|
|
|
|
|
|
Peter started to move toward the window to stare out again, but Linda caught at his arm. "It was nobody's fault," she said sharply. "Why didn't you tell me she had had a stroke right away instead of saying she had had a heart attack? I couldn't see any symptoms of a weak heart, and I wondered why you had lied." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I knew that," Peter said "but I thought it was more important that you shouldn't think she was a mental case or be afraid of her. In fact, I'd decided I had to tell you tonight. I was thinking about it all through dinner, and when you asked whether I had taken the screws out of the lock, I knew I had to tell you. Up till then, I was sure you weren't in any danger and, if you remember, in the beginning I did try to get rid of you. But she had attached herself so strongly to youAunt Em always had good taste." He started to laugh and the sound caught into a sob. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"She attached herself to me as a substitute for you." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"That could be," he agreed, and then burst out bitterly, "Oh, God, I wish I hadn't gone up that hill." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"For heaven's sake, Peter," Linda said impatiently, "if you want the ugly truth, I probably killed her by screaming. She didn't know I was there, and that shock, added to the climb, almost certainly raised her blood pressure enough to burst another vessel in her brain. Do you want me to go and confess to murder?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"You mustn't feel like that, Linda," Peter murmured anxiously, putting his arms around her. |
|
|
|
|
|