“When did you come to the drawing room?”
“Just before M. Poirot arrived. Everybody was there then—except Sir Gervase, of course.”
“Did it strike you as strange that he wasn’t there?”
“Yes, it did, as a matter of fact. As a rule he was always in the drawing room before the first gong sounded.”
“Have you noticed any difference in Sir Gervase’s manner lately? Has he been worried? Or anxious? Depressed?”
Godfrey Burrows considered.
“No—I don’t think so. A little—well, preoccupied, perhaps.”
“But he did not appear to be worried about any one definite matter?”
“Oh, no.”
“No—financial worries of any kind?”
“He was rather perturbed about the affairs of one particular company—the Paragon Synthetic Rubber Company to be exact.”
“What did he actually say about it?”
Again Godfrey Burrows’ mechanical smile flashed out, and again it seemed slightly unreal.
“Well—as a matter of fact—what he said was, ‘Old Bury’s either a fool or a knave. A fool, I suppose. I must go easy with him for Vanda’s sake.’ ”
“And why did he say that—for Vanda’s sake?” inquired Poirot.
“Well, you see, Lady Chevenix-Gore was very fond of Colonel Bury, and he worshipped her. Followed her about like a dog.”
“Sir Gervase was not—jealous at all?”
“Jealous?” Burrows stared and then laughed. “Sir Gervase jealous? He wouldn’t know how to set about it. Why, it would never have entered his head that anyone could ever prefer another man to him. Such a thing couldn’t be, you understand.”
Poirot said gently:
“You did not, I think, like Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore very much?”
Burrows flushed.
“Oh, yes, I did. At least—well, all that sort of thing strikes one as rather ridiculous nowadays.”
“All what sort of thing?” asked Poirot.
“Well, the feudal motif, if you like. This worship of ancestry and personal arrogance. Sir Gervase was a
very able man in many ways, and had led an interesting life, but he would have been more interesting if he hadn’t been so entirely wrapped up in himself and his own egoism.”
“Did his daughter agree with you there?”
Burrows flushed again—this time a deep purple.
He said:
“I should imagine Miss Chevenix-Gore is quite one of the moderns! Naturally, I shouldn’t discuss her father with her.”
“But the moderns do discuss their fathers a good deal!” said Poirot. “It is entirely in the modern spirit to criticize your parents!”