The Incident at Fives Castle (An Angela Marchmont Mystery #5) by Clara Benson Read Free Book Online

a nun.’
    ‘Yes, you look very nice,’ said Freddy approvingly. ‘I should think you’ll pass all right. But look, your hair has got caught in your earring. Let me get it out for you.’
    He moved nearer, and Angela inclined her head towards him as he attempted gently to extricate the offending curl from the little diamond drop. They were standing in this attitude of concentration, his face close to hers, when Lady Strathmerrick, who wished to look out of the window, suddenly joined them behind the curtain.
    ‘Oh! I beg your pardon,’ she exclaimed in embarrassment. ‘I—I didn’t realize anybody was here.’
    It was quite evident what she thought they were doing. Angela and Freddy turned in surprise, and Angela, to her horror, felt herself going red.
    ‘It’s quite all right, Lady Strathmerrick,’ she said hurriedly and somewhat confusedly. ‘Freddy was just helping me with my earring.’
    Even to her own ears it sounded feeble. The Countess darted her a glance of disbelief and withdrew before anything else could be said, leaving the two of them standing there, staring after her.

SIX
     
    Once the ladies and Freddy had retired to the drawing-room, the rest of the men relaxed a little. Port was handed round and cigars were lit.
    The Earl of Strathmerrick, while of little actual importance in the real business of government, was known for his impressive acumen in bringing the right people together at the right time, and acting as a sort of go-between for key events in the national and international sphere. It was at Fives Castle that an important treaty had been signed which, it was thought, had prevented another war from starting immediately after the last one had ended. It was here, too, that during three days of talks between two great men, one of them had agreed to abandon his ambitions and allow the other a free run at becoming Prime Minister in return for an unspecified reward. Most people were unaware of the Earl’s reputation, but to those in the know, if Lord Strathmerrick invited people for a weekend at Fives Castle it was a sure sign that something important was afoot.
    This vital auxiliary of world affairs now lit his cigar and gave a cough.
    ‘Filthy weather,’ he began. ‘When did you say Klausen was going to arrive, Jameson?’
    ‘He didn’t say,’ replied Henry. ‘He was very vague about the whole thing.’
    ‘Well, it may be too late now,’ said the Earl. ‘I gather the road is impassable already. Why do these scientific chaps have to be so damned secretive? It’s all very well keeping it from the world at large, but if he’s going to convince us that he really has come up with the goods, then he’s going to have to do better than this. How do we know he’s really going to turn up and that this isn’t all some kind of childish joke on his part?’
    ‘Come now, Strathmerrick,’ said Sandy Buchanan. ‘I don’t think there’s any cause for concern yet. Klausen is merely demonstrating a healthy sense of caution—not unreasonable when one’s dealing with something as potentially explosive as this.’
    Aubrey Nash laughed shortly.
    ‘Yes, “explosive” is the word, all right,’ he said.
    ‘Tell me, Nash,’ said Buchanan. ‘What do your superiors think of it all?’
    ‘Oh, they’re very interested indeed,’ the Ambassador assured him. ‘Of course, this whole thing has been arranged at the last minute, so they had to put me onto it as there was no time to send someone over from the Department of State—but make no mistake, if Klausen’s discovery can be proved to be the real thing, then they will be very keen to come in with the British Government on the development side—very keen.’
    ‘What is the nature of this weapon, exactly?’ said Claude Burford. ‘I mean, I know it’s some kind of powerful explosive, but I don’t quite understand how it’s meant to work.’
    ‘Oh, neither do we,’ said Buchanan with a laugh. ‘We are having to take Klausen on trust.