Sleuth Page #2

Well, now,

I understand you want to marry my wife.

Forgive me raising the matter,

but as Marguerite is away for

a few days in the north...

visiting relatives, I thought this

might be an appropriate moment...

for you and me to have a little chat.

- I see.

- Well, uh, is it true ?

Yes. With your permission, of course.

Why not ? You seem to be a personable

enough young man-- nicely spoken,

neatly dressed in brand-new

country gentleman's clothing.

I'm sure you won't mind me asking you

a few questions about your background--

parents and so forth.

My mother was born in Hereford,

a farmer's daughter,

And my father is an Italian who came

to this country in the '30s from Genoa.

- In the '30s. Jewish ?

- No, catholic-- very devout.

Of course, I'm not

religious at all myself.

My dear boy, you don't have to excuse

yourself to me. We're all liberals here.

I have no prejudice against catholics,

Not even lapsed catholics.

In fact, some of my best friends

are lapsed catholics.

But tell me about your father.

Was his name Tindle too ?

No, his name was Tindolini.

But if you had a name

like that in those days,

you had to make-a de ice cream-a.

He was a watchmaker,

and he wanted us to become

English, so he changed it.

"Become" English.

Was he a successful man ?

No. As a matter of fact, he wasn't.

You can't expect to make a living

these days just repairing watches.

He went broke in the end.

I always told him he would.

Hmm. Well, it must make him

something of a burden to you.

Yeah, it-it does a bit.

He never went back, you see.

He's still in Soho, still thinks

he had it good all those years.

And you-- what do you do ?

Don't you know ?

I have a hairdressing salon in South

Kensington-- Casa tindolini.

Oh, you can use that word

these days, can you ?

People don't take it for an ice-cream salon ?

- No, the birds--

the ladies seem to like

the continental touch.

English too wholesome for them, eh ?

Yeah, well, it's-- it's not chic, you see.

We found that it pays to provide

the latin lover atmosphere.

Of course, we lay it on a bit thicker in the

Brighton shop. They're less sophisticated.

I mean to say, in London half of them

have actually got-- latin lovers ?

And where do you live-- above,

behind or below your shop ?

I lease a mews house nearby.

It's convenient and attractive.

It's Georgian, actually.

From Genoa to Georgian in a single

generation, eh ? Not bad.

But I doubt whether an 18th century

architectural gem in South Kensington...

whispers quite the same magic

to Marguerite as it does to you.

She adores old houses.

She can't wait to live in it.

I understood she already was living

in it, once or twice a week at least.

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