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Horace Bindler went back to London without having collected any more monstrosities and Ray her that he knew of a Mrs Louisa Oxley ould be competent to undertake work on the diaries After a lapse of some days, a letter arrived, written in spidery old-fashioned handwriting, in which Miss Greenshaw declared herself anxious to avail herself of the services of Mrs Oxley, andan appointment for Mrs Oxley to come and see her

Lou duly kept the appointed and she started work on the following day

‘I’rateful to you,’ she said to Raymond ‘It will fit in beautifully I can take the children to school, go on to Greenshaw’s Folly and pick them up on my way back How fantastic the whole set-up is! That old woman has to be seen to be believed’

On the evening of her first day at work she returned and described her day

‘I’ve hardly seen the housekeeper,’ she said ‘She came in with coffee and biscuits at half past eleven with her mouth pursed up very prunes and prisms, and would hardly speak to ed’ She went on, ‘It seeardener, Alfred He’s a local boy and fairly lazy, I should iine, and he and the housekeeper won’t speak to each other Miss Greenshaw said in her rather grand way, “There have always been feuds as far as I can rearden and the house staff It was so in arden then, and eight maids in the house, but there was always friction” ’

On the following day Lou returned with another piece of news

‘Just fancy,’ she said, ‘I was asked to ring up the nephew this ’

‘Miss Greenshaw’s nephew?’

‘Yes It see a su up the theatre and left ahiirl didn’t want the housekeeper to know I think Mrs Cresswell has done so that’s annoyed her’

‘To serial,’ murmured Raymond

‘It’s exactly like a serial, isn’t it? Reconciliation with the nephew, blood is thicker than water—another will to be made and the old will destroyed’

‘Aunt Jane, you’re looking very serious’

‘Was I, my dear? Have you heard any more about the policeman?’

Lou looked bewildered ‘I don’t know anything about a policeman’

‘That remark of hers, ’

Lou arrived at her work the next day in a cheerful h the open front door—the doors and s of the house were always open Miss Greenshaw appeared to have no fear of burglars, and was probably justified, as hed several tons and were of no marketable value

Lou had passed Alfred in the drive When she first caught sight of hiarette, but as soon as he had caught sight of her he had seized a brooHis features reh the hall on her way upstairs to the library she glanced at the large picture of Nathaniel Greenshahich presided over thehie arold albert across his capacious stolance swept up from the stomach to the face with its heavy jowls, its bushy eyebrows and its flourishing black ht occurred to her that Nathaniel Greenshawman He had looked, perhaps, a little like Alfred…

She went into the library, shut the door behind her, opened her typewriter and got out the diaries froh the openshe caught a glied print, bending over the rockery, weeding assiduously They had had tet days, of which the weeds had taken full advantage

Lou, a town-bred girl, decided that if she ever had a garden it would never contain a rockery which needed hand weeding Then she settled down to her work

When Mrs Cresswell entered the library with the coffee tray at half past eleven, she was clearly in a very bad teed the tray down on the table, and observed to the universe

‘Co in the house! What an of Alfred’

‘He eeping in the drive when I got here,’ Lou offered

‘I dare say A nice soft job’

Mrs Cresswell swept out of the roorinned to herself She wondered what ‘the nepheould be like

She finished her coffee and settled down to her work again It was so absorbing that time passed quickly Nathaniel Greenshahen he started to keep a diary, had succue relating to the personal char town, Lou reflected that a good deal of editing would be necessary

As she was thinking this, she was startled by a screa up, she ran to the openMiss Greenshaas staggering away from the rockery towards the house Her hands were clasped to her breast and between thenized with stupefaction to be the shaft of an arrow

Miss Greenshaw’s head, in its battered straw hat, fell forward on her breast She called up to Lou in a failing voice: ‘…shot…he shot et help…’

Lou rushed to the door She turned the handle, but the door would not open It took her a moment or two of futile endeavour to realize that she was locked in She rushed back to the

‘I’m locked in’

Miss Greenshaw, her back towards Lou, and swaying a little on her feet was calling up to the housekeeper at afarther along

‘Ring police…telephone…’