Read an excerpt from Marie Benedict’s novel The Mystery of Mrs. Christie.
In 1926,Agatha Christiedisappeared for 11 days.
On Dec. 3, she left her home and the next morning her car was found abandoned nearby.
Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Below is an excerpt from one of Agatha’s chapters, taking place shortly before her disappearance.
Chapter 41: The Manuscript
December 3, 1926
Styles, Sunningdale, England
Three months.
Two thousand, one hundred and sixty hours.
But how could I win my husband back when he was rarely to be seen?
Over the preceding forty-five of those ninety days, there had been times when I felt like giving up.
I couldn’t let the stain of divorce taint my beautiful daughter and strain our relationship.
I resolved to wait for him to return.
This waiting was different from all the waiting I’d undertaken before.
Not to mention that it was the one place where I could indulge in my sobs without a witness.
I worked on my new book,The Mystery of the Blue Train, at a feverish pace.
More than anything, more even than Mummy’s comforting and sage presence, I wished for more time.
The sunlight filtered through the curtain, dappling the tablecloth with an attractive pattern.
It could be any regular morning in any regular home of any regular family.
But it wasn’t.
“yo,” I begged, “yo don’t do this.
Let’s talk about it this weekend, after dinner tonight.
“There is no sense begging, Agatha.
It only makes you appear less attractive than you already are, and that doesn’t help your cause.
I will not be joining you in Yorkshire this weekend.
He spoke as dismissively as he did when responding to Rosalind’s endless requests for a pony.
“And Nancy will be there as well, I’m guessing?
She’s good friends with Madge James, isn’t she?”
I asked, and although it was certainly true, I immediately regretted my words.
Archie’s face darkened with anger, and I knew I wouldn’t win him back like that.
“kindly listen, Archie.”
I reached for his hand, but he pulled it away and stepped backward.
“You promised me three months.
Three months of reconciliation before deciding.
But we barely saw you.
I am finished.”
“How can you say you’re finished with our family when you haven’t even tried?”
I asked, my voice cracking.
He didn’t bother to answer my question.
Instead, he repeated the hateful words he had first uttered back in Ashfield.
“I want a divorce.”
“I don’t want a divorce, Archie.
I want our family and our marriage back.”
The tears came, and I began to sob.
“Rosalind loves you.
I still love you.
How has it come to this?”
“Agatha, I will be meeting with a lawyer to begin the divorce proceedings.
My marriage to Nancy will happen as soon as the divorce is finalized.”
For the very first time, rage instead of desperation took hold of me.
I will make him give me the very thing he wants to protect.
Otherwise, it will be the undoing of me.
With this statement, his carefully assembled countenance of calm and determination cracked.
“I will not name Nancy in the divorce.
Under no circumstances.”
How dare he refuse me?
Who did he think he was to deny me this request?
My incredulity and my volume rose alongside my anger.
So everyone would fill in that gap withmeas the cause?
They’ll think I was an unreasonable wife.
Or thatIwas the unfaithful one!
Imagine what Rosalind would think one day.”
Or I will not grant you one.”
His eyes narrowed, and he walked toward me for the first time that morning.
“Nancy is the woman I love, and I plan on marrying her.
I will not besmirch her name.”
I laughed, not caring for the first time in months how loud or unladylike my guffaw sounded.
Because in that moment, I did not care about his opinion of me.
“That’s rich, Archie.
I stared at him right in the eyes.
“No Nancy, no divorce.”
A menacing expression, familiar from our trip to Guethary, appeared on his face.
“It’s nothing, Carlo.”
I tried to muster up a smile.
“Clumsy, that’s all.”
“You’re not clumsy, Mama,” Rosalind’s high-pitched voice chirped.
“You and Papa were having a row.
We heard it.”
“It’s nothing to do with you.
Not to worry.”
“Oh, I know that, Mama,” she answered, all confidence and assurance.
“After all, Papa likes me, but he doesn’t much like you.”
