FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128  
129   130   131   132   133   134   >>  
influence of Byzantine worship on modern liturgy, and all those sort of things. Perhaps he is just a little bit heavy and immersed in one range of subjects, but it takes all sorts to make a good house-party, you know. You don't find him TOO dull, do you?" "Dullness I could overlook," said the aunt of Clovis; "what I cannot forgive is his making love to my maid." "My dear Mrs. Troyle," gasped the hostess, "what an extraordinary idea! I assure you Mr. Brope would not dream of doing such a thing." "His dreams are a matter of indifference to me; for all I care his slumbers may be one long indiscretion of unsuitable erotic advances, in which the entire servants' hall may be involved. But in his waking hours he shall not make love to my maid. It's no use arguing about it, I'm firm on the point." "But you must be mistaken," persisted Mrs. Riversedge; "Mr. Brope would be the last person to do such a thing." "He is the first person to do such a thing, as far as my information goes, and if I have any voice in the matter he certainly shall be the last. Of course, I am not referring to respectably-intentioned lovers." "I simply cannot think that a man who writes so charmingly and informingly about transepts and Byzantine influences would behave in such an unprincipled manner," said Mrs. Riversedge; "what evidence have you that he's doing anything of the sort? I don't want to doubt your word, of course, but we mustn't be too ready to condemn him unheard, must we?" "Whether we condemn him or not, he has certainly not been unheard. He has the room next to my dressing-room, and on two occasions, when I dare say he thought I was absent, I have plainly heard him announcing through the wall, 'I love you, Florrie.' Those partition walls upstairs are very thin; one can almost hear a watch ticking in the next room." "Is your maid called Florence?" "Her name is Florinda." "What an extraordinary name to give a maid!" "I did not give it to her; she arrived in my service already christened." "What I mean is," said Mrs. Riversedge, "that when I get maids with unsuitable names I call them Jane; they soon get used to it." "An excellent plan," said the aunt of Clovis coldly; "unfortunately I have got used to being called Jane myself. It happens to be my name." She cut short Mrs. Riversedge's flood of apologies by abruptly remarking: "The question is not whether I'm to call my maid Florinda, but whether Mr
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128  
129   130   131   132   133   134   >>  



Top keywords:
Riversedge
 

unsuitable

 

matter

 

called

 

unheard

 
condemn
 
person
 

Florinda

 
Clovis
 

Byzantine


extraordinary

 

upstairs

 
partition
 

Whether

 
Florence
 

subjects

 
Florrie
 
ticking
 

occasions

 

dressing


thought

 

Perhaps

 

announcing

 

absent

 

plainly

 

immersed

 

coldly

 

question

 

influence

 

remarking


abruptly

 
apologies
 

excellent

 

service

 

christened

 
arrived
 

liturgy

 
worship
 

modern

 
things

waking
 

overlook

 
involved
 
entire
 

servants

 

mistaken

 
persisted
 

arguing

 
Dullness
 

advances