I told Caroline at lunch that I would be dining at Fernly.

'Excellent,' she said. 'You'll hear all about it. By the way, why is Ralph staying at the Three Boars pub? He arrived yesterday morning. And last night he went out to meet a girl. I don't know who she is.'

It must have been very hard for Caroline to have to admit that she didn't know.

'But I can guess,' continued my sister. 'His "cousin", Flora Ackroyd is, of course, no relation really to Ralph Paton. They are secretly engaged. Ackroyd disapproves and they have to meet secretly,'

I began to talk about our new neighbour, which stopped Caroline saying more about her romantic theory. The house next door, The Larches, has recently been rented by a stranger. To Caroline's annoyance, she has not been able to find out anything about him, except that his name is Mr Porrott, he is a foreigner, and he is interested in growing vegetable marrows. That is not the sort of information Caroline wants. She wants to know where he comes from, what he does, whether he is married - and so on.

'My dear Caroline,' I said. 'There's no doubt that the man is a retired hairdresser. Look at that moustache of his.'

I escaped into the garden. I was digging up weeds when a heavy object flew past my ears and fell at my feet. It was a marrow! Over the wall there appeared an egg-shaped head, partly covered with suspiciously black hair, a huge moustache, and a pair of green eyes. It was the mysterious Mr Porrott.

'A thousand pardons, Monsieur. For some months now I grow the marrows. This morning I become angry with them. I seize one. I throw him over the wall. Monsieur, I am ashamed. Do not worry. It is not a habit with me. But Monsieur, do you not think that a man may work to reach a peaceful retirement, and then find that, after all, he wants the old busy days back, and the occupation that he thought he was so glad to leave?'

'Yes,' I said, thinking how strangely he spoke English. 'I know that feeling well. I have always wanted to travel, to see the world. A year ago I inherited some money - enough to allow me to realize a dream, yet I am still here.'

My little neighbour nodded. 'Habits are very hard to break. And Monsieur, my work was the most interesting work there is in the world; the study of human nature!'

Clearly a retired hairdresser. Who knows the secrets of human nature better than a hairdresser?