he the mother’s boy?’ Miss Ramona asked of the world at large. ‘Just toots round after her, don’t you?’
Basil flushed and looked awkward. Miss Ramona gave a nod in Mrs Chester’s direction, a dazzling smile to Mr Parker Pyne and she and Basil moved off together.
After they had gone there was rather an awkward silence. Mr Parker Pyne did not like to speak first. Betty Gregg was twisting her fingers and looking out to sea. Mrs Chester looked flushed and angry.
Betty said: ‘Well, what do you think of our new acquisition in Pollensa Bay?’ Her voice was not quite steady.
Mr Parker Pyne said cautiously:
‘A little—er—exotic.’
‘Exotic?’ Betty gave a short bitter laugh.
Mrs Chester said: ‘She’s terrible—terrible. Basil must be quite mad.’
Betty said sharply: ‘Basil’s all right.’
‘Her toenails,’ said Mrs Chester with a shiver of nausea.
Betty rose suddenly.
‘I think, Mrs Chester, I’ll go home and not stay to dinner after all.’
‘Oh, my dear—Basil will be so disappointed.’
‘Will he?’ asked Betty with a short laugh. ‘Anyway, I think I will. I’ve got rather a headache.’
She smiled at them both and went off. Mrs Chester turned to Mr Parker Pyne.
‘I wish we had never come to this place—never!’
Mr Parker Pyne shook his head sadly.
‘You shouldn’t have gone away,’ said Mrs Chester. ‘If you’d been here this wouldn’t have happened.’
Mr Parker Pyne was stung to respond.
‘My dear lady, I can assure you that when it comes to a question of a beautiful young woman, I should have no influence over your son whatever. He—er—seems to be of a very susceptible nature.’
‘He never used to be,’ said Mrs Chester tearfully.
‘Well,’ said Mr Parker Pyne with an attempt at cheerfulness, ‘this new attraction seems to have broken the back of his infatuation for Miss Gregg. That must be some satisfaction to you.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Mrs Chester. ‘Betty is a dear child and devoted to Basil. She is behaving extremely well over this. I think my boy must be mad.’
Mr Parker Pyne received this startling change of face without wincing. He had met inconsistency in women before. He said mildly:
‘Not exactly mad—just bewitched.’
‘The creature’s a Dago. She’s impossible.’
‘But extremely good-looking.’
Mrs Chester snorted.
Basil ran up the steps from the sea front.
‘Hullo, Mater, here I am. Where’s Betty?’
‘Betty’s gone home with a headache. I don’t wonder.’
‘Sulking, you mean.’
‘I consider, Basil, that you are being extremely unkind to Betty.’
‘For God’s sake, Mother, don’t jaw. If Betty is going to make this fuss every time I speak to another girl a nice sort of life we’ll lead together.’
‘You are engaged.’
‘Oh, we’re engaged all right. That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to have any friends of our own. Nowadays people have to lead their own lives and try to cut out jealousy.’
He paused.
‘Look here, if Betty isn’t going to dine with us—I think I’ll go back to the Mariposa. They did ask me to dine …’
‘Oh, Basil—’
The boy gave her an exasperated look, then ran off down the steps.
Mrs Chester looked eloquently at Mr Parker Pyne.
‘You see,’ she said.
He saw.
Matters came to a head a couple of days later. Betty and Basil were to have gone for a long walk, taking a picnic lunch with them. Betty arrived at the Pino d’Oro to find that Basil had forgotten the plan and gone over to Formentor for the day with Dolores Ramona’s party.
Beyond a tightening of the lips the girl made no sign. Presently, however, she got up and stood in front of Mrs Chester (the two women were alone on the terrace).
‘It’s quite all right,’ she said. ‘It doesn’t matter. But I think—all the same—that we’d better call the whole thing off.’
She slipped from her finger the signet ring that Basil had given her—he would buy the real engagement ring later.
‘Will you give him back this, Mrs Chester? And tell him it’s all right—not to worry …’
‘Betty dear, don’t! He does love you—really.’
‘It looks like it, doesn’t it?’ said the girl with a short laugh. ‘No—I’ve got some pride. Tell him everything’s all right and that I—I wish him luck.’
When Basil returned at sunset he was greeted by a storm.
He flushed a little at the sight of his ring.
‘So that’s how she feels, is it? Well, I daresay it’s the best thing.’
‘Basil!’
‘Well, frankly, Mother, we don’t seem to have been hitting it off lately.’
‘Whose fault was that?’
‘I don’t see that it was mine particularly. Jealousy’s beastly and I really don’t see why you should get all worked up about it. You begged me yourself not to marry Betty.’
‘That was before I knew her. Basil—my dear—you’re not thinking of marrying this other creature.’
Basil Chester said soberly:
‘I’d marry her like a shot if she’d have me—but I’m afraid she won’t.’
Cold chills went down Mrs Chester’s spine. She sought and found Mr Parker Pyne, placidly reading a book in a sheltered corner.
‘You must do something! You must do something! My boy’s life will be ruined.’
Mr
