Free Endless Night by Agatha Christie Page B

know—a ruthlessness and an arrogance about him somewhere. And I think that he was trying to tell us, really, that knowing he’s going to die soon has increased his arrogance. Supposing,” said Ellie, looking at me in an animated way, with almost a rapt and emotional expression on her face, “supposing he built us our lovely castle, our lovely house on the cliff’s edge there in the pines, supposing we were coming to live in it. There he was on the doorstep and he welcomed us in and then—”
    â€œWell, Ellie?”
    â€œThen supposing he came in after us, he slowly closed the doorway behind us and sacrificed us there on the threshold. Cut our throats or something.”
    â€œYou frighten me, Ellie. The things you think of!”
    â€œThe trouble with you and me, Mike, is that we don’t live in the real world. We dream of fantastic things that may never happen.”
    â€œDon’t think of sacrifices in connection with Gipsy’s Acre.”
    â€œIt’s the name, I suppose, and the curse upon it.”
    â€œThere isn’t any curse,” I shouted. “It’s all nonsense. Forget it.”
    That was in Greece.

Ten
    I t was, I think, the day after that. We were in Athens. Suddenly, on the steps of the Acropolis Ellie ran into people that she knew. They had come ashore from one of the Hellenic cruises. A woman of about thirty-five detached herself from the group and rushed along the steps to Ellie exclaiming:
    â€œWhy, I never did. It’s really you, Ellie Guteman? Well, what are you doing here? I’d no idea. Are you on a cruise?”
    â€œNo,” said Ellie, “just staying here.”
    â€œMy, but it’s lovely to see you. How’s Cora, is she here?”
    â€œNo, Cora is at Salzburg I believe.”
    â€œWell, well.” The woman was looking at me and Ellie said quietly, “Let me introduce—Mr. Rogers, Mrs. Bennington.”
    â€œHow d’you do. How long are you here for?”
    â€œI’m leaving tomorrow,” said Ellie.
    â€œOh dear! My, I’ll lose my party if I don’t go, and I just don’t want to miss a word of the lecture and the descriptions. They do hustle one a bit, you know. I’m just dead beat at the end of the day. Any chance of meeting you for a drink?”
    â€œNot today,” said Ellie, “we’re going on an excursion.”
    Mrs. Bennington rushed off to rejoin her party. Ellie, who had been going with me up the steps of the Acropolis, turned round and moved down again.
    â€œThat rather settles things, doesn’t it?” she said to me.
    â€œWhat does it settle?”
    Ellie did not answer for a minute or two and then she said with a sigh, “I must write tonight.”
    â€œWrite to whom?”
    â€œOh, to Cora, and to Uncle Frank, I suppose, and Uncle Andrew.”
    â€œWho’s Uncle Andrew? He’s a new one.”
    â€œAndrew Lippincott. Not really an uncle. He’s my principal guardian or trustee or whatever you call it. He’s a lawyer—a very well-known one.”
    â€œWhat are you going to say?”
    â€œI’m going to tell them I’m married. I couldn’t say suddenly to Nora Bennington ‘Let me introduce my husband.’ There would have been frightful shrieks and exclamations and ‘I never heard you were married. Tell me all about it, darling’ etcetera, etcetera. It’s only fair that my stepmother and Uncle Frank and Uncle Andrew should be the first to know.” She sighed. “Oh well, we’ve had a lovely time up to now.”
    â€œWhat will they say or do?” I asked.
    â€œMake a fuss, I expect,” said Ellie, in her placid way. “It doesn’t matter if they do and they’ll have sense enough to know that. We’ll have to have a meeting, I expect. We could go to New York. Would you like that?” She looked at me inquiringly.
    â€œNo,” I said, “I