it’s Aubrey,” she said.
“And … Miss Pleydell.”
Aubrey stood up.
“Phyllis. Willie …”
Phyllis and Willie! I had not heard their Christian names before as far as I remembered, but I knew them as Captain and Mrs. Freeling.
Mrs. Freeling talked breathlessly.
“What on earth … Well, fancy .. and here of all places … and what are you doing in Venice?”
“We’re having a honeymoon.”
“Oh Willie, isn’t that just sweet! And Miss Pleydell… Oh, I’m sorry. You’ll be Mrs. St. Clare now. What a lovely surprise.”
“You must have some coffee,” said Aubrey.
“I’d like something …”
There were two seats at the table and they sat down;
Mrs. Freeling had changed; she looked much older than I remembered; her eyes were sunken and she seemed very thin. I had seen very little of her husband and could hardly remember what he had looked like before.
“What are you doing?” asked Aubrey.
“Having a holiday?”
“My dear, life is a constant holiday.”
“I suppose you are on leave. Captain Freeling,” I said.
Mrs. Freeling leaned towards me and laid a hand on my arm.
“No more leaves. No more duties. No more regiment. We’re free of all that, aren’t we, Willie?”
Captain Freeling looked a little rueful.
“I’ve resigned my commission,” he said to me.
“Oh …”
He did not offer any explanation and I sensed that it would be tactless to pursue the matter.
“We’re home now,” said Mrs. Freeling, ‘with Willie’s people until we decide how things are going. It’s so good for the children. We’re having a holiday before we settle down to life at home, aren’t we, Willie dear? “
“A very pleasant holiday, I imagine,” said Aubrey.
“How long have you been in Venice?”
“For three days.”
“Not long, which explains why we haven’t run into you before. But Venice is not really big enough to lose oneself for ” i long. “
“I’m glad of that. Wouldn’t it have been a tragedy, Willie, if we had never found each other? And now we’ve done it… just in the nick of time. We’re leaving in three days’ time.”
“We’re going at the end of the week,” said Aubrey.
“I could stay here for months,” said Mrs. Freeling. She smiled at me.
“I dare say you could, too. And how are you liking life at home? An unnecessary question. You’re revelling.”
“You must miss India,” I said.
“Not a bit of it. Glad to get away. Sometimes I used to get the shivers in the night. Those natives … They looked so. sinister sometimes. You could never be quite sure what they were thinking … or what they would do next.”
“What happened to the children’s ayah?”
“Oh … she was yours, wasn’t she? She went off to one o;
the other families the Laymon-Joneses, I believe. The chilj dren were fond of her. They made a fearful fuss about leaving her. “
“She was a very good ayah.”
“We’ve been to Florence and Rome, haven’t we, Willie?”
Willie said they had.
“Marvellous! Those palaces! Those pictures! That lovely, lovely bridge . what was it called, Willie? Ponte Vecchio? The shops.
Fascinating! “
Captain Freeling talked to me and Aubrey was occupied with Mrs. Freeling. I heard scraps of their conversation as the Captain asked after my father and how he was liking being at the War Office after India. He said that he missed the army but he thought he would settle comfortably at home and the children had always been a worry. They would have had to be sent home to school sooner or later and that was always an anxiety and a disturbing experience for the children as I probably remembered.
While the Captain was talking I heard Mrs. Freeling say to Aubrey:
“Damien is in Venice.”
“My people live in Worcestershire,” the Captain was saying.
“We’re at the family home for the present. It’s a fine part of the country, really.”
I said I did not know it and he asked questions about the Palazzo Tonaletti and while I
“And … Miss Pleydell.”
Aubrey stood up.
“Phyllis. Willie …”
Phyllis and Willie! I had not heard their Christian names before as far as I remembered, but I knew them as Captain and Mrs. Freeling.
Mrs. Freeling talked breathlessly.
“What on earth … Well, fancy .. and here of all places … and what are you doing in Venice?”
“We’re having a honeymoon.”
“Oh Willie, isn’t that just sweet! And Miss Pleydell… Oh, I’m sorry. You’ll be Mrs. St. Clare now. What a lovely surprise.”
“You must have some coffee,” said Aubrey.
“I’d like something …”
There were two seats at the table and they sat down;
Mrs. Freeling had changed; she looked much older than I remembered; her eyes were sunken and she seemed very thin. I had seen very little of her husband and could hardly remember what he had looked like before.
“What are you doing?” asked Aubrey.
“Having a holiday?”
“My dear, life is a constant holiday.”
“I suppose you are on leave. Captain Freeling,” I said.
Mrs. Freeling leaned towards me and laid a hand on my arm.
“No more leaves. No more duties. No more regiment. We’re free of all that, aren’t we, Willie?”
Captain Freeling looked a little rueful.
“I’ve resigned my commission,” he said to me.
“Oh …”
He did not offer any explanation and I sensed that it would be tactless to pursue the matter.
“We’re home now,” said Mrs. Freeling, ‘with Willie’s people until we decide how things are going. It’s so good for the children. We’re having a holiday before we settle down to life at home, aren’t we, Willie dear? “
“A very pleasant holiday, I imagine,” said Aubrey.
“How long have you been in Venice?”
“For three days.”
“Not long, which explains why we haven’t run into you before. But Venice is not really big enough to lose oneself for ” i long. “
“I’m glad of that. Wouldn’t it have been a tragedy, Willie, if we had never found each other? And now we’ve done it… just in the nick of time. We’re leaving in three days’ time.”
“We’re going at the end of the week,” said Aubrey.
“I could stay here for months,” said Mrs. Freeling. She smiled at me.
“I dare say you could, too. And how are you liking life at home? An unnecessary question. You’re revelling.”
“You must miss India,” I said.
“Not a bit of it. Glad to get away. Sometimes I used to get the shivers in the night. Those natives … They looked so. sinister sometimes. You could never be quite sure what they were thinking … or what they would do next.”
“What happened to the children’s ayah?”
“Oh … she was yours, wasn’t she? She went off to one o;
the other families the Laymon-Joneses, I believe. The chilj dren were fond of her. They made a fearful fuss about leaving her. “
“She was a very good ayah.”
“We’ve been to Florence and Rome, haven’t we, Willie?”
Willie said they had.
“Marvellous! Those palaces! Those pictures! That lovely, lovely bridge . what was it called, Willie? Ponte Vecchio? The shops.
Fascinating! “
Captain Freeling talked to me and Aubrey was occupied with Mrs. Freeling. I heard scraps of their conversation as the Captain asked after my father and how he was liking being at the War Office after India. He said that he missed the army but he thought he would settle comfortably at home and the children had always been a worry. They would have had to be sent home to school sooner or later and that was always an anxiety and a disturbing experience for the children as I probably remembered.
While the Captain was talking I heard Mrs. Freeling say to Aubrey:
“Damien is in Venice.”
“My people live in Worcestershire,” the Captain was saying.
“We’re at the family home for the present. It’s a fine part of the country, really.”
I said I did not know it and he asked questions about the Palazzo Tonaletti and while I
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