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."She waited a moment impatiently. Of course it was a mistake! Not a soul in London knewtheir telephone number. It had never been put on their notepaper. Still, she went onlistening with the receiver held to her ear, and growing more and more annoyed at thefutile interruption and waste of time. She was just going to hang up the receiver when all at once the expression of her facealtered. From being good-humoured, if slightly impatient, it became watchful, and her eyesnarrowed as was their way when Janet Tosswill was "upset" about anything. She hadsuddenly heard, with startling clearness, the words: -"Is that Old Place, Beechfield? If so, Mr. Godfrey Radmore would like to speak to Mrs. Tosswill."She was so surprised, so taken aback that for a moment she said nothing. At last sheanswered very quietly: -"Tell Mr. Radmore that Mrs. Tosswill is here waiting on the'phone."There was another longish pause, and then, before anything else happened, Janet Tosswillexperienced an odd sensation; it was as if she felt the masterful, to her not over-attractive, presence of Godfrey Radmore approaching the other end of the line. A moment later, sheknew he was there, within earshot, but si