THE 16TH AND 17TH OF JULY


I had arrived at Styles on the 5th of July. I come now to the
events of the 16th and 17th of that month. For the convenience
of the reader I will recapitulate the incidents of those days in
as exact a manner as possible. They were elicited subsequently
at the trial by a process of long and tedious cross-examinations.

I received a letter from Evelyn Howard a couple of days after her
departure, telling me she was working as a nurse at the big
hospital in Middlingham, a manufacturing town some fifteen miles
away, and begging me to let her know if Mrs. Inglethorp should
show any wish to be reconciled.

The only fly in the ointment of my peaceful days was Mrs.
Cavendish's extraordinary, and, for my part, unaccountable
preference for the society of Dr. Bauerstein. What she saw in
the man I cannot imagine, but she was always asking him up to the
house, and often went off for long expeditions with him. I must
confess that I was quite unable to see his attraction.

The 16th of July fell on a Monday. It was a day of turmoil. The
famous bazaar had taken place on Saturday, and an entertainment,
in connection with the same charity, at which Mrs. Inglethorp was
to recite a War poem, was to be held that night. We were all
busy during the morning arranging and decorating the Hall in the
village where it was to take place. We had a late luncheon and
spent the afternoon resting in the garden. I noticed that John's