intended recipient was on his way to Devon. Graham Carson's mother-in-law was seriously ill – again! He was driving his wife, Rachel, down to look after her. Graham was an orderly man and he hated these disruptions to his routine especially when he suspected that most of the illnesses were simply attention seeking, but Rachel, as an only child, felt it was her duty to go and Graham could think of no good reason why she shouldn't. It wasn't that he couldn't manage, but he liked his meal to be ready when he got home in the evening; he liked a supply of freshly laundered shirts and he liked someone to listen to his almost constant moans (not that he would have described them as such) when he arrived home in the evening.
Graham was the type of man who, although not unattractive, would have benefited from a dash of devilment added to his personality. He always seemed so prim and proper. Rachel was of a similar type, but by no means without looks – her facial bone structure was excellent. She looked like one of these “before” pictures in a magazine and one longed to see what she would look like after a visit to a hair stylist and wearing some fashionable clothes. Her clothes were always “good”, but when she bought them her eye was more on their lasting quality rather than their stylishness and she seemed to have no idea which colours suited her. Her physical technique of merging into the background resulted in her being overlooked at any gathering; her inability to sparkle conversationally was unfortunate because she was a well educated woman whose opinions could have added interest and weight at most dinner parties. She never pushed herself forward, seemingly content with her backwater position. Even those who thought they knew her well would have been surprised if they had been able to read the poetry she wrote and even more surprised had they been able to read the novel she had started.
She sat beside Graham on the way to Devon, aware of his displeasure, but saying little. She never argued with him, but when the need arose she just did her own thing. She had found it a very satisfactory way of living her life and Graham never seemed to notice. He was too interested in himself to really care about Rachel, but he did not keep her short of money, so she accepted her life with him, boring though it was, in very much the same way as she had accepted her life with her parents before she was married. Her parents, although not unkind, had never considered her interests and they would have been surprised if they had known the thoughts that had been in Rachel's mind. Of course Graham would have been also!
Graham had a bad journey back from Devon through rain and darkness. Just as he had been about to leave, his mother-in-law had produced some papers she wanted him to look at in connection with her house. By the time he had finished there had been no hope of his getting home before dark. Why she couldn't have produced them when he arrived he didn't know, but then she wouldn't be bothered about his being killed in a road accident because then she would have Rachel all to herself!
As he climbed the stairs to his first floor apartment, he could think only of how cold and hungry he was. He didn't even switch on the light before going through to the kitchen and was unaware he had left a muddy footprint on the white envelope lying behind the door. By the time he did pick it up, his mind was somewhat mellowed by a couple of drinks and a ham sandwich.
He looked cynically at the invitation. How like Derwent! Graham decided there and then he would go to the dinner. Rachel was sure to be still in Devon on the 22nd and by that time he would be sick of eating out or preparing his own meals. Derwent had had many faults, but providing poor meals had not been one of them and even in death he was sure to run true to form. He'd have arranged it all long before he died. Graham was not a curious man and had Rachel been at home it is doubtful if he would have bothered to go and since Rachel wasn't there he had no trouble following the scrawled instructions not to