Malvina of BrittanyJerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka)
Science
Malvina of Brittany
Jerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka)
Brittany (France) -- Fiction; Short stories, English
That he was one and the same with the man that Jetson had watched till
the door of the Hepworths' house had closed upon him there could be no
doubt. Jetson described him as a thick-set, handsome-looking man, with
a reddish beard and moustache. Earlier in the day he had been seen at
Hampstead, where he had dined at a small coffee-shop in the High
Street. The girl who had waited on him had also been struck by the
bold, piercing eyes and the curly red beard. It had been an off-time,
between two and three, when he had dined there, and the girl admitted
that she had found him a "pleasant-spoken gentleman," and "inclined to
be merry." He had told her that he had arrived in England only three
days ago, and that he hoped that evening to see his sweetheart. He had
accompanied the words with a laugh, and the girl thought--though, of
course, this may have been after-suggestion--that an ugly look followed
the laugh.
One imagines that it was this man's return that had been the fear
constantly haunting young Hepworth. The three raps on the door, it was
urged by the prosecution, was a pre-arranged or pre-understood signal,
and the door had been opened by the woman. Whether the husband was in
the house, or whether they waited for him, could not be said. He had
been killed by a bullet entering through the back of the neck; the man
had evidently come prepared.
Ten days had elapsed between the murder and the finding of the body,
and the man was never traced. A postman had met him coming from the
neighbourhood of Laleham Gardens at about half-past nine. In the fog,
they had all but bumped into one another, and the man had immediately
turned away his face.
About the soft felt hat there was nothing to excite attention, but the
long, stiff, yellow mackintosh was quite unusual. The postman had
caught only a momentary glimpse of the face, but was certain it was
clean shaven. This made a sensation in court for the moment, but only
until the calling of the next witness. The charwoman usually employed
by the Hepworths had not been admitted to the house on the morning of
Mrs. Hepworth's departure. Mrs. Hepworth had met her at the door and
paid her a week's money in lieu of notice, explaining to her that she
would not be wanted any more. Jetson, thinking he might possibly do
better by letting the house furnished, had sent for this woman, and
instructed her to give the place a thorough cleaning. Sweeping the
carpet in the dining-room with a dustpan and brush, she had discovered
a number of short red hairs. The man, before leaving the house, had
shaved himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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