson - Free Book Online

normal frigid poise, as though nothing had happened.
    Robin Haynes held out his hand and narrowed his eyes warily. Angela had the uncomfortable feeling that she was being examined and classified like an unfamiliar species of moth or beetle. Apparently the result of the study was satisfactory, for his face lengthened into something akin to a smile.
    ‘ Ah, yes,’ he said, ‘the lady detective. We shall all have to be very careful not to incriminate ourselves.’
    Despite his joking manner, there was something forced in his tone and Angela studied the young man, curious to see what kind of son Ursula had produced. Robin Haynes had a puny, under-nourished look about him and a mouth that turned down at the corners, as though a complaint hovered perpetually on the tip of his tongue. With a head of sleek, dark hair which as yet had no silver in it, he bore a striking physical resemblance to his mother, but unlike Ursula, who easily dominated the room with her presence, he seemed to cultivate a deliberate shrinking insignificance that would make him easy to overlook if he wished it.
    ‘ I shall leave you to question my son alone,’ said Ursula, and departed. Robin cast a glance after her as she left and relaxed visibly.
    ‘ What has she been saying to you?’ he asked abruptly.
    ‘ Your mother has been telling me about her suspicions,’ replied Angela. ‘She believes that your father’s death was murder. What do you think?’
    Robin bridled at the direct question.
    ‘ Well, really,’ he said, ‘I haven’t the faintest idea. Mother is usually right in these things, though, so I dare say she has good reason for saying it.’
    ‘ Do you agree that it was out of character for him to go out on the lake?’
    ‘ How should I know? If everyone says so then it must be true. I haven’t given the matter much thought.’
    ‘ I understand he was unable to swim.’
    ‘ That’s what Mother said. I dare say she’s right.’
    ‘ Does he have an opinion of his own?’ said Angela to herself. Aloud, she went on: ‘Did you see him go out that night?’
    ‘ Yes, of course. We all did.’
    ‘ Did you know he had left the house?’
    ‘ No, I hadn’t the slightest idea of it.’
    ‘ Did you go outside yourself that evening?’
    ‘ Go outdoors in the middle of the night in February? Not I!’
    ‘ Very well,’ said Angela, seeing that he could not or would not say anything about his father’s death, ‘I am also trying to find out what happened to Philippa and Winifred. According to Louisa, when Winifred fell over the balustrade and everybody rushed into the hall, you and Donald Haynes arrived on the scene first—indeed, you were found bending over the body.’
    Robin inhaled sharply and glared at her.
    ‘ And if I was? What are you suggesting? She was my aunt. Why shouldn’t I tend to her when she had just suffered a terrible accident? Anyone would have done the same.’
    ‘ Oh dear, I seem to have started off rather badly,’ thought Angela. ‘Forgive me,’ she said to Robin. ‘I expressed myself clumsily just then. I merely wanted to know whether you saw what happened.’
    ‘ No, I didn’t see what happened. Nobody did, as far as I know.’
    ‘ Where were you when she fell?’
    He waved a hand.
    ‘ Somewhere about. I can’t remember.’
    ‘ Are you sure of that? Presumably you heard her fall, or you would not have run to her as quickly as you did. Try and think, Mr. Haynes.’
    ‘ Well then, I suppose I was in the library. Yes—yes, that’s where I was.’
    ‘ And you heard a cry and the sound of something landing heavily?’
    He winced and nodded.
    ‘ Yes. She was lying on the floor. When I knelt over her I saw that her head was at a funny angle. I could see immediately that there was nothing to be done. I have delicate nerves, and I’m afraid I was rather sick.’
    ‘ Who arrived first on the scene, you or Donald?’
    Robin clicked his tongue impatiently.
    ‘ I really can’t remember. Does it