Deception -- Fiction; England -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction; Fiancées -- Fiction; Love stories
“And she said (in that ‘mim’ voice, which I’m blest if I shall
ever feel able to believe in again!) ‘Will you please give her
my love, Mr. Waters?’
“So with love from Miss Robinson, I remain,
“Your
“BILLY.”
(What’s this? “Your” Billy? It can’t be. Oh, no. It’s his disgraceful
handwriting. It’s the “r” being scrawled into the “s” like that. “Yours,
Billy,” is how it really reads. How stupid of me not to see that at once!
Then there’s a bit across the top.)
“Six-forty train Porth Cariad on Saturday. You might write and
tell me how you do like the place; and you might answer at
once, even if it’s only for the girls to take it to the post.”
So, for the benefit of Blanche and Theo, I will write at once; I’ll do
it out here, in pencil on my pad, as I’ve so often taken down his own
letters. (One of these days I shall tell him how I loathed it, and how
utterly impossible his dictation was!)
“Porth Cariad. July —, 1913.
“DEAR SIR,
“Your favour of yesterday’s date to hand, for which we thank
you.”
(There! I wonder how he’ll like that. Will he think that it goes on all
through?)
“The lovely sweets really were appreciated; but I didn’t let
Theo bag them all, nor take the pale-blue satin tie-up to make
a bow for Cariad, which was what she wanted to do. So then she
said of course Nancy would want to keep that ribbon to tie
round all your letters. She does notice everything, doesn’t she?
“As for how I like this place, I simply love it, and the
cottages—I’m in the bigger one with your mother, and Theo and
Blanche are together in the other until you come—and I love the
sand-hills with the sea-holly and little prickly brambly roses
and tiny purple pansies growing all over them,”
(I might slip a pansy from this place that he’s fond of into the
envelope? No, I mightn’t. There’s no Theo to “notice” at his end.)
“and the cloud shadows on those hills opposite, and Mrs.
Roberts, with her sackcloth cooking-apron and her clogs and the
boy’s cap she wears; and Blodwen, even if all the English they
know does always seem to be all about you! And I should hate a
pier-concert if there was one. There’s everything here to make
me quite happy. Since this very hot weather’s come, the bathing
is delicious. I learned to swim when I was a little girl, thank
you.”
(So he needn’t think he can teach me anything.)
“How was Mr. Albert Waters? Still chuckling and laughing ‘ho,
ho!’ I expect.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account