African Designs
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Mister Montague's facial expression changed from a look of slightly smug condescension to one of extreme worry and concern in the ten seconds or so it took for me to formulate my analysis. "Are you quite sure about this?" he demanded. It was my turn to exude a certain amount of smug self-satisfaction, but only just a little of course since otherwise it would seem unladylike. "I am," I asserted, as forcefully as decorum would allow, "I have observed closely on numerous occasions, following the tutorials I have received, and I am entirely convinced my summary is correct." Montague's expression shaded from genuine concern to acute embarrassment. He leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. "My dear Elizabeth, I fear that I both owe you an apology and that I may have put you personally in some danger." "What do you mean?" I demanded. "By way of a test, a, ah, colleague of mine deployed a team to follow you on the streets of Mombasa, to see if you would notice," he said softly, "So you pass the test. Well done. But now you tell me there is a second group also following you. We have somehow managed to attract the attention of some unknown party, whose motives are unclear and might represent a danger to our plans, or even you, personally." I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand. "When did you first notice that these men were always behind you?" he went on. I thought hard for a moment. "Perhaps twelve days ago," I replied, with perhaps more confidence than I felt. "Hmm. My colleague set his men on you exactly fourteen days ago, so you must have identified them almost immediately. I strongly suspect you would have noticed the other group tailing you, if you gather my meaning, if they had started much before my team." I nodded slowly. "Now please think carefully," he said, "Where exactly have you visited over the last two weeks?" I answered immediately, and truthfully, of course. "Mostly, I have been shopping." "Shopping?" He sounded surprised. "Yes. I am a woman, after all." I was fainty annoyed at his deceit, although I suppose I should have expected something along these lines, given how I had first met the man. "Shopping, for furniture and curtains for my new house, and clothes too. Especially the costume for my rather silly sea-bathing expedition to Nyali Beach." I paused, then spoke more shrewdly. "Certainly, I have visited none of those anonymous tutors that you have been recommending to me. Which is the principal point of your concern, is it not?" He nodded, thoughtfully. "Except the risible Madame Liu," I added, "Who I can't imagine actually being a secret from anybody." He chuckled. "Madame Liu's workshops have become quite the fashion with certain young women, particularly those with, shall we say, exceptionally energetic lives." "Really?" I made a mental note to make a few discreet enquiries when the occasion presented itself. He smiled again. He really was very charming. "By great good fortune," he said, "Whoever it is who has set their dogs on you managed to pick exactly the wrong time. What they learned was about much shopping, many genteel visits to grand houses and a couple of very slightly risqué visits which might be regarded as entirely usual for a woman of your age and class." "Yes," I replied, "I shall be keeping one eye behind me very carefully in future." "Good." He patted my hand gently. "So, we need to determine what can we do to flush out who is paying to have you tailed so assiduously," he went on, "And to determine what it was that brought you to their attention in the first place." "How do we do that?" I asked. "Currently, I have no idea," he admitted, "For the present, you should carry on as normal. You should accept no more of the special invitations, at least for the time being, but welcome every invitation you receive for tea, or dinner or, yes, more shopping from your acquaintances." "That does not sound too arduous," I said lightly. He laughed in response, then signalled the waiter and asked to both settle our account and to have his steam car brought around.
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Part 2