I sat patiently on the sofa while she went on with her interminable brandy sipping. The little buried eyes were still watching me out of their corners in that mischievous, canny way, and I had a strong feeling that the woman was now hatching out some further unpleasantness or scandal. There was the look of serpents in those eyes and a queer curl around the mouth; and in the air – although maybe I only imagined it – the faint smell of danger.
Then suddenly, so suddenly that I jumped, she said, ‘Lionel, what’s this I hea
r about you and Janet de Pelagia?’
‘Now, Gladys, please…’
‘Lionel, you’re blushing!’
‘Nonsense.’
‘Don’t tell me the old bachelor has really taken a tumble at last?’
‘Gladys, this is too absurd.’ I began making movements to go, but she put a hand on my knee and stopped me.
‘Don’t you know by now, Lionel, that there are no secrets?’
‘Janet is a fine girl.’
‘You can hardly call her a girl.’ Gladys Ponsonby paused, staring down into the large brandy glass that she held cupped in both hands. ‘But of course, I agree with you, Lionel, she’s a wonderful person in every way. Except,’ and now she spoke very slowly, ‘except that she does say some rather peculiar things occasionally.’
‘What sort of things?’
‘Just things, you know – things about people. About you.’
‘What did she say about me?’
‘Nothing at all, Lionel. It wouldn’t interest you.’
‘What did she say about me?’
‘It’s not even worth repeating, honestly it isn’t. It’s only that it struck me as being rather odd at the time.’
‘Gladys – what did she say?’ While I waited for her to answer, I could feel the sweat breaking out all over my body
‘Well now, let me see. Of course, she was only joking or I couldn’t dream of telling you, but I suppose she did say how it was all a wee bit of a bore.’
‘What was?’
‘Sort of going out to dinner with you nearly every night – that kind of thing.’
‘She said it was a bore?’
‘Yes.’ Gladys Ponsonby drained the brandy glass with one last big gulp, and sat up straight. ‘If you really want to know, she said it was a crashing bore. And then…’
‘What did she say then?’
‘Now look, Lionel – there’s no need to get excited. I’m only telling you this for your own good.’
‘Then please hurry up and tell it.’
‘It’s just that I happened to be playing canasta with Janet this afternoon and I asked her if she was free to dine with me tomorrow. She said no, she wasn’t.’
‘Go on.’
‘Well – actually what she said was “I’m dining with that crashing old bore Lionel Lampson.”’
‘Janet said that?’