Humorous stories; London (England) -- Fiction; Lucia (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Women -- England -- Fiction
Olga at all times was good-natured. Her eye met Georgie’s for a moment.
“O, but come in,” she said. “Do come in. It isn’t a party: it’s just
anybody. Georgie, be a dear, and help to carry all those flowers in. How
nice of you to come across, Mrs. Lucas! I know you’ll excuse my running
on ahead, because all--at least I hope all--my guests have come, and
there’s no one to look after them.”
Lucia, following closely in her wake, and taking no further notice of
Georgie, slipped into the little front drawing-room behind her. It was
crammed, and it was such a little room. Why had she not foreseen this,
why had she not sent a note across to Olga earlier in the day, asking
her to treat Lucia’s house precisely as her own, and have her party in
the spacious music-room? It would have been only neighbourly. But the
bitterness of such regrets soon vanished in the extraordinary sweetness
of the present, and she was soon in conversation with Mrs.
Garroby-Ashton, and distributing little smiles and nods to all the folk
with whom she had the slightest acquaintance. By the fireplace was
standing the Royal lady, and that for the moment was the only chagrin,
for Lucia had not the vaguest idea who she was. Then Georgie came in,
looking like a flower-stall, and then came a slight second chagrin, for
Olga led him up to the Royal lady, and introduced him. But that would be
all right, for she could easily get Georgie to tell her who she was,
without exactly asking him, and then poor Georgie made a very awkward
sort of bow, and dropped a large quantity of flowers, and said
“tarsome.”
Lucia glided away from Mrs. Garroby-Ashton and stood near the Duchess of
Whitby. Marcia did not seem to recognize her at first, but that was
quickly remedied, and after a little pleasant talk, Lucia asked her to
lunch to meet Olga, and fixed in her mind that she must ask Olga to
lunch on the same day to meet the Duchess of Whitby. Then edging a
little nearer to the centre of attraction, she secured Lord Limpsfield
by angling for him with the bait of dearest Aggie, to whom she must
remember to telephone early next morning, to ask her to come and meet
Lord Limpsfield.
That would do for the present, and Lucia abandoned herself to the joys
of the moment. A move was made downstairs to supper, and Lucia, sticking
like a limpet to Lord Limpsfield, was wafted in azure to Olga’s little
tiny dining-room, and saw at once that there were not nearly enough
seats for everybody. There were two small round tables, and that was
absolutely all: the rest would have to stand and forage at the narrow
buffet which ran along the wall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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