&ot;

ti said, &ot;you t et y other&ot;

a few utes later they were sittg tother a party - l the rner, ti and penngton each side of her, both talkg to her, vyg for her attention rs allerton talked to sion doyle

the sg doors revolved a sudden tension ca to the beautiful upright figure sittg the rner beeen the o n then it relaxed as a sall an ca out and walked across the terrace

rs allerton said: &ot;youre not the only celebrity here, y dear that funny little an is hercule poirot&ot;

射 had spoken lightly, jt out of stctive cial tact to brid an awkward pae, but l seed struck by the ration

&ot;hercule poirot? of urse - ive heard of hi&ot;

射 seed to sk to a fit of abstraction the o n on either side of her were ontarily at a loss

poirot had strolled across to the ed of the terrace, but his attention was idiately licited

&ot;sit down, onsieur poirot what a lovely night&ot;

he obeyed

&ot;ais oui, ada, it is deed beautiful&ot;

he siled politely at rs otterbourne what draperies of black non and that ridiculo turban effect! rs otterbourne went on her high png voice: &ot;ite a lot of notabilities here now, arent there? i expect we shall see a paragraph about it the papers on ciety beauties, fao novelists -&ot; 射 paed with a slight ock-odest laugh

poirot felt, rather than saw, the sulky frowng girl opposite hi flch and set her outh a sulkier le than before

&ot;you have a novel on the way