Violet?’
‘Sounds like nonsense to me,’ said Violet. ‘Why on earth should it be anything to do with Maud? Anyway, it was probably written by some housemaid who got herself in trouble.’ She sounded impatient and completely uninterested and reverted immediately to the subject that was on her mind.
’All right,’ she said with a sigh, ‘let’s go up to the attic again, Daisy, and see whether any of that stuff of Elaine’s will do. Stop it, Rose – I don’t want to hear any more of your stories. You read too much rubbish and your mind is full of nonsense.’
‘You shock me,’ said Rose. ‘I thought you would not be able to wait to hear the whole story. I see I was mistaken in you. Romantic Girl Unmasked As Fraud. “I Just Want to Marry Money,” Says Earl’s Daughter ,’ she murmured. Nevertheless she followed her two older sisters up to the attic.
‘I thought as much,’ said Violet in despairing tones after a long scrutiny of the top layer of Elaine’s clothes. ‘These jumpers and cardigans might be good quality, but they just have such an old-fashioned look – and I can’t chop up knitted stuff. And the blouses too. People are going to laugh at us if we arrive wearing these. I want to be stylish.’ She mused for a moment and then went quickly across to the trunk marked R OBERT D ERRINGTON and flung it open.
It was at that moment Daisy heard a heavy footstep on the stairs. ‘Shut it, Violet,’ she hissed. ‘Father is coming. You don’t want him to see you taking things out of his brother’s trunk.’
However, it was not the Earl but Justin who came in, ducking his dark head below the small, low doorway.
‘Any use for a man with a handy knife?’ he enquired as he saw Violet on her knees in front of the trunk. A ray of sunshine coming in through the attic window lit a smile on his face.
‘No, thank you.’ Violet’s voice was curt and she did not look at him, but frowned to herself as she pulled out shirt after folded shirt.
The smile faded from Justin’s face, but then it came back as he turned to Daisy. ‘How did the filming go?’ he asked with an air of genuine interest.
It seemed that the truce the two had called during the tango was over. ‘Haven’t had the time to do anything with it yet. We’ve been wondering what to wear when we visit the Duchess. Have you ever been to one of those house parties, Justin?’ Daisy was determined that Violet wasn’t going to boss her. She would talk to Justin if she wanted to.
‘I’ve been to a couple. Can’t think what the girls wore, though. Dresses, I suppose,’ he said unhelpfully and went to sit on the low window seat. The little attic window jutted out from the roof and the sun was pouring through it now, making the seat a warm and comfortable place to be. He looked as though he were determined to stay so Violet gave a shrug and turned back to her sisters.
‘I’ve just had an idea,’ she said, wearing that intent look which always came over her face when she was talking about clothes. ‘It was seeing Poppy in that old pullover of Father’s. I’ve always thought it was ridiculous, but looking at it this morning, I suddenly thought that she looked rather good in it.’
She bent down and started to rifle through the trunk, discarding evening clothes, army khaki and army dress uniform, until at the bottom she came across what she was looking for. Carefully packed in a bag, heavily impregnated with lavender and cedar shavings, were the jumpers.
Daisy could see at glance that there was going to be nothing there to suit her. Robert had obviously had the Derrington colouring – he appeared to be a dark-haired, dark-eyed young man in all the photographs and whoever selected his jumpers had done it with an eye to what would look good on him. There were heather green and moss green jumpers, three of each, and then one russet one which would look good on Poppy and a couple of blues and one soft black cashmere.
‘What I was
‘Sounds like nonsense to me,’ said Violet. ‘Why on earth should it be anything to do with Maud? Anyway, it was probably written by some housemaid who got herself in trouble.’ She sounded impatient and completely uninterested and reverted immediately to the subject that was on her mind.
’All right,’ she said with a sigh, ‘let’s go up to the attic again, Daisy, and see whether any of that stuff of Elaine’s will do. Stop it, Rose – I don’t want to hear any more of your stories. You read too much rubbish and your mind is full of nonsense.’
‘You shock me,’ said Rose. ‘I thought you would not be able to wait to hear the whole story. I see I was mistaken in you. Romantic Girl Unmasked As Fraud. “I Just Want to Marry Money,” Says Earl’s Daughter ,’ she murmured. Nevertheless she followed her two older sisters up to the attic.
‘I thought as much,’ said Violet in despairing tones after a long scrutiny of the top layer of Elaine’s clothes. ‘These jumpers and cardigans might be good quality, but they just have such an old-fashioned look – and I can’t chop up knitted stuff. And the blouses too. People are going to laugh at us if we arrive wearing these. I want to be stylish.’ She mused for a moment and then went quickly across to the trunk marked R OBERT D ERRINGTON and flung it open.
It was at that moment Daisy heard a heavy footstep on the stairs. ‘Shut it, Violet,’ she hissed. ‘Father is coming. You don’t want him to see you taking things out of his brother’s trunk.’
However, it was not the Earl but Justin who came in, ducking his dark head below the small, low doorway.
‘Any use for a man with a handy knife?’ he enquired as he saw Violet on her knees in front of the trunk. A ray of sunshine coming in through the attic window lit a smile on his face.
‘No, thank you.’ Violet’s voice was curt and she did not look at him, but frowned to herself as she pulled out shirt after folded shirt.
The smile faded from Justin’s face, but then it came back as he turned to Daisy. ‘How did the filming go?’ he asked with an air of genuine interest.
It seemed that the truce the two had called during the tango was over. ‘Haven’t had the time to do anything with it yet. We’ve been wondering what to wear when we visit the Duchess. Have you ever been to one of those house parties, Justin?’ Daisy was determined that Violet wasn’t going to boss her. She would talk to Justin if she wanted to.
‘I’ve been to a couple. Can’t think what the girls wore, though. Dresses, I suppose,’ he said unhelpfully and went to sit on the low window seat. The little attic window jutted out from the roof and the sun was pouring through it now, making the seat a warm and comfortable place to be. He looked as though he were determined to stay so Violet gave a shrug and turned back to her sisters.
‘I’ve just had an idea,’ she said, wearing that intent look which always came over her face when she was talking about clothes. ‘It was seeing Poppy in that old pullover of Father’s. I’ve always thought it was ridiculous, but looking at it this morning, I suddenly thought that she looked rather good in it.’
She bent down and started to rifle through the trunk, discarding evening clothes, army khaki and army dress uniform, until at the bottom she came across what she was looking for. Carefully packed in a bag, heavily impregnated with lavender and cedar shavings, were the jumpers.
Daisy could see at glance that there was going to be nothing there to suit her. Robert had obviously had the Derrington colouring – he appeared to be a dark-haired, dark-eyed young man in all the photographs and whoever selected his jumpers had done it with an eye to what would look good on him. There were heather green and moss green jumpers, three of each, and then one russet one which would look good on Poppy and a couple of blues and one soft black cashmere.
‘What I was
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