Marie Belloc Lowndes

What Timmy Did Marie Belloc Lowndes

The telephone bell rang sharply in the sunlit and charming, if shabby, hall of Old Place. To John Tosswill there was always something incongruous, and recurringly strange, in thisqueer link between a little country parish mentioned in Domesday Book and the bigbustling modern world. The bell tinkled on and on insistently, perhaps because it was now no one's special duty toattend to it. But at last the mistress of the house came running from the garden and, stripping off her gardening gloves, took up the receiver. Janet Tosswill was John Tosswill's second wife, and, though over forty, a still young andalert looking woman, more Irish than Scotch in appearance, with her dark hair and blueeyes. But she came of good Highland stock and was proud of it."London wants you," came the tired, cross voice she knew all too well."I think there must be some mistake. This is Old Place, Beechfield, Surrey. I don't thinkanyone can be ringing us from London.