Appleby Talking (27 page)

“Of the Walt Disney sort?” Lady Appleby was again sceptical. “Animals fighting duels–”

“The Lion I recognised at once. Even with the headpiece of his bizarre disguise laid aside he was leonine – none other, in fact, than the venerable Count
X
, formerly Lord Chamberlain at the court of Ruritania. And the Unicorn, as it happened, I also knew. He was the dashing young Baron
Y
, youngest son of that almost legendary Ruritanian–”

“And they had fallen out?” Mrs Harbot was distressed. “Now, if that wasn’t just too bad! When they could have got clean away, too, with that wonderful old crown.”

Appleby shook his head. “It wasn’t precisely a falling out. Each of these noblemen had discovered that the other was pledged to recover the crown for the beautiful Grand Duchess. They had agreed therefore to join forces until the prize was actually in their grasp – and then to fight for the privilege of laying it at the feet of their adored mistress.”

“Sir John – if that wasn’t a chivalrous thing!”

“Indeed, yes. Well, it was the younger man who reacted the more quickly to the new situation. Dropping his sabre – the Jewellers, you know, have a mass of such things dating from the early history of their Company – the young Baron
Y
seized his country’s historic crown, evaded us, and dashed from the building. Still retaining his own weapon, the venerable Count
X
pursued him. We followed.”

Lady Appleby looked at her husband in what might have been either admiration or profound distrust. “The Lion, in fact, beat the Unicorn all round about the town?”

“Precisely, Judith – you express it very well. And the pursuit, as you will immediately realise, was much complicated by the state the streets had by this time assumed. Time being short, I will not describe it in detail. Suffice it that both noblemen eventually took refuge in their own Embassy. It is much to the credit of the present republican regime in Ruritania that they were admitted without hesitation… Do I hear a band?”

Mrs Harbot drew a deep breath. “And the crown? That is now in the hands of the Republic too?”

“By no means. The young Baron
Y
, with all his famous father’s happiness in such ticklish situations, secreted it as he fled. Look around you, my dear Mrs Harbot. Very tolerably colourable crowns of all sizes hang as thick as blackberries in the streets of this loyal city today. The young Baron has simply added to the display by climbing to the top of some lamp-post and depositing a real one. As soon as his escapade is composed with the authorities – which I can promise you will be in a few hours time – he will recover it, and thus claim the victory over his venerable countryman and rival.”

For a moment Mrs Harbot was almost awed. “But the Jewellers?”

“Lord Anchor has declared that he will put his foot down. The incident is to be declared closed, and no restitution of the crown will be demanded. The Grand Duchess, I don’t doubt, will be permitted to carry it off in triumph to her beautiful Californian home.”

Mrs Harbot was much affected. Lady Appleby regarded her with some compunction. “I must really explain that my husband is given to rather tall–”

But Appleby suddenly leant forward.

“They’re coming!” he said.

John Appleby first appears in
Death at the President’s Lodging
, by which time he has risen to the rank of Inspector in the police force. A cerebral detective, with ready wit, charm and good manners, he rose from humble origins to being educated at ‘St Anthony’s College’, Oxford, prior to joining the police as an ordinary constable.

Having decided to take early retirement just after World War II, he nonetheless continued his police career at a later stage and is subsequently appointed an Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard, where his crime solving talents are put to good use, despite the lofty administrative position. Final retirement from the police force (as Commissioner and Sir John Appleby) does not, however, diminish Appleby’s taste for solving crime and he continues to be active,
Appleby and the Ospreys
marking his final appearance in the late 1980’s.

In
Appleby’s End
he meets Judith Raven, whom he marries and who has an involvement in many subsequent cases, as does their son Bobby and other members of his family.

These titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

These titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

Published by House of Stratus

The Ampersand Papers While Appleby is strolling along a Cornish beach, he narrowly escapes being struck by a body falling down a cliff. The body is that of Dr Sutch, an archivist, and he has fallen from the North Tower of Treskinnick Castle, home of Lord Ampersand. Two possible motivations present themselves to Appleby – the Ampersand gold, treasure from an Armada galleon; and the Ampersand papers, valuable family documents that have associations with Wordsworth and Shelley.

Appleby and Honeybath Every English mansion has a locked room, and Grinton Hall is no exception – the library has hidden doors and passages…and a corpse. But when the corpse goes missing, Sir John Appleby and Charles Honeybath have an even more perplexing case on their hands – just how did it disappear when the doors and windows were securely locked? A bevy of helpful houseguests offer endless assistance, but the two detectives suspect that they are concealing vital information. Could the treasures on the library shelves be so valuable that someone would murder for them?

Appleby and the Ospreys Clusters, a great country house, is troubled by bats, as Lord and Lady Osprey complain to their guests, who include first rate detective, Sir John Appleby. In the matter of bats, Appleby is indifferent, but he is soon faced with a real challenge – the murder of Lord Osprey, stabbed with an ornate dagger in the library.