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chapter I
The Mistress of Littlegreen House
Miss Arundell died on May ist. Though her illness was short her death did not occasion much surprise in the litde country town of Market Basing where she had lived since she was a girl of sixteen. For Emily Arundell was well over seventy, the last of a family of five, and she had been known to be in delicate health for many years and had indeed nearly died of a similar attack to the one that killed her some eighteen months before.
But though Miss Arundell's death surprised no one, something else did. The provisions of her will gave rise to varying emotions, astonishment, pleasurable excitement, deep condemnation, fury, despair, anger and general gossip. For weeks and even months Market Basing was to talk of nothing else! Every one had their own contribution to make to the subject from Mr. Jones the grocer, who held that "blood was thicker than water," to Mrs. Lam-phrey at the post office, who repeated ad nauseam that " there's something behind it, depend upon it! You mark my words."
What added zest to the speculations on the subject was the fact that the will had been made as lately as April 2 ist. Add to this the further fact that Emily Arundell's near relations had been staying with her just before that date over Easter Bank Holiday and it will be realised that the most scandalous theories could be propounded, pleasur-ably relieving the monotony of everyday life in Market Basing.
There was one person who was shrewdly suspected of knowing more about the matter than she was willing to admit. That was Miss Wilhelmina Lawson, Miss Arundell's companion. Miss Lawson, however, professed herself
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