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Authors: David Roberts
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man except at major family gatherings. You know Mrs Roosevelt is also a cousin? It must be odd to marry someone and not change your name.’
‘Your sister? Is she on board?’
‘Sure. Talk of the devil, here she is. She’s my twin.’
The girl who came towards them with the unconscious grace of the young was wearing a simple white dress, white stockings and a straw hat with a ribbon round it. She looked part angelic child – the kind you don’t trust – and part tennis player, Helen Wills without her racket. She was the most beautiful thing Frank had ever seen and he fell helplessly in love before she had even opened her mouth.
‘Philly, I want you to meet my new friend, Frank . . . Lord Corinth? Is that how I should introduce you?’
Frank did not hear what was said to him. He just gazed at the girl, his mouth a little open, proving that love really can strike a person deaf and dumb.
‘Hey there,’ Perry said, waving a hand in front of Frank’s eyes, ‘don’t fall in love with my sister like all the rest. You’re my friend. I found you first. Philly, Frank here’s a duke or he will be one day, I guess. He’s a genuine English aristocrat and don’t pretend you’ve met any others because you haven’t.’
Philly swung her long legs over a stool and said, ‘A Gibson, please, Roger.’ The bar steward looked gratified that the pretty girl already knew his name.
‘And for you, sir?’
‘Oh, a gimlet,’ Frank said, trying to sound sophisticated. ‘What’s a Gibson?’ he inquired, unable to sustain the fiction that he was a habitué of nightclubs.
‘Gin and vermouth,’ Philly replied. ‘Just a martini really. I was trying to impress you.’
‘You succeeded.’
Perry gave every sign that he was bored – or was it jealousy? ‘Have you seen the swimming-pool? It’s a killer. What say you? Shall we go use it before the
hoi polloi
find it? I need to shower anyway and so do you, Frank. Doesn’t he stink, Philly?’
‘I don’t smell anything. Come over here.’
Obediently, Frank got off his stool and went over to the girl. She raised her face to his and sniffed. ‘Closer,’ she commanded and Frank lowered his face to hers. A whiff of scent made his head swim. He thought he must kiss her or die but, before he could do so, she said, ‘You’re right, Perry. He does stink.’
Frank looked from one twin to the other, bewildered and not a little in love with both of them. ‘I’ll go and get my costume,’ he said with an effort. Feeling very thirsty all of a sudden, he swallowed down his cocktail and almost choked. The twins laughed.
The pool was the most luxurious Frank had ever seen. He guessed it must be over thirty feet long and maybe twenty wide. It had two diving boards and was faced with glazed terracotta tiles. The walls shimmered green and red while the mother-of-pearl ceiling added to the impression of being in a jewel box. Perry and he showered and then, laughing loudly to fill the emptiness of the place and hear the echo, pulled on their trunks and made a dash for the water. Out of the corner of his eye, Frank saw the girl leaning against one of the faience columns which supported the arches over the pool. She too had changed but seemed in no hurry to get into the water. Making every effort to impress her, Frank dived off one of the boards and resurfaced to find Philly had not even been watching. She had been fitting her bathing cap in a mirror on one side of the pool.
Frank pulled himself up on to the side and watched the water stream off him. It was quite warm but, feeling suddenly naked, he pulled a towel round his shoulders. Perry came to sit beside him. ‘Fancy swimming in February in the middle of the Atlantic!’
‘I don’t suppose you’d last many minutes if you were swimming in the Atlantic.’ Frank paused but Perry made no comment so he continued, ‘With a name like Roosevelt, I suppose that means you are going into politics.’
‘I don’t think so. Not
‘Your sister? Is she on board?’
‘Sure. Talk of the devil, here she is. She’s my twin.’
The girl who came towards them with the unconscious grace of the young was wearing a simple white dress, white stockings and a straw hat with a ribbon round it. She looked part angelic child – the kind you don’t trust – and part tennis player, Helen Wills without her racket. She was the most beautiful thing Frank had ever seen and he fell helplessly in love before she had even opened her mouth.
‘Philly, I want you to meet my new friend, Frank . . . Lord Corinth? Is that how I should introduce you?’
Frank did not hear what was said to him. He just gazed at the girl, his mouth a little open, proving that love really can strike a person deaf and dumb.
‘Hey there,’ Perry said, waving a hand in front of Frank’s eyes, ‘don’t fall in love with my sister like all the rest. You’re my friend. I found you first. Philly, Frank here’s a duke or he will be one day, I guess. He’s a genuine English aristocrat and don’t pretend you’ve met any others because you haven’t.’
Philly swung her long legs over a stool and said, ‘A Gibson, please, Roger.’ The bar steward looked gratified that the pretty girl already knew his name.
‘And for you, sir?’
‘Oh, a gimlet,’ Frank said, trying to sound sophisticated. ‘What’s a Gibson?’ he inquired, unable to sustain the fiction that he was a habitué of nightclubs.
‘Gin and vermouth,’ Philly replied. ‘Just a martini really. I was trying to impress you.’
‘You succeeded.’
Perry gave every sign that he was bored – or was it jealousy? ‘Have you seen the swimming-pool? It’s a killer. What say you? Shall we go use it before the
hoi polloi
find it? I need to shower anyway and so do you, Frank. Doesn’t he stink, Philly?’
‘I don’t smell anything. Come over here.’
Obediently, Frank got off his stool and went over to the girl. She raised her face to his and sniffed. ‘Closer,’ she commanded and Frank lowered his face to hers. A whiff of scent made his head swim. He thought he must kiss her or die but, before he could do so, she said, ‘You’re right, Perry. He does stink.’
Frank looked from one twin to the other, bewildered and not a little in love with both of them. ‘I’ll go and get my costume,’ he said with an effort. Feeling very thirsty all of a sudden, he swallowed down his cocktail and almost choked. The twins laughed.
The pool was the most luxurious Frank had ever seen. He guessed it must be over thirty feet long and maybe twenty wide. It had two diving boards and was faced with glazed terracotta tiles. The walls shimmered green and red while the mother-of-pearl ceiling added to the impression of being in a jewel box. Perry and he showered and then, laughing loudly to fill the emptiness of the place and hear the echo, pulled on their trunks and made a dash for the water. Out of the corner of his eye, Frank saw the girl leaning against one of the faience columns which supported the arches over the pool. She too had changed but seemed in no hurry to get into the water. Making every effort to impress her, Frank dived off one of the boards and resurfaced to find Philly had not even been watching. She had been fitting her bathing cap in a mirror on one side of the pool.
Frank pulled himself up on to the side and watched the water stream off him. It was quite warm but, feeling suddenly naked, he pulled a towel round his shoulders. Perry came to sit beside him. ‘Fancy swimming in February in the middle of the Atlantic!’
‘I don’t suppose you’d last many minutes if you were swimming in the Atlantic.’ Frank paused but Perry made no comment so he continued, ‘With a name like Roosevelt, I suppose that means you are going into politics.’
‘I don’t think so. Not
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