1. I Go to Styles by Agatha Christie
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the mysterious Affair at Styles chapter 1 I go to Styles

the intense interest aroused in_the public by what_was known at_the_time as " the Styles case'' has now somewhat subsided . nevertheless, in view of_the world- wide notoriety which attended it, I_have_been asked, both by my friend Poirot and_the family themselves, to write an account of_the whole story . this, we trust, will effectually silence the sensational rumours which still persist .

i_will therefore briefly set down the circumstances which led to my being connected with_the affair .

I had_been invalided home from_the front; and, after spending some months in a rather depressing convalescent home, was given a month's sick leave .Having no near relations or friends, i_was trying to_make up my mind what to_do, when I ran across John Cavendish .I had seen very little of him for_some_years . indeed, I had never known him particularly well . he_was a good fifteen years my senior, for_one_thing, though he hardly looked his forty-five years . as a boy, though, I had often stayed at Styles, his mother's place in Essex .

we had a good yarn about old times, and it ended in_his inviting me down to Styles to_spend my leave there .

" the mater will_be delighted to_see you again -- after all those years,'' he added .

" your mother keeps well ? '' I asked .

"Oh, yes .I suppose you_know that she has married again ? ''

I_am afraid I showed my surprise rather plainly .Mrs Cavendish, who had married John's father when he_was a widower with two sons, had_been a handsome woman of middle- age as I remembered her . she certainly could_not_be a day less_than seventy now .I recalled her as an energetic, autocratic personality, somewhat inclined to charitable and social notoriety, with a fondness for opening bazaars and playing the lady bountiful . she was a most generous woman, and possessed a considerable fortune of her own .

their country- place, Styles court, had_been purchased by_Mr Cavendish early in their married life . he had_been completely under his wife's ascendancy, so_much so_that, on dying, he left the place to her for her lifetime, as_well as_the larger part of_his income; an arrangement that was distinctly unfair to_his two sons . their step- mother, however, had always been most generous to_them; indeed, they were so young at_the_time of_their father's remarriage that_they always thought of her as their own mother .

Lawrence, the younger, had_been a delicate youth . he had qualified as a doctor but early relinquished the profession of medicine, and lived at home while pursuing literary ambitions; though his verses never had any marked success .

John practiced for some_time as a barrister, but had finally settled down to_the more congenial life of a country squire . he had married two years_ago, and had taken his wife to live at Styles, though I entertained a shrewd suspicion that he_would_have preferred his mother to increase his allowance, which would_have enabled him to_have a home of_his own .Mrs Cavendish, however, was a lady who liked to_make her own plans, and expected other people to_fall in with_them, and in this_case she certainly had the whip hand, namely: the purse strings .

John noticed my surprise at_the news of_his mother's remarriage and smiled rather ruefully .

" rotten little bounder too ! '' he_said savagely ." I_can tell you, Hastings, it's making life jolly difficult for_us . as for Evie -- you remember Evie ? ''

" no .''

"Oh, I suppose she was after your time . she's the mater's factotum, companion, jack of all trades ! a great sport -- old Evie ! not precisely young and beautiful, but as game as_they make them .''

" you were going to_say -- -- ? ''

"Oh, this fellow ! he turned up from nowhere, on_the pretext of being a second cousin or something of Evie's, though she didn't seem particularly keen to acknowledge the relationship . the fellow is an absolute outsider, anyone can_see that . he's got a great black beard, and wears patent leather boots in all weathers ! but the mater cottoned to him at once, took him on as secretary -- you_know how she's always running a hundred societies ? ''

I nodded .

" well, of_course the war has turned the hundreds into thousands . no_doubt the fellow was very useful to her . but you_could_have knocked us all down with a feather when, three months_ago, she suddenly announced that she and Alfred were engaged ! the fellow must_be at_least twenty years younger than she_is ! it's simply bare- faced fortune hunting; but there you_are -- she_is her own mistress, and she's married him .''

" it must_be a difficult situation for_you all .''

" difficult ! it's damnable ! ''

thus it came about_that, three days later, I descended from_the train at Styles St .Mary, an absurd little station, with no apparent reason for existence, perched up in_the midst of green fields and country lanes .John Cavendish was waiting on_the platform, and piloted me out to_the car .

" got a drop or two of petrol still, you_see,'' he remarked ." mainly owing to_the mater's activities .''

the village of Styles St .Mary was situated about two miles from_the little station, and Styles court lay a mile the other side of it . it_was a still, warm day in early July . as one looked out over the flat Essex country, lying so green and peaceful under the afternoon sun, it seemed almost impossible to_believe that, not so very far away, a great war was running its appointed course . I_felt I had suddenly strayed into another world . as_we turned in at_the lodge gates, John said:

"I'm afraid you'll find it very quiet down here, Hastings .''

" my dear fellow, that's just what i_want .''

"Oh, it's pleasant enough if_you_want to lead the idle life .I drill with_the volunteers twice a week, and lend a hand at_the farms . my wife works regularly ' on_the land' . she_is up at five every morning to milk, and keeps at it steadily until lunchtime . it's a jolly good life taking it all round -- if_it weren't for_that fellow Alfred Inglethorp ! '' he checked the car suddenly, and glanced at his watch ."I wonder if_we've time to pick up Cynthia . no, she'll have started from_the hospital by now .''

" Cynthia ! that's not your wife ? ''

" no, Cynthia is aprotégée of_my mother's, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor . he_came acropper, and_the girl was left an orphan and penniless . my mother came to_the rescue, and Cynthia has_been with_us nearly two years now . she works in_the red cross hospital at Tadminster, seven miles away .''

as he spoke the last words, we drew up in front of_the fine old house .a lady in a stout tweed skirt, who was bending over a flower bed, straightened herself at our approach .

"Hullo, Evie, here's our wounded hero ! Mr Hastings -- miss Howard .''

miss Howard shook hands with a hearty, almost painful, grip .I had an impression of very blue eyes in asunburnt face . she was a pleasant- looking woman of about forty, with a deep voice, almost manly in its stentorian tones, and had a large sensible square body, with feet to match -- these last encased in good thick boots . her conversation, I soon found, was couched in_the telegraphic style .

"Weeds grow like house afire . can't keep even with 'em . shall press you in . better be careful .''

"I'm sure I_shall_be only too delighted to_make myself useful,'' I responded .

"Don't say it . never does . wish you hadn't later .''

" you're a cynic, Evie,'' said John, laughing ." where's tea to- day -- inside or out ? ''

" out . too fine a day to_be cooped up in_the house .''

" come on then, you've done enough gardening for to- day .' the labourer is worthy of_his hire', you_know . come and be refreshed .''

" well,'' said miss Howard, drawing off her gardening gloves, "I'm inclined to agree with_you .''

she led the way round the house to where tea was spread under the shade of a large sycamore .

a figure rose from one_of_the basket chairs, and came a few steps to meet us .

" my wife, Hastings,'' said John .

I_shall never forget my first sight of Mary Cavendish . her tall, slender form, outlined against the bright light; the vivid sense of slumbering fire that seemed to_find expression only in those wonderful tawny eyes of hers, remarkable eyes, different from any_other woman's that I_have ever known; the intense power of stillness she possessed, which nevertheless conveyed the impression of a wild untamed spirit in an exquisitely civilised body -- all these things are burnt into my memory . I_shall never forget them .

she greeted me with a few words of pleasant welcome in a low clear voice, and I sank into a basket chair feeling distinctly glad that I had accepted John's invitation .Mrs Cavendish gave_me some tea, and her few quiet remarks heightened my first impression of her as a thoroughly fascinating woman . an appreciative listener is always stimulating, and I described, in a humorous manner, certain incidents of_my convalescent home, in a way which, I flatter myself, greatly amused my hostess .John, of_course, good fellow though he_is, could hardly be called a brilliant conversationalist .

at_that moment a well remembered voice floated through_the open French window near at hand:

" then you'll write to_the princess after tea, Alfred ? I'll write to lady Tadminster for_the second day, myself . or shall we wait until we hear from_the princess ? in_case of a refusal, lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs Crosbie the second . then there's the duchess -- about_the school fête .''

there_was the murmur of a man's voice, and then Mrs Inglethorp's rose in reply:

" yes, certainly . after tea will do quite well . you_are so thoughtful, Alfred dear .''

the French window swung open a little wider, and a handsome white-haired old lady, with a somewhat masterful cast of features, stepped out of it on to_the lawn .a man followed her, a suggestion of deference in_his manner .

Mrs Inglethorp greeted me with effusion .

" why, if_it isn't too delightful to_see you again, Mr Hastings, after all these years . Alfred, darling, Mr Hastings -- my husband .''

I looked with some curiosity at " Alfred darling'' . he certainly struck a rather alien note . I_did_not wonder at John objecting to_his beard . it_was one_of_the longest and blackest I_have ever seen . he wore gold-rimmed pince-nez, and had a curious impassivity of feature . it struck me that he might look natural on a stage, but was strangely out of place in real life . his voice was rather deep and unctuous . he placed a wooden hand in mine and said:

' this_is a pleasure, Mr Hastings .'' then, turning to_his wife: " Emily dearest, i_think that cushion is a little damp .''

she beamed fondly on him, as he substituted another with every demonstration of_the tenderest care . strange infatuation of an otherwise sensible woman !

with_the presence of Mr Inglethorp, a sense of constraint and veiled hostility seemed to settle down upon_the company . miss Howard, in_particular, took no pains to conceal her feelings .Mrs Inglethorp, however, seemed to notice nothing unusual . her volubility, which I remembered of old, had lost nothing in_the intervening years, and she poured out a steady flood of conversation, mainly on_the_subject of_the forthcoming bazaar which she was organizing and which_was to_take place shortly . occasionally she referred to her husband over a question of days or dates . his watchful and attentive manner never varied . from_the very first i_took a firm and rooted dislike to him, and I flatter myself that my first judgments are usually fairly shrewd .

presently Mrs Inglethorp turned to_give some instructions about letters to Evelyn Howard, and her husband addressed me in_his painstaking voice:

" is soldiering your regular profession, Mr Hastings ? ''

" no, before_the war i_was in Lloyd's .''

" and you_will return there after it_is over ? ''

" perhaps . either that or a fresh start altogether .''

Mary Cavendish leant forward .

" what would you really choose as a profession, if_you_could just consult your inclination ? ''

" well, that depends .''

" no secret hobby ? '' she asked ." tell me -- you're drawn to something ? every_one is -- usually something absurd .''

" you'll laugh at me .''

she smiled .

" perhaps .''

" well, I've always had a secret hankering to_be a detective ! ''

" the real thing -- Scotland yard ? or Sherlock Holmes ? ''

"Oh, Sherlock Holmes by all means . but really, seriously, I_am awfully drawn to_it . I_came across a man in Belgium once, a very famous detective, and he quite inflamed me . he_was amarvellous little fellow . he used to_say that all good detective work was amere matter of method . my system is based on_his -- though of_course I_have progressed rather further . he_was a funny little man, a great dandy, but wonderfully clever .''

" like a good detective story myself,'' remarked miss Howard ."Lots of nonsense written, though . criminal discovered in last chapter . every_one dumbfounded . real crime -- you'd know at once .''

" there_have been a great number of undiscovered crimes,'' I argued .

"Don't mean the police, but the people that_are right in_it . the family . you couldn't really hoodwink them . they'd know .''

" then,'' I_said, much amused, " you_think that if_you were mixed up in a crime, say a murder, you'd be_able to spot the murderer right off ? ''

" of_course i_should .Mightn't be_able to_prove it to a pack of lawyers . but I'm certain I'd know .I'd feel it in my fingertips if

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