Diana enjoyed the quiet week at Windermere with father, mother, and
brother, and though the little circle was not quite complete--for there
was a brother of seventeen at school in America--it was delightful to
be among her own family again. Mr. Hewlitt was very tired after his long
spell of arduous work in Paris, and was glad to rest his brains, so they
spent most of the time boating on the lake, or strolling in the woods,
getting new-made-over in the fresh, bracing country air. The car they
had hired was to meet them at Lancaster. They went thus far south by
train, then motored to Liverpool. Loveday, ready with suit-case packed,
was eagerly expecting them. From the window of her aunt's drawing-room
she watched the big six-seater car arrive at the door. Giles--a
masculine edition of Diana, in spectacles--was driving. Lenox--a beaming
khaki-clad figure with twinkle-some brown eyes--sat by his side. Mr. and
Mrs. Hewlitt and Diana were in the rear seat. A goodly pile of boxes and
baskets was strapped on to the luggage-carrier behind. A change of
places was effected, resulting in the two girls sitting with Giles in
the front. Loveday's suit-case was stowed away, her aunt waved good-bye,
the electric-starter was applied, and the car moved off on its eventful
journey south.
It was a delightful way of travelling, to whiz along by road instead of
by rail. The country was just in the blush of spring, the woods were
bursting into tender leaf, plum blossom made fairy lace-work in wayside
orchards, and wallflowers and cowslips bloomed in cottage gardens.
Giles, who drove the car, had planned out their tour carefully. He was
determined to see rural England to best advantage, and, instead of
keeping always to the main roads, he intended to take by-ways, so as to
pass through typical country villages. Once free from the suburbs of
Liverpool, they avoided large towns as far as possible, as they made
their way through Cheshire to the Midlands. Their first object was that
Mecca of all American pilgrims--the Shakespeare country.
"In five days we haven't time to look at everything as we go along, so I
guess we'd better just sprint till we get to Kenilworth, and start our
sight-seeing there," decreed Giles.
He made an excellent chauffeur, and fortunately encountered no police
traps, though he certainly exceeded the speed limit when he saw a clear
road ahead. A lunch-basket with thermos flasks was packed in the car,
and the party picnicked for their mid-day meal in a wood where primroses
were opening their little pale-yellow flowers, and king-cups blazed in a
marshy ditch. The air was fresh with spring, and cuckoos were calling
from the fields by a river.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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