unaware that anything was going on.
One morning when only a fortnight of July was still to run, Drake was engaged on his croquet-lawn tapping the balls about and trying to tame his white satin shoes which hurt terribly. From the garden next door came the familiar accents of the Queen’s speech to her troops.
‘And though I am only a weak woman,’ declaimed Daisy who was determined to go through the speech without referring to her book. ‘Though I am only a weak woman, a weak woman –’ she repeated.
‘Yet I have the heart of a Prince,’ shouted Drake with the friendly intention of prompting her.
‘Thank you, Georgie. Or ought it to be Princess, do you think?’
‘No: Prince,’ said Georgie.
‘Prince,’ cried Daisy. ‘Though I am only a weak woman, yet I have the heart of a Prince … Let me see … Prince.’
There was silence.
‘Georgie,’ said Daisy in her ordinary voice. ‘Do stop your croquet a minute and come to the paling. I want to talk.’
‘I’m trying to get used to these shoes,’ said Georgie. ‘They hurt frightfully. I shall have to take them to Tilling and wear them there. Oh, I haven’t told you, Lady Brixton came down yesterday evening –’
‘I know that,’ said Daisy.
‘– and she thinks that her brother will take my house for a couple of months, as long as I don’t leave any servants. He’ll be here for the fête, if he does, so I wonder if you could put me up. How’s Robert’s cold?’
‘Worse,’ she said. ‘I’m worse too. I can’t remember half of what I knew by heart a week ago. Isn’t there some memory-system?’
‘Lots, I believe,’ said Georgie. ‘But it’s rather late. They don’t improve your memory all in a minute. I really think you had better read your speech to the troops, as if it was the opening of Parliament.’
‘I won’t,’ said Daisy, taking off her ruff. ‘I’ll learn it if it costs me the last breath of blood in my body – I mean drop.’
‘Well it will be very awkward if you forget it all,’ said Georgie. ‘We can’t cheer nothing at all. Such a pity, because your voice carries perfectly now. I could hear you while I was breakfasting.’
‘And it’s not only that,’ said Daisy. ‘There’s no life in the thing. It doesn’t look as if it was happening.’
‘No, that’s true,’ said Georgie. ‘These tarsome shoes of mine are real enough, though!’
‘I begin to think we ought to have had a producer,’ said Daisy. ‘But it was so much finer to do it all ourselves, like – like Oberammergau. Does Lucia ever say anything about it? I think it’s too mean for words of her to take no interest in it.’
‘Well, you must remember that you asked her only to be my wife,’ said Georgie. ‘Naturally she wouldn’t like that.’
‘She ought to help us instead of going about as if we were all invisible,’ exclaimed Daisy.
‘My dear, she did offer to help you. At least, I told you ages ago, that I felt sure she would if you asked her to.’
‘I feel inclined to chuck the whole thing,’ said Daisy.
‘But you can’t. Masses of tickets have been sold. And who’sto pay for the
Golden Hind
and the roast sheep and all the costumes?’ asked Georgie. ‘Not to mention all our trouble. Why not ask her to help, if you want her to?’
‘Georgie, will you ask her?’ said Daisy.
‘Certainly not,’ said Georgie very firmly. ‘You’ve been managing it from the first. It’s your show. If I were you, I would ask her at once. She’ll be over here in a few minutes, as we’re going to have a music. Pop in.’
A melodious cry of ‘
Georgino mio!
’ resounded from the open window of Georgie’s drawing-room, and he hobbled away down the garden walk. Ever since that beautiful understanding they had arrived at, that both of them shrank, as from a cup of hemlock, from the idea of marriage, they had talked Italian or baby-language to a surprising extent from mere lightness of heart.
‘Me tummin’,’ he called.
One morning when only a fortnight of July was still to run, Drake was engaged on his croquet-lawn tapping the balls about and trying to tame his white satin shoes which hurt terribly. From the garden next door came the familiar accents of the Queen’s speech to her troops.
‘And though I am only a weak woman,’ declaimed Daisy who was determined to go through the speech without referring to her book. ‘Though I am only a weak woman, a weak woman –’ she repeated.
‘Yet I have the heart of a Prince,’ shouted Drake with the friendly intention of prompting her.
‘Thank you, Georgie. Or ought it to be Princess, do you think?’
‘No: Prince,’ said Georgie.
‘Prince,’ cried Daisy. ‘Though I am only a weak woman, yet I have the heart of a Prince … Let me see … Prince.’
There was silence.
‘Georgie,’ said Daisy in her ordinary voice. ‘Do stop your croquet a minute and come to the paling. I want to talk.’
‘I’m trying to get used to these shoes,’ said Georgie. ‘They hurt frightfully. I shall have to take them to Tilling and wear them there. Oh, I haven’t told you, Lady Brixton came down yesterday evening –’
‘I know that,’ said Daisy.
‘– and she thinks that her brother will take my house for a couple of months, as long as I don’t leave any servants. He’ll be here for the fête, if he does, so I wonder if you could put me up. How’s Robert’s cold?’
‘Worse,’ she said. ‘I’m worse too. I can’t remember half of what I knew by heart a week ago. Isn’t there some memory-system?’
‘Lots, I believe,’ said Georgie. ‘But it’s rather late. They don’t improve your memory all in a minute. I really think you had better read your speech to the troops, as if it was the opening of Parliament.’
‘I won’t,’ said Daisy, taking off her ruff. ‘I’ll learn it if it costs me the last breath of blood in my body – I mean drop.’
‘Well it will be very awkward if you forget it all,’ said Georgie. ‘We can’t cheer nothing at all. Such a pity, because your voice carries perfectly now. I could hear you while I was breakfasting.’
‘And it’s not only that,’ said Daisy. ‘There’s no life in the thing. It doesn’t look as if it was happening.’
‘No, that’s true,’ said Georgie. ‘These tarsome shoes of mine are real enough, though!’
‘I begin to think we ought to have had a producer,’ said Daisy. ‘But it was so much finer to do it all ourselves, like – like Oberammergau. Does Lucia ever say anything about it? I think it’s too mean for words of her to take no interest in it.’
‘Well, you must remember that you asked her only to be my wife,’ said Georgie. ‘Naturally she wouldn’t like that.’
‘She ought to help us instead of going about as if we were all invisible,’ exclaimed Daisy.
‘My dear, she did offer to help you. At least, I told you ages ago, that I felt sure she would if you asked her to.’
‘I feel inclined to chuck the whole thing,’ said Daisy.
‘But you can’t. Masses of tickets have been sold. And who’sto pay for the
Golden Hind
and the roast sheep and all the costumes?’ asked Georgie. ‘Not to mention all our trouble. Why not ask her to help, if you want her to?’
‘Georgie, will you ask her?’ said Daisy.
‘Certainly not,’ said Georgie very firmly. ‘You’ve been managing it from the first. It’s your show. If I were you, I would ask her at once. She’ll be over here in a few minutes, as we’re going to have a music. Pop in.’
A melodious cry of ‘
Georgino mio!
’ resounded from the open window of Georgie’s drawing-room, and he hobbled away down the garden walk. Ever since that beautiful understanding they had arrived at, that both of them shrank, as from a cup of hemlock, from the idea of marriage, they had talked Italian or baby-language to a surprising extent from mere lightness of heart.
‘Me tummin’,’ he called.
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