Harlequin House by Margery Sharp

Author:Margery Sharp [Sharp, Margery]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Dean Street Press
Published: 2021-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Ronny did not come home with the milk, he came home with the morning paper, and he brought with him a present for Lisbeth. It was a long silken doll, which in the limpness of its legs, as well as in its air of innocent folly, bore a striking resemblance to Ronny himself.

“Darling, it’s lovely!” exclaimed Lisbeth, setting the creature up on the breakfast table. “Where did you get it?”

“Oh, at a new place,” said Ronny vaguely. “I picked up some people at the Café Royal and went along with them. I hope you didn’t worry, darling, but if only we had a ’phone of our own I could have rung up.”

“I never gave you a thought,” said Lisbeth—which was a lie, as Mr. Partridge knew, for he had heard her moving about twice in the night.

“And as a matter of fact,” added Ronny, “it’s absolutely cured my cold.”

This, on the other hand, was true. It was unjust, but there it was. The stern morality of detective fiction had been flouted by Ronny’s hormones.

“And that,” finished Ronny virtuously, “is really why I went out.”

Neither Lisbeth nor Mr. Partridge made any further comment, but in the minds of both was the same thought: Ronny had tasted blood. He was getting into his pyjamas just as Mr. Partridge was getting into his kilt. The breakfast things were still on the table.

“It’s all right,” said Lisbeth, following Mr. Partridge’s glance. “I’ve nothing to do this morning.”

Mr. Partridge grunted. It didn’t strike him as right at all. It struck him as topsy-turvy. He put on his tam-o’-shanter at a fierce angle, and clumped heavily downstairs.

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