care-worn face. He passed a hand over the forehead and generally relaxed.
‘Well, that’s all right, then. Sorry, if I appeared a bit rattled for a moment. When a fellow’s just got engaged to a girl, it’s rather a jar to find that she was engaged to somebody else about two months before.’
I was astounded.
‘Are you engaged? Since when?’
‘Since shortly after lunch.’
‘But how about Wotwotleigh?’
‘Who told you about Wotwotleigh?’
‘Jeeves. He said the shadow of Wotwotleigh brooded over you like a cloud.’
‘Jeeves talks too much. As a matter of fact, Wotwotleigh didn’t enter into the matter at all. Immediately before I fixed things up with Pauline, old Stoker told me he had decided to buy he house.’
‘Really!’
‘Absolutely. I think it was the port that did it. I lushed him up on the last of the ’85.’
‘You couldn’t have done a wiser thing. Your own idea?’
‘No. Jeeves’s.’
I could not restrain a wistful sigh.
‘Jeeves is a wonder.’
‘A marvel.’
‘What a brain!’
‘Size nine-and-a-quarter, I should say.’
‘He eats a lot of fish. What a pity he has no ear for music,’ I said moodily. Then I stifled regret and tried to think not of my bereavement but of Chuffy’s bit of luck. ‘Well, this is fine,’ I said heartily. ‘I hope you will be very, very happy. I can honestly say that I always look on Pauline as one of the nicest girls I was ever engaged to.’
‘I wish you would stop harping on that engagement.’
‘Quite.’
‘I’m trying to forget that you ever were engaged to her.’
‘Quite, quite.’
‘When I think that you were once in a position to …’
‘But I wasn’t. Never lose sight of the fact that the betrothal only lasted two days, during both of which I was in bed with a nasty cold.’
‘But when she accepted you, you must have …’
‘No, I didn’t. A waiter came into the room with a tray of beef sandwiches and the moment passed.’
‘Then you never –?’
‘Absolutely never.’
‘She must have had a great time, being engaged to you. One round of excitement. I wonder what on earth made her accept you?’
This had puzzled me too, more than a little. I can only suppose that there is something in me that strikes a chord in the bosoms of these forceful females. I’ve known it happen before, on the occasion when I got engaged to Honoria Glossop.
‘I once consulted a knowledgeable pal,’ I said, ‘and his theory was that the sight of me hanging about like a loony sheep awoke the maternal instinct in Woman. There may be something in this.’
‘Possibly,’ agreed Chuffy. ‘Well, I’ll be getting along. I suppose Stoker will want to talk to me about the house. You coming?’
‘No, thanks. The fact of the matter is, old man, I’m not so dashed keen on mingling with your little troupe. I could stand your Aunt Myrtle . I could even stand little Seabury. But add Stoker and Glossop, and the going becomes too sticky for Bertram. I shall take a stroll about the estate.’
This demesne or seat of Chuffy’s was a topping place for a stroll, and I should have thought he would have had a certain regret at the thought that it was passing out of his hands, to become a private loony-bin. But I suppose when you’ve been cooped up in a house for years with an Aunt Myrtle and a cousin Seabury for next-door neighbours, you lose your taste for it. I spent an agreeable two hours messing about, and it was well along into the late afternoon when the imperative need for a cup of tea sent me sauntering round to the back premises, where I anticipated finding Jeeves.
A scullerymaid of sorts directed me to his quarters, and I sat down in the comfortable certainty that ere long the steaming pot and buttered toast would be to the fore. The happy ending of which Chuffy had recently apprised me had induced contentment, and a nice hot cup and slab of toast would, I felt, just top the thing off.
‘In fact, Jeeves,’ I said, ‘even
‘Well, that’s all right, then. Sorry, if I appeared a bit rattled for a moment. When a fellow’s just got engaged to a girl, it’s rather a jar to find that she was engaged to somebody else about two months before.’
I was astounded.
‘Are you engaged? Since when?’
‘Since shortly after lunch.’
‘But how about Wotwotleigh?’
‘Who told you about Wotwotleigh?’
‘Jeeves. He said the shadow of Wotwotleigh brooded over you like a cloud.’
‘Jeeves talks too much. As a matter of fact, Wotwotleigh didn’t enter into the matter at all. Immediately before I fixed things up with Pauline, old Stoker told me he had decided to buy he house.’
‘Really!’
‘Absolutely. I think it was the port that did it. I lushed him up on the last of the ’85.’
‘You couldn’t have done a wiser thing. Your own idea?’
‘No. Jeeves’s.’
I could not restrain a wistful sigh.
‘Jeeves is a wonder.’
‘A marvel.’
‘What a brain!’
‘Size nine-and-a-quarter, I should say.’
‘He eats a lot of fish. What a pity he has no ear for music,’ I said moodily. Then I stifled regret and tried to think not of my bereavement but of Chuffy’s bit of luck. ‘Well, this is fine,’ I said heartily. ‘I hope you will be very, very happy. I can honestly say that I always look on Pauline as one of the nicest girls I was ever engaged to.’
‘I wish you would stop harping on that engagement.’
‘Quite.’
‘I’m trying to forget that you ever were engaged to her.’
‘Quite, quite.’
‘When I think that you were once in a position to …’
‘But I wasn’t. Never lose sight of the fact that the betrothal only lasted two days, during both of which I was in bed with a nasty cold.’
‘But when she accepted you, you must have …’
‘No, I didn’t. A waiter came into the room with a tray of beef sandwiches and the moment passed.’
‘Then you never –?’
‘Absolutely never.’
‘She must have had a great time, being engaged to you. One round of excitement. I wonder what on earth made her accept you?’
This had puzzled me too, more than a little. I can only suppose that there is something in me that strikes a chord in the bosoms of these forceful females. I’ve known it happen before, on the occasion when I got engaged to Honoria Glossop.
‘I once consulted a knowledgeable pal,’ I said, ‘and his theory was that the sight of me hanging about like a loony sheep awoke the maternal instinct in Woman. There may be something in this.’
‘Possibly,’ agreed Chuffy. ‘Well, I’ll be getting along. I suppose Stoker will want to talk to me about the house. You coming?’
‘No, thanks. The fact of the matter is, old man, I’m not so dashed keen on mingling with your little troupe. I could stand your Aunt Myrtle . I could even stand little Seabury. But add Stoker and Glossop, and the going becomes too sticky for Bertram. I shall take a stroll about the estate.’
This demesne or seat of Chuffy’s was a topping place for a stroll, and I should have thought he would have had a certain regret at the thought that it was passing out of his hands, to become a private loony-bin. But I suppose when you’ve been cooped up in a house for years with an Aunt Myrtle and a cousin Seabury for next-door neighbours, you lose your taste for it. I spent an agreeable two hours messing about, and it was well along into the late afternoon when the imperative need for a cup of tea sent me sauntering round to the back premises, where I anticipated finding Jeeves.
A scullerymaid of sorts directed me to his quarters, and I sat down in the comfortable certainty that ere long the steaming pot and buttered toast would be to the fore. The happy ending of which Chuffy had recently apprised me had induced contentment, and a nice hot cup and slab of toast would, I felt, just top the thing off.
‘In fact, Jeeves,’ I said, ‘even
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