The Case of William Smith by Patricia Wentworth - Miss Silver 13 - The Case of William Smith

Author:Patricia Wentworth - Miss Silver 13 - The Case of William Smith [Wentworth, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781453225516
Amazon: 0884117464
Barnesnoble: 0884117464
Goodreads: 13567437
Publisher: Perennial
Published: 1947-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY THREE

KATHARINE SAT IN one of Miss Silver’s curly walnut chairs and told her about the loosened wheel, and about Emily Salt being ill in bed and not knowing anything about cars. After which she repeated Mr. Tattlecombe’s observations about his own accident and the chapel Social.

When she had finished she sat looking at Miss Silver, who was wearing the same dark green dress and tucked net front but a different brooch. This one had a heavy gold border with a centre of smoothly plaited hair under glass. Some of the hair was fair, and some was dark, the two shades belonging in fact to Miss Silver’s grandparents, and by them bequeathed in this portable and enduring form. There was a good deal more of the blue knitting—little Josephine’s coatee had made good progress. The busy needles clicked. Miss Silver looked across them and said,

‘You are very much troubled, are you not?’

‘Yes. If he had gone out into the traffic in that car there would have been an accident. He might very easily have been killed.’

Miss Silver let that stand without comment. She continued to knit. She did not fail to observe that Mrs. Smith remained consistently pale, and that she was undoubtedly suffering from strain. She allowed the silence to do its work. Katharine broke it.

‘You said not to come back unless I made up my mind to trust you. But you see, it isn’t as simple as that. I think someone is trying to kill William. I thought it would be fair to ask you to find out whether it could be Emily Salt. She is—peculiar. She is angry about Mr. Tattlecombe’s will, and the two attacks on William took place when he was coming away from Selby Street. But the attack on Mr. Tattlecombe and this wheel business—well, it doesn’t seem as if she could have had anything to do with them. If I bring in other people, you may come across things which you wouldn’t feel justified in keeping to yourself. That’s my position now—I don’t know if I’m justified in not speaking—I don’t know if I’m justified in speaking. If I tell you things—I can’t take them back again. You may think they’re all nonsense, or you may think they’re so serious that you can’t keep them to yourself. I’ve thought about it all until I can’t be sure I’m thinking straight. And I’m frightened about William. You were quite right when you said I wanted to think it was Emily Salt. I did—I do. She’s a stranger, and she isn’t right in her head. But now it doesn’t seem as if it could be Emily.’

Miss Silver inclined her head.

‘You have put it very clearly.’

Katharine took a quick breath.

‘I don’t feel clear. I’ve come back because I’m so frightened about William. When you’re frightened you can’t think straight.’

Miss Silver coughed.

‘You said just now that if you told me certain things, I might feel it my duty to go to the police. If that would be my duty, would it not be your duty also?’

A long sighing breath was released.

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