Licensed for Murder by John Rhode

Author:John Rhode
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Kestrel Books
Published: 2019-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

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It was not long before Richard Snape became an accepted feature of the Knappers’ Arms. He developed a liking for sitting in the bar and entertaining the customers with a plentiful fund of racy stories. They found him a cheerful companion, and a generous one, for he was never backward in standing a round of drinks.

He and Kensal got on very well together. Snape was no prejudiced townsman, with an instinctive dislike of the open countryside, and he very soon came to share the interests of his neighbors. Hearing the Bilstons call him Uncle, those who frequented the Knappers’ Arms gradually came to do the same, and Snape was far from resenting this token of familiarity. There was no doubt that he was settling down perfectly happily at the Knappers’ Arms.

He said as much to Kensal one morning. It had become the custom, when Kensal came in, for him and Snape to retire to the parlor for a quiet chat over their beer. That was how they described it, but as a matter of fact it was Snape who did most of the talking. Like everyone else in the village, he found Kensal a sympathetic listener. “I wasn’t at all sure about it, Mr. Kensal,” he said one morning about three weeks after his arrival at the Knappers’ Arms. “I didn’t altogether like the idea of living in somebody else’s house. Mind you, I’m very fond of Grace and her husband. But I’d got used to living in my own house and going my own way. And I’ve seen bricks and mortar all round me for so long that I didn’t know how I should take to living in the country.”

“And what do you make of it now you’re here, Uncle?” Kensal asked.

“It’s fine,” Snape replied. “I like my drop of beer, and now I needn’t go out to have it. I’ve only got to draw it for myself when I feel like it. And Grace and Claude let me do just as I please. I can go out and come in when I like, and no questions asked. And as for the country, I’m getting to enjoy it. I’m beginning to understand what the chaps mean when they talk about wheat, barley, sugar-beet, pigs and chickens.”

“We’re simple folk,” said Kensal. “One day I’ll drive you up to Hall Farm and take you round.”

“That’s kind of you, Mr. Kensal,” said Snape. “But I’m not so good at walking as I was when I was a young man. I get out of breath, and my chest begins to hurt me. But I’ve been getting about a good bit, all the same. Grace takes me with her in the car when she goes out, and I see quite a lot of the country.”

“I can’t drive you round the farm, I’m afraid,” said Kensal. “But I’ll take you up there just the same and show you the animals. That won’t involve any walking.”

“I’d like that, Mr. Kensal,” Snape replied. “I’ve got to learn country ways now I’m settled down here.

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