Pardonable Lie Read Online Free PDF

night, Maisie considered the possibility of a return to France, a prospect she anticipated with dread in her heart.

FOUR
    Maisie went to the office for just one hour the next morning, before being collected by a Scotland Yard driver in a black Invicta motor car. However, there was time to spend with Billy before embarking upon her day.
    “Mornin’, Miss.” Billy had arrived early at the office. “Nice evenin’ with Mrs. Partridge?”
    Maisie removed her coat and hat, hung them on a hook behind the door, and went to her desk, where she placed her handbag in a drawer and her black document case—a gift from the Comptons’ staff when she first went up to Girton in 1914—on the floor next to her chair. She sighed. “Yes, it was a lovely evening. Thank you for asking.”
    Billy looked up, not used to hearing fatigue in his employer’s voice. “A late one, was it, Miss? I know you said Mrs. Partridge used to be a bit of a girl for the long nights and parties.”
    Maisie nodded and leaned back in her chair. “Well, it was a bit later than usual, but no, that’s not the reason for my malaise this morning, Billy. I can’t say I slept very well.”
    “Not comin’ down with somethin’, I ’ope.”
    “No—just a few concerns.”
    Billy frowned. “What, about that girl from Taunton?”
    “Actually, no. There may be another case coming in that I’m not—”
    Billy reached across and picked up a buff-colored folder. “Was it”—he turned the folder sideways; a piece of paper flapped on top—“Sir Cecil Lawton?” Billy didn’t wait for an answer but continued, leaving his desk to bring the folder to Maisie. “The dog-and-bone was ringing its ’ead off when I got in this mornin’, and this bloke said to tell you that ’e’d thought about what you’d said and wanted to assign the task—that’s what ’e called it, a task —to you, and could you place a telephone call to ’im in ’is chambers today, so—”
    “Oh, damn it!” Maisie leaned forward and rested her forehead on her hands.
    Billy’s eyes opened wide as he placed the folder on the desk in front of her. “I beg your pardon, Miss. Did I do somethin’ wrong? I mean, I took the message, got the file ready for the particulars, and—”
    Maisie looked up. “No, it’s all right, Billy. I’m sorry, that was rude of me. The truth is, I’m just not sure about this case.”
    Billy thought for a moment. “Well, you always said we’ve got the final decision as to whether we accept a job, didn’t you?”
    “I know, I know.” Maisie sighed, scraped back her chair, and walked to the window. “And I never thought I would be compromised, but I have a…a very uncomfortable feeling about this.”
    “So, why don’t you put a tin lid on it? Tell the man to go to someone else.” Billy joined her at the window. They looked not at each other but across the square before them, where the sun was streaking across leaves beginning to take on hues of copper, deep red, and gold. Leaves that would soon litter the flagstones, rendering them slippery and brown.
    Maisie did not answer but instead closed her eyes. Billy stepped away quietly, gathered a tray set for tea, and left the room, understanding that this was one of those times when she required some moments alone. Hearing the door click behind him, Maisie reached for a cushion on an old armchair set in the corner and placed it on the floor. She knew Billy would give her ten minutes before gently knocking at the door and entering with a freshly brewed pot of tea to refresh them both. Pulling up her skirt slightly to allow ease of movement, she sat on the cushion, legs crossed, arms loose in her lap, her eyes now half closed. Soon she would leave the office for Vine Street. For the sake of Avril Jarvis, she must be clear and ready, not fatigued by other concerns.
    She allowed her mind to become still, as she had been taught so many years ago by Khan, the Ceylonese wise man to whom she had been taken by