and fruitcakes and selected a
meringue filled with cream.
‘Was Freddy blackmailing you?’ asked Harry.
She bit down on the meringue so violently that a shower of meringue crumbs, meringue powder, and a dollop of cream joined the detritus of food on her bosom.
‘Geffout!’ she roared when she could.
‘I beg your pardon?’
She seized a napkin and wiped her mouth. She lumbered to her feet, panting with rage.
‘Out!’ she shouted. ‘And never darken my doorstep again.’
‘I didn’t know anyone actually said that apart from the stage,’ said Harry equably. ‘If Freddy was not blackmailing you, why are you so furious?’
Mrs Freddy rang the bell. ‘Because of your impertinence. Because I am a respectable woman without a stain on my character.’
‘Unlike your dress, madam? You are covered in food. You are a walking menu.’
The footmen entered. ‘Throw him out!’ howled Mrs Jerry, collapsing back in her chair.
‘It’s all right, I’m going,’ said Harry.
As he walked outside, he wondered if he had been too blunt. He reflected ruefully that he would not be able to contact Rose because he had nothing to tell her, and in the same moment wondered
why that should matter so much.
‘So pleasant to see you looking your old self again,’ sighed Lady Polly. ‘We have decided to launch you back into society by gentle degrees.’
To her mother’s surprise, Rose did not object but merely lowered her long eyelashes and said meekly, ‘Yes, indeed.’
‘There are various cards here. We will go through them and decide which ones to accept.’
Rose’s sharp eyes caught sight of a name – Mrs Angela Stockton. She picked up the card. Mrs Angela Stockton was requesting the pleasure of the earl and countess and their daughter at
a lecture she was giving on Rudolf Steiner.
‘This looks interesting.’
The countess raised her lorgnette and studied the card. ‘It’s for tomorrow afternoon. Too late to accept now. Besides, who is Rudolf Steiner?’
‘It would be interesting to find out.’
‘I have no intention of going, even although the woman is perfectly respectable.’
‘I would like to go – with Daisy.’
‘As to Daisy,’ said Lady Polly, ‘I fear you may have become over-familiar with her.’
‘I agree. So I am going to make her my companion and hire a lady’s maid.’
‘Out of the question.’
‘It was Daisy who persuaded me to leave my working life. You are always worried that I will do something disgraceful. Daisy takes care of me. Why, she was even shocked that I should
threaten to tell society how you arranged for the road and railway station at Stacey Court to be blown up so that the king would not visit us.’
‘Quite right. I hope you have dropped that silly nonsense.’
‘I’ll need to think about it. Of course, were Daisy elevated to my companion, I wouldn’t dream of mentioning it.’
‘We spoilt you,’ said Lady Polly bitterly. ‘Most young gels who behaved the way you have behaved would have been locked up in the asylum by now. Wake up!’ she suddenly
shouted at her husband.
‘Hey, what!’ The little earl blinked like an owl.
‘Tea is served and your daughter wants to make that maid of hers a companion.’
‘And what does Cathcart have to say about that?’
‘Cathcart! He has nothing to say in what our daughter does or does not do.’
‘You must admit he saved her bacon on more than one occasion.’ The earl rang the bell and when the butler answered it, he said, ‘Brum, fetch the telephone.’
‘My lord, that instrument does not detach from the study. It is necessary for one to go to the machine.’
‘Well, go to it and phone that Cathcart fellow and tell him to come here.’
‘It would be better to send a carriage for him,’ said Rose quickly, fearing that Miss Jubbles would take the call and not pass it on. ‘His office is in the Buckingham Palace
Road. Number Twenty-five-A.’
‘Very well, jump to it,’ said the earl. ‘By
meringue filled with cream.
‘Was Freddy blackmailing you?’ asked Harry.
She bit down on the meringue so violently that a shower of meringue crumbs, meringue powder, and a dollop of cream joined the detritus of food on her bosom.
‘Geffout!’ she roared when she could.
‘I beg your pardon?’
She seized a napkin and wiped her mouth. She lumbered to her feet, panting with rage.
‘Out!’ she shouted. ‘And never darken my doorstep again.’
‘I didn’t know anyone actually said that apart from the stage,’ said Harry equably. ‘If Freddy was not blackmailing you, why are you so furious?’
Mrs Freddy rang the bell. ‘Because of your impertinence. Because I am a respectable woman without a stain on my character.’
‘Unlike your dress, madam? You are covered in food. You are a walking menu.’
The footmen entered. ‘Throw him out!’ howled Mrs Jerry, collapsing back in her chair.
‘It’s all right, I’m going,’ said Harry.
As he walked outside, he wondered if he had been too blunt. He reflected ruefully that he would not be able to contact Rose because he had nothing to tell her, and in the same moment wondered
why that should matter so much.
‘So pleasant to see you looking your old self again,’ sighed Lady Polly. ‘We have decided to launch you back into society by gentle degrees.’
To her mother’s surprise, Rose did not object but merely lowered her long eyelashes and said meekly, ‘Yes, indeed.’
‘There are various cards here. We will go through them and decide which ones to accept.’
Rose’s sharp eyes caught sight of a name – Mrs Angela Stockton. She picked up the card. Mrs Angela Stockton was requesting the pleasure of the earl and countess and their daughter at
a lecture she was giving on Rudolf Steiner.
‘This looks interesting.’
The countess raised her lorgnette and studied the card. ‘It’s for tomorrow afternoon. Too late to accept now. Besides, who is Rudolf Steiner?’
‘It would be interesting to find out.’
‘I have no intention of going, even although the woman is perfectly respectable.’
‘I would like to go – with Daisy.’
‘As to Daisy,’ said Lady Polly, ‘I fear you may have become over-familiar with her.’
‘I agree. So I am going to make her my companion and hire a lady’s maid.’
‘Out of the question.’
‘It was Daisy who persuaded me to leave my working life. You are always worried that I will do something disgraceful. Daisy takes care of me. Why, she was even shocked that I should
threaten to tell society how you arranged for the road and railway station at Stacey Court to be blown up so that the king would not visit us.’
‘Quite right. I hope you have dropped that silly nonsense.’
‘I’ll need to think about it. Of course, were Daisy elevated to my companion, I wouldn’t dream of mentioning it.’
‘We spoilt you,’ said Lady Polly bitterly. ‘Most young gels who behaved the way you have behaved would have been locked up in the asylum by now. Wake up!’ she suddenly
shouted at her husband.
‘Hey, what!’ The little earl blinked like an owl.
‘Tea is served and your daughter wants to make that maid of hers a companion.’
‘And what does Cathcart have to say about that?’
‘Cathcart! He has nothing to say in what our daughter does or does not do.’
‘You must admit he saved her bacon on more than one occasion.’ The earl rang the bell and when the butler answered it, he said, ‘Brum, fetch the telephone.’
‘My lord, that instrument does not detach from the study. It is necessary for one to go to the machine.’
‘Well, go to it and phone that Cathcart fellow and tell him to come here.’
‘It would be better to send a carriage for him,’ said Rose quickly, fearing that Miss Jubbles would take the call and not pass it on. ‘His office is in the Buckingham Palace
Road. Number Twenty-five-A.’
‘Very well, jump to it,’ said the earl. ‘By
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