This story is pretending my other story "For You" doesn't exist.
Chapter 1
They cut a memorable picture as they walked through the park. One tall, casually dressed in a light suit; his military bearing evident, although tempered with a relaxed, good-humoured expression. The other was shorter clad in a three piece suit complete with wing collar, attire which seemed wholly out of place on a rare day of hot British sunshine. Despite looking as different as two people possibly could, the two were the best of friends. They were taking advantage of the glorious weather and enjoying a stroll through the park on their way to a lunch appointment. As they walked through the trees in companiable silence, a figure collided with them. She brushed off their attempts to help her to her feet and ran off. The shorter of the two men knelt down to examine something on the ground, while his friend was staring after the rapidly retreating figure. "I say! That was jolly rude, don't you think?" He glanced down at his friend. "I say, Poirot, girls these days…What are you doing?"
Poirot rose to his feet, his gloves hand curled into a fist. He opened it to reveal a ladies' chain. Suspended from it was a plain gold band. He turned it round in his fingers, examining it. When he was finished, he held it out to his companion. "See for yourself, Hastings."
Obediently Hastings took it and held it up to the light. It was a plain gold wedding ring. Trying it on established that it was made for a female finger, and it's shininess suggested it was either new or not often subjected to the elements. There was no name inside, but there was an inscription. My wife for life. Hastings raised one eyebrow and wordlessly handed the ring back to Poirot. As they happened to be having lunch with Inspector Japp, they decided to give it to him, in the hope that he could locate its owner.
Reaching Poirot's favourite bistro, they had been seated and were in the middle of relating the incident to Japp, when the approaching waitress gasped in shock. As one, the three men turned to look at them. The surprise on the faces of two of them made it clear they recognized her. Hastings was on his feet in an instant. "It's you! You were in the park. You ran into us. You dropped this." He held out the chain. The ring swung from the bottom of it. As she reached out for it, the cuff of her sleeve rode up her arm, just enough to reveal some thin white marks on her wrist. She grabbed the chain and put it on, her hands still shaking. Just as Hastings reached for her, she blurted out her thanks and scampered off.
The three men exchanged glances. There was more to this, they could tell.
