Patricia Wentworth - Lonesome Road

Caroline Ponsonby had pulled a low stool close to Rachel. She sat forward with an elbow propped on her knee and her chin in her hand. She had so pale a look that no one could have called her pretty now. Miss Silver thought her very near the breaking-point, and permitted herself to wonder what would happen when it came.

Richard Treherne sat on the arm of Rachel’s chair. Miss Silver saw him stoop down and say a word in her ear, and she saw the answer too, a shake of the head.

Caroline looked round once, and then went on staring past Cosmo at the fire.

Ernest Wadlow brought a chair up to the sofa and leaned over his wife, asking her solicitously how she felt, and whether she had remembered to take her drops.

Miss Silver coughed, and, as if it had been a signal, Rachel Treherne spoke. She turned to Richard and said,

“Will you find yourself a chair? I have something rather serious to say.”

Richard did not start, but he was certainly startled. And there was nothing in that, for, apart from the words, neither Rachel’s voice nor her manner were natural. She was plainly putting a force upon herself. Perhaps even now she had Miss Silver’s words in her mind. Perhaps, instead of. assuming Richard’s innocence, she had for a horrible moment feared his guilt. Miss Silver saw the hand which lay upon her knee contract upon itself until the knuckles whitened. Then, as Richard moved to a chair on the other side of the hearth, she saw the hand relax.

The Times rustled as Cosmo turned a page. He said rather abstractedly,

“Well, my dear, here we are. Do you know-a most extraordinary thing-here’s a man Ferguson who was at school with me marrying a film star. Never heard of her, but they call her a star. The man must be off his head. I beg your pardon, Rachel-what were you going to say?”

“Something serious?” said Ernest Wadlow. He rumpled his hair and looked sideways over the tilted pince-nez. “I hope it is nothing-er-that is to say-nothing-” His voice trailed off without finishing the sentence.

Mabel raised herself on both hands until she was clear of her cushions and said in agitated accents.

“Something has happened to Maurice-I felt sure of it! Oh! Tell me quickly-is it an accident?”

“It’s nothing to do with Maurice,” said Rachel, and in the middle of saying it a shiver took her, because how did she know that it wasn’t Maurice’s hand that had pushed her over the cliff?

Mabel sank back, half sketched a palpitation, and then decided to postpone it until she knew what Rachel had really got to say.

Miss Silver looked at Ella Comperton, and found her nervous-oh dear, yes, decidedly nervous. She was picking at a little bag and missing the clasp, and when she found it, fumbling with it. When she did get it open, all the contents came tumbling out into her lap. The hand with which she extricated a handkerchief and pressed it to her nose was by no means steady. The nose twitched, the handkerchief twitched, the hand twitched. Miss Silver reflected, not for the first time in her career, that it must be very uncomfortable indeed to have a guilty conscience. She looked at Richard Treherne, and Richard said,

“What’s the matter, Rachel? I hope you don’t mean anything really serious.”

“I’m afraid I do.” Rachel was sitting up now with, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “I thought you ought to know-all of you-that something very serious did happen yesterday. I thought you ought to know.”

Miss Silver saw all the faces-all except Caroline’s, and Caroline’s face was turned away from her and turned towards Rachel. Miss Silver could see nothing of it. But the other faces showed her, surprise-that was Cosmo Frith; a grave attention-that was Richard; fear-yes, certainly fear- that was Ella Comperton; and a deepening of the lines of habitual worry-that was Ernest Wadlow. Mabel Wadlow’s expression remained a blend of fretful inquiry and her recent relief. If it wasn’t Maurice it didn’t really matter.

It was Richard who spoke again. He said,

“What ought we to know?”

Rachel looked round at them all. Then she said,

“Something happened-when I was coming back from Nanny’s. I said I had had a fall, and that was true. But it wasn’t all that happened. I didn’t fall on the patli-I fell over the cliff. And I fell over the cliff because someone pushed me.”

Once more Miss Silver watched the faces and, more revealing still, the hands.

Ella Comperton said, “Nonsense!” but her hands shook. Cosmo Frith crumpled up the Times and turned with astonishment in every line of his features. Mabel and Ernest Wadlow did exactly the same thing. They both said, “Oh!” and their mouths dropped open. Richard Treherne made a sharp movement and said, frowning deeply, “Rachel! Good God-you don’t mean that!” Caroline made no movement and no sound. Her eyes were fixed on Rachel’s face, and only Rachel herself could see what was in them.

Rachel said quite firmly, “Yes, I do mean it. Someone came up behind me in the dark and pushed me over the cliff.”

There was some sound from everyone in the room-a catch of the breath, a sharp release, something very near a gasp-and from Miss Silver herself a fluttered, “Dear, dear me!”

“But, my dear-” said Cosmo Frith. He let the paper fall and came close. “Rachel, my dear, you can’t mean it! Why didn’t you tell us at once? There must be some madman about-that is, if you really do mean-My dear, the police should have been informed.”

Miss Silver said in her prim, cool voice,

“Perhaps the police were informed. Did you inform them, Miss Treherne?”

She received a protesting look which left her quite unmoved. Rachel said,

“No.”

“But, my dear,” said Cosmo, “they ought to be communicated with at once. Tell me everything you can, and I’ll ring them up-”

Rachel stopped him.

“No-I won’t call in the police-” She paused, and added, “this time.”

If there was anyone in the room who realized the significance of those added words, no sign betrayed it.

“Won’t you tell us exactly what happened?” said Richard Treherne.

“It’s all nonsense!” said Mabel querulously. “Because if you went over that cliff, why weren’t you killed? It really is nonsense.”

Ernest put a hand on her arm.

“Now, now-don’t excite yourself, Mabel. I don’t really think you should have been subjected to a shock like this. But what you say is, of course, perfectly correct.”

Ella Comperton joined the chorus.

“There is surely some exaggeration. You have, I believe, some bruises and a scratch or two, but you cannot expect us to believe that you fell off the cliff on to the rocks and got off with no more than that.”

Rachel sat up a little straighter.

“If I had gone down on to the rocks, you would all be attending an inquest instead of sitting here and telling me I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Cosmo’s hand came down on her shoulder.

“My dear, I think we hardly do know what we’re talking about-any of us. This has been a great shock. Speaking for myself, I-my dear, it’s a terrible shock.” His hand pressed down for a moment, and was withdrawn. He got out a handkerchief and blew his nose. “I don’t mind saying that it’s knocked me over.”

“Rachel, please tell us exactly what happened,” said Richard.

She told them without emotion.

“If I had gone down on to the rocks-as I said just now-I shouldn’t be here. I didn’t go down. I caught at a bush, and it held me.”

“Dear me,” said Miss Silver-“most providential!”

“But you couldn’t have been pushed,” said Ella Comperton. “It’s really quite impossible. Besides, who would push you? It is absurd.”