Berried Alive (Manor House Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page A

care how they do it. If it takes a gang of hooligans to get them out of town, then so good."
    "So you think we can win this war without them, then," Elizabeth said pleasantly.
    A look of uncertainty crossed the farmer's face. "I don't mean no disrespect, m'm, but in my mind this place would be a lot better off without the GIs chasing after every bit of skirt they set eyes on. They're troublemakers, the lot of them. I wish they'd go back where they belong."
    'Troublemakers?" Elizabeth was doing her best to hold her temper, but she could feel her cheeks growing warm and her fingers clenching in her lap. "These men, who risk losing their lives every day to help us fight this dreadful war, are nothing but troublemakers? I wonder how they'd feel if they heard you speak of them that way. How motivated do you think they'd be, given how you feel, to go through the gates of hell to save your skin?"
    "Begging your pardon, your ladyship, I know the risks the lads are taking, but that doesn't give them the right to ruin innocent young lives. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my work." He nodded at Alfie, who looked as if he were about to choke. "Thanks, mate. See you tomorrow." He gave Elizabeth a frosty look. "Your ladyship."
    "Good day," Elizabeth said stiffly. She waited until the door had swung behind the belligerent farmer, then let out her breath in an explosion of wrath. "Well I never! What an abominable man. It's that kind of thinking that causes all the trouble in Sitting Marsh. I'd like to beat some sense into that dense brain of his."
    Alfie tucked the basket under the counter, then said a little awkwardly, "Don't let him get you upset, your ladyship. He's not a bad chap, really. It's his daughter what got him like that. I heard as how some GI got her . . ." he paused, cleared his throat, then mumbled, "gave her a bun in the oven, so to speak. She went to some quack in North Horsham. He botched the job and she died. Annie, that's Dick's wife, hasn't been the same since. Dick don't have a good word for the Americans now."
    Having heard all she wanted to for the time being, Elizabeth slipped off her stool. "Well, while the poor man has my deepest sympathy for the loss of his daughter, I do wish he would remember that it takes two to tango."
    Alfie's lips twitched. "Yes, m'm."
    "You will let me know if anyone else should fall ill, won't you, Alfie?"
    "That I will, m'm."
    She paused at the door, looking back at him. "Oh, and if you should learn anything more about these musketeer people, I'd be obliged if you'd give me a ring. I'd like toknow who it is harassing our American military so that I can take steps to put a stop to it. It's bad enough that we have this kind of trouble in the village, but when the source comes from as far away as London, that is a matter of grave concern."
    "I quite agree, m'm." Alfie lifted his hand. "If I find out anything at all, you'll be the first to know."
    "Thank you, Alfie." She stepped out into the bright rays of the setting sun, a deep feeling of unease unsettling her. It was one thing to deal with the villagers, with whom she was familiar and understood their ways, but Alfie's mention of a gang of hooligans from London was a different matter altogether.
    George and Sid did what they could, but they were reluctant constables at best, having been dragged out of retirement to replace the younger men called up for the military. As for the local inspector, he had been absent so long Elizabeth had more or less forgotten what he looked like. He would be no match for a determined band of vigilantes from London. It would be up to her to take care of the matter, and she wasn't sure if she was up to the task.
    Then there was the matter of Dick Adelaide. It had occurred to her that he had a very strong reason for hating the Americans. Enough to kill? It was a sobering thought.
    It wasn't often she felt vulnerable, but right then, she would have given the world to see Earl's reassuring figure