Padre believed. After all, the Major--Little cock-sparrow Captain
Puffin--Or t'other way round, do you think?--No other explanation, you
know--Might have been blood----"

She buried her teeth in a muffin.

"Believe there's something in it," she summed up.

She observed her guest had neither tea nor muffin.

"Help yourself," she said. "Want to worry this out."

"Elizabeth absolutely denies it," said Mrs. Poppit. "Her eyes were full
of----"

"Oh, anything," said Diva. "Rubbed them. Or pepper if it was at lunch.
That's no evidence."

"But her solemn assertion----" began Mrs. Poppit, thinking that she was
being a complete failure as an ambassador. She was carrying no
conviction at all.

"Saccharine!" observed Diva, handing her a small phial. "Haven't got
more than enough sugar for myself. I expect Elizabeth's got
plenty--well, never mind that. Don't you see? If it wasn't true she
would try to convince us that it was. Seemed absurd on the face of it.
But if she tries to convince us that it isn't true--well, something in
it."

There was the gist of the matter, and Mrs. Poppit proceeding next to the
Padre's house, found more muffins and incredulity. Nobody seemed to
believe Elizabeth's assertion that there was "nothing in it." Evie ran
round the room with excited squeaks, the Padre nodded his head, in
confirmation of the opinion which, when he first delivered it, had been
received with mocking incredulity over the crab. Quaint Irene, intent on
Mr. Hopkins's left knee in the absence of the model, said, "Good old
Mapp: better late than never." Utter incredulity, in fact, was the
ambassador's welcome ... and all the incredulous were going to
Elizabeth's party on Wednesday.

Mrs. Poppit had sent the Royce home for the last of her calls, and
staggered up the hill past Elizabeth's house. Oddly enough, just as she
passed the garden-room, the window was thrown up.

"Cup of tea, dear Susan?" said Elizabeth. She had found an old note of
Mrs. Poppit's among the waste paper for the firing of the kitchen oven
fully signed.

"Just two minutes' talk, Elizabeth," she promptly responded.

* * * * *

The news that nobody in Tilling believed her left Miss Mapp more than
calm, on the bright side of calm, that is to say. She had a few
indulgent phrases that tripped readily off her tongue for the dear
things who hated to be deprived of their gossip, but Susan certainly did
not receive the impressio