polishing the silver baskets ready for the evening's festivities, 'do you know that Nelly Tilling has just come out of Piggott's house?'
'Nelly Tilling?' repeated Ella, looking up from rolling an untidy cigarette. 'Which is she?'
'You know,' said Dimity, with some impatience. 'The fat woman who's supposed to be looking for a second husband!'
'Hm !' grunted Ella shortly. 'She's welcome to old Piggott"
6. All Hallows E'en
A T six-thirty Ella and Dimity awaited their guests. Both ladies were dressed in the frocks which had been recognised by Thrush Green and Lulling as their cocktail clothes for the last decade, and both exuded the aroma of their recent baths, lavender in Dimity's case and Wright's Coal Tar soap in Ella's.
Dimity's grey crepe had a cowl neck-line which had been rather fashionable just after the war and a full skirt which a more sophisticated woman would have supported with a stiffened petticoat. Over Dimity's modest Vedonis straight petticoat, however, the fullness draped itself limply, ending in a hem so uneven that it was obviously the work of the cleaner's
rather than the couturier's. A rose of squashed fawn silk at the waist-line strove unavailingly to add dash to this ensemble.
Ella, in a plain black woollen frock decorated only with cigarette ash on the bodice, looked surprisingly elegant. Released for once from their brogues her feet were remarkably neat in a pair of black suède shoes, low-heeled but well-cut, which drew attention to the fact that despite Ella's bulk she still showed an attractive pair of ankles.
The fire crackled and blazed hospitably giving forth a sweet smell of burning apple wood. The golden pumpkin glowed on the mantelpiece, its grotesque face beaming a welcome. Ella counted the bottles briskly and busied herself with bottle opener, lemons and glasses, while Dimity fluttered hither and thither putting little dishes of salted nuts and other savoury things first here, then there, surveying the effect with much anguish.
'All I want,' said Ella, squinting at her companion over the cigarette smoke which curled into her eye, 'is a private dish of olives behind the azalea. I've seen that young Lovell at parties before, wolfing 'em down. By the time I've got the drinks circulating he'll have had the lot,' said his hostess forthrightly.
'Oh, Ella dear,' protested Dimity, 'I'm quite sure he doesn't behave like that! He's a very well-brought-up young man.' But she obediently put one dish of olives behind the azalea plant near Ella, nevertheless. Ella took three, clapped them into her mouth, like a man taking pills, and crunched with relish.
'I'll bet you sixpence in the Cats' Protection box that Dotty arrives first,' said Ella rather indistinctly.
'Of course she'll be first,' said Dimity. 'It's not worth betting on. Besides,' she added, looking thoughtful, 'I don't know that we ought to bet like that. The rector was saying, only the other day, that betting is on the increase.'
'Bless his innocent old heart,' cried Ella, wiping her olive-wet
palm smartly down the side of her skirt, 'what on earth is he doing then when he holds a raffle for the organ fund?'
'It's not quite the sameâ' began Dimity primly, when the bell rang and both ladies hurried to meet their first guest. It was, as they had surmised, their old friend Dotty Harmer, clad in her familiar seal-skin jacket. This archaic garment had been her mother's, and had an old-world charm with its nipped-in waist and a hint of leg-of-mutton about the upper part of the sleeves.
'Come in, come in,' shouted Ella hospitably, throwing open the door with such violence that the house shook.
I'll just take off my boots on the step,' said Dotty, bending over. 'It's absolutely filthy along my field path after all the rain. What a dayâwhat a day!'
'You come in,' said Ella, in a slightly hectoring manner. 'It's perishing in this wind, stripped out as we arc. Besides, we'll have the fire smoking.'
Thus adjured, Dotty
'Nelly Tilling?' repeated Ella, looking up from rolling an untidy cigarette. 'Which is she?'
'You know,' said Dimity, with some impatience. 'The fat woman who's supposed to be looking for a second husband!'
'Hm !' grunted Ella shortly. 'She's welcome to old Piggott"
6. All Hallows E'en
A T six-thirty Ella and Dimity awaited their guests. Both ladies were dressed in the frocks which had been recognised by Thrush Green and Lulling as their cocktail clothes for the last decade, and both exuded the aroma of their recent baths, lavender in Dimity's case and Wright's Coal Tar soap in Ella's.
Dimity's grey crepe had a cowl neck-line which had been rather fashionable just after the war and a full skirt which a more sophisticated woman would have supported with a stiffened petticoat. Over Dimity's modest Vedonis straight petticoat, however, the fullness draped itself limply, ending in a hem so uneven that it was obviously the work of the cleaner's
rather than the couturier's. A rose of squashed fawn silk at the waist-line strove unavailingly to add dash to this ensemble.
Ella, in a plain black woollen frock decorated only with cigarette ash on the bodice, looked surprisingly elegant. Released for once from their brogues her feet were remarkably neat in a pair of black suède shoes, low-heeled but well-cut, which drew attention to the fact that despite Ella's bulk she still showed an attractive pair of ankles.
The fire crackled and blazed hospitably giving forth a sweet smell of burning apple wood. The golden pumpkin glowed on the mantelpiece, its grotesque face beaming a welcome. Ella counted the bottles briskly and busied herself with bottle opener, lemons and glasses, while Dimity fluttered hither and thither putting little dishes of salted nuts and other savoury things first here, then there, surveying the effect with much anguish.
'All I want,' said Ella, squinting at her companion over the cigarette smoke which curled into her eye, 'is a private dish of olives behind the azalea. I've seen that young Lovell at parties before, wolfing 'em down. By the time I've got the drinks circulating he'll have had the lot,' said his hostess forthrightly.
'Oh, Ella dear,' protested Dimity, 'I'm quite sure he doesn't behave like that! He's a very well-brought-up young man.' But she obediently put one dish of olives behind the azalea plant near Ella, nevertheless. Ella took three, clapped them into her mouth, like a man taking pills, and crunched with relish.
'I'll bet you sixpence in the Cats' Protection box that Dotty arrives first,' said Ella rather indistinctly.
'Of course she'll be first,' said Dimity. 'It's not worth betting on. Besides,' she added, looking thoughtful, 'I don't know that we ought to bet like that. The rector was saying, only the other day, that betting is on the increase.'
'Bless his innocent old heart,' cried Ella, wiping her olive-wet
palm smartly down the side of her skirt, 'what on earth is he doing then when he holds a raffle for the organ fund?'
'It's not quite the sameâ' began Dimity primly, when the bell rang and both ladies hurried to meet their first guest. It was, as they had surmised, their old friend Dotty Harmer, clad in her familiar seal-skin jacket. This archaic garment had been her mother's, and had an old-world charm with its nipped-in waist and a hint of leg-of-mutton about the upper part of the sleeves.
'Come in, come in,' shouted Ella hospitably, throwing open the door with such violence that the house shook.
I'll just take off my boots on the step,' said Dotty, bending over. 'It's absolutely filthy along my field path after all the rain. What a dayâwhat a day!'
'You come in,' said Ella, in a slightly hectoring manner. 'It's perishing in this wind, stripped out as we arc. Besides, we'll have the fire smoking.'
Thus adjured, Dotty
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