Eleven Things that Weren’t Written by Dorothy L. Sayers, V

[nineveh_uk]

Again, the usual disclaimers and spoiler warnings. I’ve been a bit nicer to them all this time.

Strong Poison

Harriet Vane, a free woman, found Eiluned Price and Sylvia Marriott waiting for her as she descended the stairs.

‘Darling!’ said Sylvia.

‘Three loud cheers!’ said Eiluned.

Harriet greeted them a little vaguely.

‘Where is Lord Peter Wimsey?’ she inquired. ‘I must thank him.’

‘I'm not sure,’ said Eiluned. ‘He was talking to that policeman but he got pulled away by somebody from the court, and I didn’t see where Lord Peter got to.’

Sylvia craned her neck extravagantly and scanned the room. ‘There he is! Lurking by that pillar. I think he’s seen us.’

‘He’d have to be blind not to,’ Eiluned said drily, ‘with you rubber-necking like that.’

Harriet, detecting Wimsey melting into the fake marble column, smiled encouragingly at him and he sidled unobtrusively across the room, holding his felt hat in one hand.

‘How are you?’

‘Still reeling a bit, I think. I’ll probably wake up tomorrow wondering if it’s all been a dream.’

‘Well, it’s over now.’

‘Thanks to you. No – really, Lord Peter. I know very well that if it hadn’t been for your efforts I’d be facing a very different – ’

‘Don’t talk about that now.’

‘There’s no point in running away from it. You’ve almost certainly saved my life. I really am most tremendously grateful and I can’t possibly repay you.’

‘But – dash it all – I don’t want repaying. I mean, it’s what I do, donchaknow, I’d have done the same for anybody. I’m only that happy it could be for you, not of course that you were in the whole ghastly mess in the first place, of course, but that, well...’

Sylvia took pity on him and interrupted.

‘Harriet, Eiluned’s gone to get the car. Will you be ready to make a dash for it in a minute or two?’

‘What? Oh, yes, of course.’

‘Don’t mind me,’ said Lord Peter. ‘I need a word with old Collins there. Look here, Miss Vane, we never finished that story. Will you lunch with me one day? I’ve so enjoyed talking with you, you know, though I can’t say that the environs have always been conducive to mutual confidence. Do say that you will.’

Harriet looked rather uncertain. ‘I’m not sure that I shall want to lunch anywhere just a present. The press –’

‘- will have something else to occupy them before the end of the week. They always do. It needn’t be the Ritz if you don’t like it. We’ll go somewhere quiet and then you can be sure that nobody will scoop the plot.’

‘In that case, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt –’

‘Splendid! I’ll write to you, if I may? I have to go down to Denver for a day or two, but don’t worry, I’ll be in touch.’

‘Very well.’ She held out her hand. ‘Thank you, Lord Peter.’

‘Good-bye.’ He took her hand, raised his hat, set it back on his head, and pattered off, Harriet staring vaguely after him and straightening her gloves. Sylvia grinned.

‘That man fancies you.’

Harriet turned away from Wimsey’s retreating back with a jerk. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘I’m not. Honestly, Harriet, he couldn’t take his eyes off you in the courtroom, poor darling, and goodness knows his brain must have been occupied with something when he was talking just now because I don’t believe for a moment that he’s nearly as much of a silly ass as he pretends.’

‘He’s not,’ said Harriet quickly.

‘There you are. There’s only one possible explanation.’

‘I’m sure you’re wrong.’

‘You may think what you like,’ said Sylvia, leading the way to the steps and the waiting throng of photographers, ‘but I am quite certain; I was right about who did the murder, and I’m going to be right about this.’

*

ETA: To those (looking at you, azdak), who think that Harriet Vane can’t vamp, the German publishers of Strong Poison disagree with you.

Comments

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

(see certain passages from MMA, GN and BH)
I think MMA can also be allowed by Miss Meteyard being fed up, Pamela Dean wanting to rub Willis’ nose in it, and Dian de Momerie being both high and undiscriminating, and BH on the grounds of all the other society men having the looks and personality of toads, whereas Peter is rich, polite, and possessed of a large nose. But you are certainly right about GN.

like hating closed cars or being driven by anyone else
I had an argument agreeing with this point involving claustrophia and the war that also took in avoiding of lifts on the underground in favour of the stairs, and his hding behind Harriet when the vicar blows up the chimney in BH, but it ran aground on his never seeming to have any problems with taxis.

Harriet is hardly going to kill her ex-lover and simultaneously write a book detailing exactly how she did it
We are told the defence are not quite as good as they might have been. A black mark to Sir Impey for missing this. I like the diary - over to you, I think.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

BH on the grounds of all the other society men having the looks and personality of toads, whereas Peter is rich, polite, and possessed of a large nose

I'll buy your arguments about the other books, but on BH I fear I am not convinced. It's all those slavering letters at the beginning about how every woman in London had wanted to marry him, for which there is absolutely NO evidence pre-Harriet. The only woman who appears to fancy him at all is Marjorie Phelps, and she, like Harriet, appears to like Best Friend types.

it ran aground on his never seeming to have any problems with taxis.


I'm sure your argument is essentially correct. The taxis, I suspect, are an authorial compromise (or oversight...), because he has to get around London somehow, and it would never do to have him donning his bicycle clips every time he wants to go to a book auction. We shall just have to argue that the London traffic means the taxi can only proceed at a crawl, and so he doesn't mind the loss of control quite so much.

I like the diary - over to you, I think.


I can't remember - is it explained in the book why Urquhart did those trial runs instead if polishing Boyes off as soon as he got the chance? Or is this one of those lapses in criminal logic that have to be tolerated for the sake of the plot?

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

for which there is absolutely NO evidence pre-Harriet
There is a line in one of the short stories about him being invited to a house party to try and hook him up with the daughter. Though that isn't quite every woman in London (is there something in the bio. at the back about people trying to catch him?).

is it explained in the book why Urquhart did those trial runs instead if polishing Boyes off as soon as he got the chance?
I don't think so. My assumption is that Urquhart strings things along to make the flare-up of Boyes' existing illness look more natural, and that he relates them to PB meeting Harriet to relate them to stress rather than primarily to frame her (even if he's later happy to do so when things get sticky - really he's a fool not to back up the suicide theory).

[azdak.livejournal.com]

(is there something in the bio. at the back about people trying to catch him?)

There's that awful women who writes to the Dowager Duchess about "your sweet amorous devil of a son", or words to that nauseating effect, and drops a few hints that if she weren't 87 she'd be dropping her knickers for him herself.

My assumption is that Urquhart strings things along to make the flare-up of Boyes' existing illness look more natural

That makes sense. And I suppose, in those days of blissful ignorance of e.coli, there wasn't too much risk of Boyes deciding from now on he'll pass on Urqhart's turkey curry since every time he dines there he gets a bout of salmonella.

really he's a fool not to back up the suicide theory

He certainly is.