In his youth Percy had adored at the feet of Maude Matravers. As fate would have it, there had been no reciprocal magnetic force emanating from Percy to pull at Maude’s heartstrings. There had been nothing about him to appeal to her robust outlook towards sex, or to fulfill her quest for a lifelong partner when she spuriously spurned his proposal of marriage. When Maude and Percy meet again they find the balance of power that had existed between them of yore has undergone a subtle yet substantial change. No longer could it be likened to the flail and the whipping post, or the block and the axe. It would have more in common with the relationship that exists between the bat and the ball, or more specifically the bow and the arrow, or the gun and the bullet. If Maude was to prove to be the trigger in this new found relationship, then Percy, supported by his secret service experience, would undoubtedly be the probing projectile. Late in life they were to find that they were the perfect if unwitting compliment to the other, and neither would be able function quite so well in their roles as the solvers of crime, without this interaction.