At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie

American-style suitcases were transferred from the Morris Oxford to the station wagon.
    A mile or two farther on, the station wagon turned off on what looked like a rough track but which presently turned out to be the back way to a large and opulent mansion. In what had been a stableyard, a big white Mercedes car was standing. The driver of the station wagon opened its trunk with a key, transferred the cases to the trunk, and drove away again in the station wagon.
    In a nearby farmyard a cock crowed noisily.

At Bertram's Hotel

Chapter 9
    Elvira Blake looked up at the sky, noted that it was a fine morning and went into a telephone box. She dialled Bridget's number in Onslow Square. Satisfied by the response, she said, “Hello? Bridget?”
    “Oh Elvira, is that you?” Bridget's voice sounded agitated.
    “Yes. Has everything been all right?”
    “Oh no. It's been awful. Your cousin, Mrs Melford, rang up Mummy yesterday afternoon.”
    “What, about me?”
    “Yes. I thought I'd done it so well when I rang her up at lunchtime. But it seems she got worried about your teeth. Thought there might be something really wrong with them. Abscesses or something. So she rang up the dentist herself and found, of course, that you'd never been there at all. So then she rang up Mummy and unfortunately Mummy was right there by the telephone. So I couldn't get there first. And naturally Mummy said she didn't know anything about it, and that you certainly weren't staying here. I didn't know what to do.”
    “What did you do?”
    “Pretended I knew nothing about it. I did say that I thought you'd said something about going to see some friends at Wimbledon.”
    “Why Wimbledon?”
    “It was the first place came into my head.”
    Elvira sighed. “Oh well, I suppose I'll have to cook up something. An old governess, perhaps, who lives at Wimbledon. All this fussing does make things so complicated. I hope Cousin Mildred doesn't make a real fool of herself and ring up the police or something like that?”
    “Are you going down there now?”
    “Not till this evening. I've got a lot to do first.”
    “You got to Ireland. Was it - all right?”
    “I found out what I wanted to know.”
    “You sound - sort of grim.”
    “I'm feeling grim.”
    “Can't I help you, Elvira? Do anything?”
    “Nobody can help me really... It's a thing I have to do myself. I hoped something wasn't true, but it is true. I don't know quite what to do about it.”
    “Are you in danger, Elvira?”
    “Don't be melodramatic, Bridget. I'll have to be careful that's all. I'll have to be very careful.”
    “Then you are in danger.”
    Elvira said after a moment's pause, “I expect I'm just imagining things, that's all.”
    “Elvira, what are you going to do about that bracelet?”
    “Oh, that's all right. I've arranged to get some money from someone, so I can go and - what's the word? - redeem it. Then just take it back to Bollards.”
    “D'you think they'll be all right about it?.. No, Mummy, it's just the laundry. They say we never sent that sheet. Yes, Mummy, yes, I'll tell the manageress. All right then.”
    At the other end of the line Elvira grinned and put down the receiver. She opened her purse, sorted through her money, counted out the coins she needed and arranged them in front of her and proceeded to put through a call. When she got the number she wanted she put in the necessary coins, pressed Button A and spoke in a small rather breathless voice.
    “Hello, Cousin Mildred. Yes, it's me... I'm terribly sorry... Yes, I know... well I was going to... yes it was dear old Maddy, you know, our old Mademoiselle... Yes, I wrote a postcard, then I forgot to post it. It's still in my pocket now... Well, you see she was ill and there was no one to look after her and so I just stopped to see she was all right. Yes, I was going to Bridget's but this changed things... I don't understand about the message you got. Someone must have jumbled it up... yes, I'll explain