A Question of Trust 

    Victor Canning

2. Give a character-sketch of Horace Danby in your own words. How was he outmaneuvered by the lady in red?
Ans:-
Horace Danby was about fifty years old and unmarried. People assumed
him to be a good and honest citizen. He was very well and happy barring
occasional attacks of hay fever in summer. He became fairly successful
at his business of making locks. Horace Danby was good and respectable –
but not completely honest. He had a habit of robbing a safe every year,
to meet his own expectations of buying rare and expensive books. He
secretly used to buy his favourite books through an agent.
     He
made a lot of preparations and speculations before committing any
robbery. He left no stone unturned to make the robberies as successful
and profitable as possible. He carried out a careful survey of the
location of the house at Shotover Grange-its rooms, its electric wiring,
its paths and its gardens in detail. He also came to know that the two
servants of the house were going out to see a picture. He was also well
aware of the location of the safe and its key. He also made friendship
with the little dog by calling his right name.
      However,
despite his skill, experience and professionalism, Horace Danby failed
miserably in judging the behaviour and intention of the lady in red. She
impersonated the owner’s wife with so much confidence and authority
that Horace was overcome with fear. She took full advantage of the
situation that favoured her. Pretending to be the owner’s wife, she
convinced Horace that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe and
she badly needed her ornaments to wear at a party that night. Thus she
compelled Horace to break open the safe without wearing his gloves, on
the false promise of letting him go scot free. However Horace was
arrested on the evidence of leaving his fingerprints at the spot of
crime.

3. Give a character-sketch of the lady in red highlighting how she outwitted Horace Danby.
Ans:-
The personality of the lady in red, who impersonated the owner’s wife,
remains shrouded in mystery until the end. The fact that she was a thief
comes to our knowledge only at the end when the real lady of the house
appears. The young lady in red apparel was a professional thief and she
came to Shotover Grange, with an intention of committing a theft. She
succeeded fairly well in taking possession of the valuable jewellery,
but not without leaving Horace in jeopardy. The lady in red is
exceptionally clever, confident and shrewd. She behaves like the lady of
the house. Her gestures, confidence and persuasive powers are more than
enough to hoodwink Horace. He fails miserably to read her motive and
mistakes her for the owner’s wife. Horace becomes a puppet in her hands.
She takes full advantage of his fear of going to prison and compels him
to open the safe without wearing his gloves. She makes him believe that
she needed those jewels to wear them to a party that night and she had
forgotten the numbers to open the safe. Horace breaks open the safe and
hands over the jewels to her. Towards the end of the story when the
grey-haired, sharp-tongued woman appears as the real lady of the house,
we come to know that the lady in red was a professional and cunning
thief much smarter than Horace.