The mysterious incident in Styles
The
intense
interest
aroused
in
the
public
by
what
was
known
at
the
time
as
“
The
Styles
Case
”
has
now
somewhat
subsided
.
Nevertheless
,
in
view
of
the
world
-
wide
notoriety
which
attended
it
,
I
have
been
asked
,
both
by
my
friend
Poirot
and
the
family
themselves
,
to
write
an
account
of
the
whole
story
.
This
,
we
trust
,
will
effectually
silence
the
sensational
rumours
which
still
persist
.
I
will
therefore
briefly
set
down
the
circumstances
which
led
to
my
being
connected
with
the
affair
.
I
had
been
invalided
home
from
the
Front
;
and
,
after
spending
some
months
in
a
rather
depressing
Convalescent
Home
,
was
given
a
month
’
s
sick
leave
.
Having
no
near
relations
or
friends
,
I
was
trying
to
make
up
my
mind
what
to
do
,
when
I
ran
across
John
Cavendish
.
I
had
seen
very
little
of
him
for
some
years
.
Indeed
,
I
had
never
known
him
particularly
well
.
He
was
a
good
fifteen
years
my
senior
,
for
one
thing
,
though
he
hardly
looked
his
forty
-
five
years
.
As
a
boy
,
though
,
I
had
often
stayed
at
Styles
,
his
mother
’
s
place
in
Essex
.
We
had
a
good
yarn
about
old
times
,
and
it
ended
in
his
inviting
me
down
to
Styles
to
spend
my
leave
there
.
“
The
mater
will
be
delighted
to
see
you
again
—
after
all
those
years
,
”
he
added
.
“
Your
mother
keeps
well
?
”
I
asked
.
“
Oh
,
yes
.
I
suppose
you
know
that
she
has
married
again
?
”
I
am
afraid
I
showed
my
surprise
rather
plainly
.
Mrs
.
Cavendish
,
who
had
married
John
’
s
father
when
he
was
a
widower
with
two
sons
,
had
been
a
handsome
woman
of
middle
-
age
as
I
remembered
her
.
She
certainly
could
not
be
a
day
less
than
seventy
now
.
I
recalled
her
as
an
energetic
,
autocratic
personality
,
somewhat
inclined
to
charitable
and
social
notoriety
,
with
a
fondness
for
opening
bazaars
and
playing
the
Lady
Bountiful
.
She
was
a
most
generous
woman
,
and
possessed
a
considerable
fortune
of
her
own
.
