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Bates did not even wait for that. As soon as her passport was checked and she had enquired about this officer's children and that officer's wife and mother, Gertrude shepherded her out to her automobile, which was already waiting. The general and Mrs. Sotheby went with her. Peter, Donald, and Rose-Anne shared a cab, and Linda and Gertrude waited to go up with the luggage. |
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Gertrude was still very distressed over Mrs. Bates's faint. Over and over she said she couldn't understand what was wrong with her mistress. "She isn't acting right," the elderly maid complained, shaking her head. |
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Linda said what she could to calm her, explaining that elderly people often wished to ignore signs of ill health and sometimes did behave differently after even a mild seizure. It didn't seem to Linda that she had said anything significant, but Gertrude seemed relieved. Finally, the luggage was stowed and the cab began its long climb away from the harbor. |
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In the area around the pier where the passenger ship had tied up, there were many shops displaying typically tourist wares. Perhaps, Linda thought, gazing at the riot of color in the Turkish section, where carpets were hung on racks and walls and piled on tables, typical was the wrong word. The brilliant chaos of colors was familiar; it reminded her of the shops that sold silk scarves in French ports. She grinned briefly as she wondered whether these |
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