brother-in-law getting on with his new novel? Oh, my dear, I must tell you. I was talking to some people at the meet the other day – the Longthwaites; do you know them? Lady Longthwaite, it was, as a matter of fact – and of course she didn’t know I knew your brother-in-law.” Freda detailed at considerable length the incident and left Lady Longthwaite wallowing in her literary inferiority.
“Ha, ha,” said Lina dutifully.
“By the way, talking of meets, how did Johnnie get on at Merchester last Tuesday?”
“Merchester?” Lina echoed stupidly.
“Yes, the races. We saw him there, but we didn’t speak to him. I waved, but he was looking far too busy to wave back. I don’t know whether he even saw us. Didn’t he tell you? Then I suppose he didn’t see us. My dear, we had a terrible day: lost simply
pounds.
I hope Johnnie came out of it better?”
Lina kept her head. “Oh,” she said lightly, “I don’t think he did so badly.”
“Janet must have brought him luck.” Freda could not keep a slightly malicious note out of her voice.
“Janet?” Just as Lina had never suspected that Janet might be jealous of Johnnie, so it had never occurred to her that Freda might be jealous of Janet. All she knew was that the two disliked each other, and rather more intensely than the difference between their temperaments seemed quite to warrant. “Janet? Oh, yes, I believe he did say she had.”
Johnnie’s indifference to Free Trade saved her. On a hint too open to be disregarded Harry had been forced to bring it with him to the drawing room.
“If we could only get the Tories to understand that simple fact,” he was saying, as he opened the drawing-room door, “we might be able to—”
“Rather!” said Johnnie with enthusiasm. “I expect you’re absolutely right, Harry. Anything on the wireless, Freda? My goodness, I envy you your set. We can’t get anything but Daventry on our rotten little portable.”
The wireless put an effective stop to Free Trade.
But not to Harry.
He got out his one-stringed fiddle and accompanied Jack Payne a grim half-bar behind the tune for the next two hours.
“Why,” thought Lina despairingly, “do we put up with this sort of thing in the name of social intercourse?”
2
She tackled Johnnie in the car going home.
“Johnnie, have you been racing again?”
“Racing?” Johnnie repeated, with virtuous indignation. “Of course I haven’t. Why?”
“Then what were you doing last Tuesday afternoon?”
“Last Tuesday afternoon?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Working, I suppose. What else should I have been doing?”
“Oh, Johnnie,” Lina said impatiently, “don’t bother to lie to me. You were at Merchester races last Tuesday. The Newshams saw you there. Don’t go on pretending you weren’t. You were with Janet, and I’ve only got to ask her.”
“Oh!” said Johnnie, in a tone of understanding. “I couldn’t think what you were getting at. Yes, of course I was there last Tuesday. I’d forgotten for the moment. I had to go over to Merchester on business, and just popped into the course to see the big race, and ran into Janet there. Of course.”
“Johnnie!”
“What, darling?”
“Is that true?”
“Well, really, monkeyface ...”
“That’s all it was, and you haven’t been betting again?”
“Good Lord, no. No more of that. I should think not. I didn’t even have a bet last Tuesday. You sounded,” said Johnnie in an injured voice, “as if you thought I’d broken my promise.”
“Darling,” said Lina penitently, “I did think so.”
“I promised not to bet. I didn’t promise never to go inside a race course again.”
“No, of course not, darling.”
“You really must trust me a bit more than that, monkeyface.”
“Yes, darling. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, that’s all right,” said Johnnie magnanimously.
3
But just to be on the safe side Lina had a word with Janet.
Oddly enough, it was Janet herself who gave her the
“Ha, ha,” said Lina dutifully.
“By the way, talking of meets, how did Johnnie get on at Merchester last Tuesday?”
“Merchester?” Lina echoed stupidly.
“Yes, the races. We saw him there, but we didn’t speak to him. I waved, but he was looking far too busy to wave back. I don’t know whether he even saw us. Didn’t he tell you? Then I suppose he didn’t see us. My dear, we had a terrible day: lost simply
pounds.
I hope Johnnie came out of it better?”
Lina kept her head. “Oh,” she said lightly, “I don’t think he did so badly.”
“Janet must have brought him luck.” Freda could not keep a slightly malicious note out of her voice.
“Janet?” Just as Lina had never suspected that Janet might be jealous of Johnnie, so it had never occurred to her that Freda might be jealous of Janet. All she knew was that the two disliked each other, and rather more intensely than the difference between their temperaments seemed quite to warrant. “Janet? Oh, yes, I believe he did say she had.”
Johnnie’s indifference to Free Trade saved her. On a hint too open to be disregarded Harry had been forced to bring it with him to the drawing room.
“If we could only get the Tories to understand that simple fact,” he was saying, as he opened the drawing-room door, “we might be able to—”
“Rather!” said Johnnie with enthusiasm. “I expect you’re absolutely right, Harry. Anything on the wireless, Freda? My goodness, I envy you your set. We can’t get anything but Daventry on our rotten little portable.”
The wireless put an effective stop to Free Trade.
But not to Harry.
He got out his one-stringed fiddle and accompanied Jack Payne a grim half-bar behind the tune for the next two hours.
“Why,” thought Lina despairingly, “do we put up with this sort of thing in the name of social intercourse?”
2
She tackled Johnnie in the car going home.
“Johnnie, have you been racing again?”
“Racing?” Johnnie repeated, with virtuous indignation. “Of course I haven’t. Why?”
“Then what were you doing last Tuesday afternoon?”
“Last Tuesday afternoon?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Working, I suppose. What else should I have been doing?”
“Oh, Johnnie,” Lina said impatiently, “don’t bother to lie to me. You were at Merchester races last Tuesday. The Newshams saw you there. Don’t go on pretending you weren’t. You were with Janet, and I’ve only got to ask her.”
“Oh!” said Johnnie, in a tone of understanding. “I couldn’t think what you were getting at. Yes, of course I was there last Tuesday. I’d forgotten for the moment. I had to go over to Merchester on business, and just popped into the course to see the big race, and ran into Janet there. Of course.”
“Johnnie!”
“What, darling?”
“Is that true?”
“Well, really, monkeyface ...”
“That’s all it was, and you haven’t been betting again?”
“Good Lord, no. No more of that. I should think not. I didn’t even have a bet last Tuesday. You sounded,” said Johnnie in an injured voice, “as if you thought I’d broken my promise.”
“Darling,” said Lina penitently, “I did think so.”
“I promised not to bet. I didn’t promise never to go inside a race course again.”
“No, of course not, darling.”
“You really must trust me a bit more than that, monkeyface.”
“Yes, darling. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, that’s all right,” said Johnnie magnanimously.
3
But just to be on the safe side Lina had a word with Janet.
Oddly enough, it was Janet herself who gave her the
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