‘Really? Do you know why that was?’
As he had hoped the question acted as a spur for Rita to show off her knowledge.
‘Several things spring to mind.’ She smiled and displayed small, pointed teeth. They were as stained and dingy as her dressing gown. ‘For one thing, Amelia Frobisher accused Mrs Mortimer of stealing Freddie Talbot, her gentleman friend. She hadn’t, of course, as Clara Mortimer made clear. It was quite a longstanding relationship until Mrs Mortimer moved here. Then, Amelia’s gentleman friend cooled and switched his attentions to Mrs Mortimer with what Amelia must have felt was an insulting alacrity. To add insult to injury, Mrs Mortimer not only made plain that she wasn’t interested in Fancy Freddie as I call him, she rejected him publicly in the entrance foyer. It must hav
