was a like a
jack-in-the-box. He pressed the bell – and
out she popped! It made him jump.
She was about forty-five or fifty years
old, and the moment she saw him, she
gave him a warm welcoming smile.
“Please come in,” she said pleasantly.
She stepped aside, holding the door wide
open, and Billy found himself
automatically starting forward into the
house. The compulsion or, more
accurately, the desire to follow after her
into that house was extraordinarily strong.
“I saw the notice in the window,” he said,
holding himself back.
“Yes, I know.”
“I was wondering about a room.”
“It's all ready for you, my dear,” she said.
She had a round pink face and very gentle
140 blue eyes.
“I was on my way to The Bell and
Dragon,” Billy told her. “But the notice in
your window just happened to catch my
eye.”
“My dear boy,” she said, “why don't you
come in out of the cold?”
“How much do you charge?”
“Five and sixpence a night, including
breakfast.”
It was fantastically cheap. It was less than
half of what he had been willing to pay.
“If that is too much,” she added, “then
perhaps I can reduce it just a tiny bit. Do you
desire an egg for breakfast? Eggs are
expensive at the moment. It would be
sixpence less without the egg.”
“Five and sixpence is fine,” he answered. “I
should like very much to stay here.”
“I knew you would. Do come in.”
160 She seemed terribly nice. She looked
exactly like the mother of one’s best schoolfriend
welcoming one into the house to stay
for the Christmas holidays. Billy took off his
hat, and stepped over the threshold.
“Just hang it there,” she said, “and let me
help you with your coat.”
There were no other hats or coats in the
hall. There were no umbrellas, no walkingsticks
– nothing.
“We have it all to ourselves,” she said,
smiling at him over her shoulder as she led
the way upstairs.
“You see, it isn’t very often I have the
pleasure of taking a visitor into my little nest.”
The old girl is slightly dotty, Billy told
himself. But at five and sixpence a night, who
gives a damn about that? – “I should've
thought you’d be simply swamped with
applicants,” he said politely.
180 “Oh, I am, my dear, I am, of course I am.
But the trouble is that I'm inclined to be just a
teeny weeny bit choosy and particular – if you
see what I mean.”
“Ah, yes.”
“But I’m always ready. Everything is always
ready day and night in this house just on the
off-chance that an acceptable young
gentleman will come along. And it is such a
pleasure, my dear, such a very great
pleasure when now and again I open the
door and I see someone standing there who
is just exactly right.” She was half-way up the
stairs, and she paused with one hand on the
stair-rail, turning her head and smiling down
at him with pale lips. “Like you,” she added,
and her blue eyes travelled slowly all the way
down the length of Billy's body, to his feet,
and then up again.
On the first-floor landing she said to him,
200 “This floor is mine.”
They climbed up a second flight. “And this
one is all yours,” she said. “Here’s your room.
I do hope you’ll like it.” She took him into a
small but charming front bedroom,
switching on the light as she went in.
“The morning sun comes right in the
window, Mr Perkins. It is Mr Perkins, isn’t
it?”
“No,” he said. “It’s Weaver.”
“Mr Weaver. How nice. I’ve put a waterbottle
between the sheets to air them out,
Mr Weaver. It’s such a comfort to have a
hot water-bottle in a strange bed with
clean sheets, don’t you agree?
And you may light the gas fire at any time
if you feel chilly.”
“Thank you,” Billy said. “Thank you ever
so much.” He noticed that the bedspread
had been taken off the bed, and that the
220 bedclothes had been neatly turned back
on one side, all ready for someone to get
in.
“I’m so glad you appeared,” she said,
looking earnestly into his face. “I was
beginning to get worried.”
“That’s all right,” Billy answered brightly.
“You mustn’t worry about me.” He put his
suitcase on the chair and started to open
it.
“And what about supper, my dear? Did
you manage to get anything to eat before
you came here?”
“I’m not a bit hungry, thank you,” he
said. “I think I’ll just go to bed as soon as
possible because tomorrow I’ve got to get
up rather early and report to the office.”
“Very well, then. I’ll leave you now so
that you can unpack. But before you go to
bed, would you be kind enough to pop into
240 the sitting-room on the ground floor and
sign the book? Everyone has to do that
because it’s the law of the land, and we
don’t want to go breaking any laws at this
stage in the proceedings, do we?” She
gave him a little wave of the hand and
went quickly out of the room and closed
the door.
Now, the fact that his landlady appeared
to be slightly off her rocker didn’t worry
Billy in the least. After all, she was not
only harmless – there was no question
about that –