Read Online Dolly's War by Dorothy Scannell - Free Book Online

grief, Chas was lying flat on the bed, arms and legs stretched out, he had not even left six inches of space anywhere into which I could crawl until dawn broke. First I tried to get his singlet on but he seemed so heavy and stiff that I couldn’t even get it over his head and each time I tried unearthly groaning emanated from him. I searched around on the floor in the dark to find the covers but each time I threw these over him he cast them off. I knelt by his bed for ages, trying to keep him covered for I was so worried for Olive in the morning. It might spoil her holiday had she viewed my husband not only in his birthday-suit but in so very abandoned a posture. I crouched on the floor replacing the covers like an automaton; my head ached, I felt sick, and a deadly hatred for my spouse overcame me. Three human beings were snoring away in that room; I had drunk less than any of them and I felt more than hardly done by. Chas always led people to believe he was the business-like partner, me irresponsible and even scatter-brained, always losing important documents and the like, yet he had lost our key, he had put me in this embarrassing situation with his brother. If I could have noiselessly punched my darling I would have done so willingly and enjoyably, but he even groaned like a cow in labour when I threw the covers lightly over him. Suddenly he moved his position and I squeezed into the few inches of space on the edge of the bed, intending to stay awake so that Olive’s first morning glance would be at two shrouded figures.
    But, as so often happened with me, a few hours after a good intention has been sincerely promised, all memory of it becomes erased from my mind, and I awoke to blazing sunshine and the sight of a yellow dragon on a blue silk cloth. Olive had woken at the maid’s knocking with the morning tea, forgotten, for a moment, all the events of the preceding night and glancing at Geoffrey’s bed nearly froze with shock for Chas and I were lying two nude abandoned figures, my petticoat having in some mysterious way transformed itself into a neck scarf. Olive had scrambled out of bed, thrown on her Japanese kimono and was holding her arms in their wide sleeves stretched out in a yawn above us as the maid came in. I dressed a dazed and headachey Chas and as I put his jacket round his shoulders, out fell the key to our room!
    Olive was the most marvellous person to have around at times of crises. She was dark, slim, agile, and calm, and it was difficult sometimes to know what she felt or thought because, an entirely opposite character to me, she didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. What we had in common was a sense of humour. Like me she didn’t laugh out loud, or long, or much, but the same funny situation would strike us both instantly, and her funny little squeak in the throat would amuse me too. She was very tolerant of the rest of us on that holiday for not only had she helped over Chas’s night of inebriation, but at his apology had insisted she had noticed nothing untoward in his behaviour or demeanour, so that knowing she was looking forward so much to the weekly fancy-dress dances at the hotel, we really ought to have been more co-operative about it.
    Oh yes, we all decided we would enter; not only were the prizes marvellous but there was a special prize for the entrant whose identity remained a mystery to the rest of the guests. Robin, intellectual and serious, wanted a dignified costume to match his character. Because I was plain and homely I wanted a glamorous costume and, much to Chas’s disgust, I was eager for a tutu or a slave costume with split georgette trouser-legs, lots of bangles, a bare midriff and golden brassiere separated in two. Chas, who was shy about the whole affair, would have been quite happy in his waiter’s uniform. By the time we had all made our choice all the glamorous costumes had gone from the fancy-dress shop. Rob refused any of the ordinary