Pageants -- Fiction; Villages -- England -- Fiction
"For publication, of course," she said. "'Mrs. Eames takes a dip at
Deauville.' We must say Deauville. Beth knows all about these things,
being a journalist herself; and she says that this sort of photo
practically must be at Deauville if it's to get into any really smart
paper."
"But do you want that?"
"Of course I do," said Mrs. Eames, "and it won't do to say 'Mrs. Eames
taking a dip,' even at Deauville. We'll say 'Agatha Eames,' and then if
people don't know who I am they'll feel they ought to and pretend they
do. Or perhaps 'Lady Agatha Eames.' I don't think there'd be any harm
in that, do you? 'Lady Agatha Eames in the smartest of chic bathing
suits taking her morning dip at Deauville. Photo'd by Sir Evelyn Dent.'
You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"I don't think I should," said Sir Evelyn, rather alarmed. "In fact,
I'm sure I shouldn't."
Mrs. Eames was a little downcast, but bore her disappointment well.
"I quite understand," she said. "My bathing dress isn't really chic,
and it's centuries old. Of course, you wouldn't like to be associated
with it in any public way."
"It's not that," said Sir Evelyn feebly.
"And my figure," said Mrs. Eames. "It is unfortunate about my figure.
And you wouldn't believe the amount of exercise I take in order to keep
it down. I quite see that it wouldn't do for a Deauville bathing photo.
I'll just slip off behind a rock and get my clothes on while you're
photographing the cave."
She put on her bathing cap and plunged into the pool again. A few swift
strokes took her to the other side. Sir Evelyn watched her disappear
into the cave with a bundle of clothes and a bathing towel in her arms.
He adjusted his camera and took three photographs.
A quarter of an hour later Mrs. Eames came scrambling over the rocks at
the mouth of the pool. She was dressed, but it struck Sir Evelyn when
he saw her that her clothes tended rather to emphasise than disguise
the defects of figure she complained of. On the upper part of her
body she wore a low-necked, entirely sleeveless knitted jumper of a
bright yellow colour. A blue cotton skirt barely reached her knees.
Her stockings, which seemed stretched to their uttermost, were of the
colour called "nude" by hosiers, and it was impossible to help looking
at them because her shoes were very white and caught the eye.
"Now for lunch," she said. "You'll lunch with us, of course."
"I fear," said Sir Evelyn vaguely. "I fear that to-day---- Perhaps some
other day----"
"Oh, but you must," said Mrs. Eames. "Think of poor Timothy. He hardly
ever has the chance of meeting anyone. Not that he wants to, poor
darling. In fact he hates it. But it's so good for him."
This tangled account of the vicar's feelings about strangers confirmed
Sir Evelyn in his determination to go back to the Anchor Inn for
luncheon. He had no wish to force his company on an unwilling host, and
did not feel it in any way his duty to be "good" for the Rev. Timothy
Eames.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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