Christmas Pudding and Pigeon Pie (21 page)

All the attention and praise that she was now receiving had the very natural effect of making her twice as pretty and attractive as she had been before, and with Sally to help and advise her she was even acquiring a certain chic.

‘You’re so lucky; you’ve got the sort of face that can be made into anything,’ said Sally one day as they sat talking in Elspeth Paula’s nursery. ‘It’s like a sheet of white paper waiting to be drawn on – or, at least, painted. The drawing’s there all right; you’ve got beautiful features. Fancy having real natural platinum blonde hair, too; it’s incredible. You’d have a wild success in London, you know.’

‘I didn’t when I went there.’

‘No, of course not, with all those awful debs. I mean, among people who understand what real beauty is. You must come and stay in the flat when we go back there. We can easily make up a bed for you in the bathroom, or Amabelle will put you up, and then we’ll arrange some parties. Now, I’ve got a very good idea: why not tell your mother you want to learn drawing and come to us permanently as P.G.? Do, it would be such fun.’

‘Oh, Sally, you are divine to me, only, you see, I can’t draw at all.’

‘That doesn’t matter. It makes a wonderful excuse to be in London. I can’t draw a single line, and I was at the Slade for years. My family lived in the country, too, you see, and I had to get away somehow.’

‘Mummy would never let me.’

‘You and Bobby seem to be very much under your mother’s thumb.’

‘Yes, even Bobby’s frightened of her, really, although he does pretend not to be. Besides, you see, all the money we have comes from her, and that puts her in a very strong position.’

‘Yes, of course, I quite see that.’

Michael took Philadelphia for a walk and proposed to her by the statue of Apollo. It was, like everything that Michael did, very much stage managed, very well rehearsed, supremely diplomatic and in the last degree unimaginative. Nevertheless, had he arrived at Compton Bobbin three weeks earlier it is certain that Philadelphia would have accepted him on the spot; she longed for marriage, for escape from her home, which she regarded as a prison, and from her mother, whom she detested, and she had subconsciously imbibed enough of Bobby’s somewhat outspoken snobbery to be not at all averse to the idea of being a rich marchioness. Even now, had he employed any other method of approach he would probably have been successful, as Philadelphia’s feelings for Paul at this stage were hardly strong enough to outweigh the obvious advantages of marriage with Michael. Besides, she liked him very much.

They went for a long walk, during which he spoke in his cultured Foreign Office voice of his life in Egypt, and before that in Paris, and of his future prospects. Philadelphia, who had a sort of blind veneration for culture and learning in all forms, thought how charming he was and how lucky it was for her that at last she knew somebody who, just occasionally, in a way that never could bore, but quite perfectly, would insert into his speech some happy little quotation that she could often recognize, from various English poets, or even, though more rarely, a few words of Latin, French or German.

‘So, you see,’ he said, ‘I intend to leave diplomacy now. As a career it has proved a great disappointment to me, I must own.’

Philadelphia, whose ideas on the Diplomatic Service were culled exclusively from the works of Maurice Baring and Marion Crawford, said that she had always imagined a diplomat’s to be the most interesting life in the world.

‘In theory I suppose it must be,’ said Michael, ‘because you see, in theory one would be in daily contact with the most important, most intelligent people of every nation, and that would be perfect. In practice one is continually being polite to elderly ladies in amethyst brooches, and that is not quite the same thing, is it? Although, I imagine that every life has its amethyst brooch side. All the same, I am inclined now to prefer the English variety to any other, so I am going to settle down at Lewes Park for good, with, perhaps, a
pied à terre
in Westminster from which I can attend, when I wish to do so, the House of Lords. I am told that a certain amount of good work is done there, even in these days, and of course it is very necessary that a few of the younger peers should take their seats,’ he added complacently.

They walked in silence for a little. Presently Michael said:

‘Here we are at this very exquisite statue of Apollo – I had quite forgotten its existence. How civilized, how charming, is it not? I wonder why Aunt Gloria allows it to be hidden by all these dreary shrubs. It is a perfect example of French eighteenth-century sculpture, and I should never be surprised if it turned out to be a genuine Bouchardon. Most satisfying – most.’

With a slight effort he removed his gaze from the statue and let it rest on Philadelphia’s upturned face.

‘I am going to ask you a question,’ he said, ‘and I don’t want an answer until I get back from Lewes Park on Tuesday. I expect you can guess what it is going to be?’

‘No,’ said Philadelphia, honestly enough.

‘I want you to marry me, my dear.’

She was as though turned to stone with amazement. Now was Michael’s opportunity. If he had taken advantage of her surprise and obvious emotion to make love to her, Philadelphia, young, beautiful and longing to be loved, would probably have accepted him there and then. Unfortunately he had only given rein to his emotions with the one woman who would be alienated by that particular form of courtship, and he thought that he had now learnt his lesson once and for all. Women evidently disliked to be rushed off their feet, they must have time to make up their minds, sentiment in all forms was clearly anathema to them. So instead of taking her in his arms as of course he should have done there and then, he said coldly and rather shyly: ‘Don’t think of answering me now; you will have plenty of time to consider the matter during the next few days and you can let me know when I return. I feel sure that you will realize how very well suited we are to each other in every way, and indeed I would do my best to make you happy.’ With that he embarrassed her rather by kissing her on the forehead, and they went indoors.

Philadelphia parted from him in the hall and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Her mind was in a state of excitement and confusion. She had never had a proposal of marriage before, and she was now thinking less of how she intended to answer Michael than of what she should do immediately and whom she could tell the grand news to. Deciding, as she powdered her nose, that it would be awkward to see Michael again before his departure, which was imminent, and that she must tell Sally first of anybody, she stole downstairs by the back way, got out her little car, and drove over to Mulberrie Farm.

She found Sally wheeling the baby up and down the gravel path. ‘The little monster hasn’t been asleep the whole afternoon,’ she said. ‘No, talking doesn’t keep her awake; in fact, it seems to send her off, on the contrary. Your odious brother is in there, inducing Walter to waste his time and lose his money at bridge. It
is
so naughty of him. I know he’s not written his weekly
article yet, and it ought to have gone off by this post at the latest. I wish the game had never been invented.’

‘Then who’s the fourth?’ asked Philadelphia, who knew that, except during week-ends, when Jerome came down from London, poor Sally was usually dragged in, much against her will, to play.

‘Giles Stanworth, of course, my dear. He’s never out of the house now, you know, night or day. The poor man’s quite batty about Amabelle, and he’s having to earn his keep by learning contract. Walter’s taken a packet off him already, I may say.’

‘Isn’t it funny? I can’t imagine Major Stanworth in love with anybody.’

‘Can’t you just! You wait till tea-time and then watch the way he goes on. It’s pathetic. But the really extraordinary thing is that I believe Amabelle rather fancies him too, I honestly think she does. Yesterday evening –’ Sally broke off. She was a very discreet person where her friends were concerned, and decided that for the present she would keep the doings of yesterday evening to herself. ‘I dare say we shall see the old girl a farmer’s wife yet,’ she added hastily to cover her lapse. ‘What news from Compton Bobbin?’

‘Michael’s motoring back to Lewes after tea.’

‘He is, is he? That’s no great loss anyway. I shouldn’t think anyone will miss him unbearably – I never notice whether he’s about or not myself, do you?’

‘Not much,’ said Philadelphia, rather dashed by this remark. She feared that Sally would be unimpressed by her news. There was a short silence. ‘He proposed to me before he left,’ she said at last.

‘Delphie! You don’t say so? My dear, isn’t that
grand
. When are you going to announce it? Oh, you lucky girl.’

‘Oh, I haven’t said yes. I mean I haven’t given him any answer yet, you see. I’m to think it over until he comes back.’

‘But of course you’ll accept, won’t you?’

‘I hadn’t thought so. I’m not in love with him.’

‘My darling Delphie, you mustn’t
hesitate
. Michael is a divine person. We all adore him; he’s quite perfect in every way. Attractive, intelligent, everything you could want in the world. Besides just think of all that money. Why, you could afford to have ten children if you liked.’

‘That would be nice,’ said Philadelphia doubtfully; ‘but you see I’m not in love with him.’

‘Nonsense, of course you are. One couldn’t help being in love with a heavenly person like that if he wanted one to be. Besides, nobody is in love with their husbands before they marry, at least I was, but that’s most exceptional. It’s hardly ever done. You’re not fancying anyone else, by the way, are you?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Of course you’re not.’ Sally looked relieved. ‘Well, that’s too lovely, darling, I do congratulate you. I wonder where you’ll be married, Westminster Abbey, perhaps. Shall we go and tell the others? No, no, not unless you like, of course, but I’ll tell Amabelle afterwards as a great secret, can I? And you wouldn’t be an angel, I suppose, and let me sell it to the press (I mean when it’s all quite settled, naturally), because I could get at least a tenner for the news, do let me have it and not Bobby, please. How gorgeous of you, isn’t it? I wonder what sort of ring he’ll be giving you. You are a lucky girl, Delphie, I must say.’

After Sally had been working on her mind in this manner for about half an hour, Philadelphia began to regard herself quite as the future Lady Lewes, doubts and misgivings faded from her mind and she felt already a delightful new sense of her own importance. If Sally, whom she looked up to in every way, thought that it would be all right for her to marry Michael she herself would raise no further objections. Indeed, Sally had done Michael’s own work for him most efficiently, and by the time that they had discussed every aspect of the wedding, from the cheering crowds outside the Abbey to the pattern of nightdress for her trousseau, Philadelphia was feeling quite romantic
about him. She had some difficulty at tea-time in keeping the news to herself, and even threw out one or two hints at a mystery to which she alone had a clue, but nobody paid much attention to her. They were all busy watching the latest developments in the situation between Mrs. Fortescue and Major Stanworth.

When Philadelphia returned to Compton Bobbin she found a note from Michael on the hall table.

This peculiar missive probably seemed less chilling to Philadelphia, who had never in her life before received a love letter, than it would have to most girls of twenty-one. On the other hand, it certainly did not arouse in her those emotions which the loved handwriting is usually supposed to evoke, and the reference to Lady Bobbin annoyed her a good deal.

Michael went to Lewes Park to settle up certain matters with his estate agent. He intended to stay there under a week. The day after he arrived, however, he caught a chill which
developed into jaundice and kept him in bed for nearly a month. This circumstance very nearly altered the entire course of his life.

Before leaving Compton Bobbin he had an interview with his Aunt Gloria, during which he informed her of his intentions and hopes with regard to Philadelphia. Lady Bobbin was, of course, delighted.

‘My dear Michael,’ she said, almost with emotion, ‘this is the best news I could possibly have. How pleased poor Hudson would have been, too. We will discuss the business side of it another time – I have to go now and speak to the huntsman about a new horse – but I may as well tell you that I have always intended to settle £2,000 a year on Philadelphia if she marries with my approval, and of course when I die she will be fairly well off. I must rush away now, so goodbye, and we meet again on Tuesday?’

‘Of course she hasn’t accepted me for certain yet,’ said Michael with more than a touch of complacency, ‘but I may say that I have little doubt that all will be well in that direction. Goodbye, then, Aunt Gloria, thank you so much for my delightful visit.’

Philadelphia herself came back from Mulberrie Farm with her mind quite made up. Sally’s way of treating the whole thing as an accomplished fact had made her feel that it was so, and she only wished that Michael had not gone away and that they could begin all the exciting business, as outlined by Sally, of being engaged that very evening. She decided to answer his letter at once, begging him to return as soon as he could, and was going towards the schoolroom with this object in view when she ran into her mother.