The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot 21)

foreign gentleman talking aloud to himself in the

front garden. She was, as Poirot had noted, a very

pretty little maid, with round blue eyes and rosy

cheeks.

Poirot raised his hat with courtesy and addressed

her: "Pardon, but does a.Miss Amelia

Barrowby live here?"

The little maid gasped and her eyes grew

rounder. "Oh, sir, didn't you know? She's dead.

Ever so sudden it was. Tuesday night."

She hesitated, divided between two strong instincts:

the first, distrust of a foreigner; the sec

60

Agatha Christie

and, the pleasurable enjoyment of her class in

dwelling on the subject of illness and death.

"You amaze me," said Hercule Poirot, not very

truthfully. "I had an appointment with the lady

for today. However, I can perhaps see the other

lady who lives here."

The little maid seemed slightly doubtful. "The

mistress? Well, you could see her, perhaps, but I

don't k

now whether she'll be seeing anyone or

not."

"She will see me," said Poirot, and handed her

a card.

The authority of his tone had its effect. The

rosy-cheeked maid fell back and ushered PoirOt

into a sitting room on the right of the hall. Then,