morning.”
“Class dismissed!” whispered Freddy, reaching for the biggest candle. Force of habit, no doubt; as a child he had always grabbed for the cake with the cherry on top. The one I wanted. At the door I turned to see if Ben was following me ready to commit murder the moment we were happily alone, but he was saying a prolonged goodnight to Vanessa. If their candles got any closer they would both go up in smoke. To a vague murmur of belated congratulations I went disconsolately out into the hall and bumped smack into Uncle Maurice, who had been lurking by the stairs waiting for a word with me. He set our candles down on a small marble table and clasped my hands in his moist spongy ones. His face was very close to mine. I could smell his hair cream and his breath hot and heavy with port.
“Ellie, my dear,” he said, “forgive an old buffer collaring you like this, out with your father chasing sheep in the Outback, I feel you need the advice and affection of a mature man of the world. Is this sudden engagement wise? A woman with your outstanding qualities could do rather better than your Mr. Haskell. Something about that fellow I don’t trust. A touch of the Arab there I would say.”
“Come now, Uncle, what do you think he is going todo? Drop his candle and burn the house down so he can buy up the land cheap?” Ben was a shallow creature given over to the lure of Vanessa’s flesh but one of us had to be loyal to our relationship.
“Now, now, Ellie.” Uncle Maurice squeezed my hands again and chuckled reprovingly, a twinkle appearing in his bulging eyes. “Don’t you think, my dear, you could call me Maurice? At my age, ‘Uncle’ makes a chap feel old. Besides, it is only a courtesy title. Our relationship is really quite distant. What was your mother to Merlin, a second cousin?”
“Something like that,” I said, wondering how soon I could make my getaway. Uncle Maurice seemed to be having a little trouble breathing.
“Ellie,” he wheezed, moving closer still. I could feel his waistcoat buttons pressing through the purple silk. “Some of my friends call me Maury, you know.”
Before I could respond with “Oh really!” the drawing room door opened and Ben came out with Vanessa hanging onto his sleeve. Rather shamefacedly, he drew away from her.
“There you are, darling,” I said. “Were you telling Vanessa that I want her to be my bridesmaid?”
My cousin paled and Uncle Maurice dropped my hands, backing towards the stairs. With a little less than his usual aplomb he picked up his candle and bade us goodnight. Vanessa trailed gracefully after him up the stairs.
When they had gone Ben said, “Don’t glare at me. I had to be polite to the girl, didn’t I? Mrs. Swabucher’s instructions were that I enchant your relations with my sauvity. What she didn’t advise me was that I was going to be trapped into an engagement.”
“Oh, don’t worry.” I shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be consummated.”
“Nothing connected with marriage is funny.”
“Fiddle! No one is going to handcuff you to the altar. This is an innocent pretence. Besides, you brought this on yourself salivating every time you looked at Vanessa. Not part of our deal.”
“Do you know what you are?” Ben gave the tail of histie a jerk which threatened to strangle him. His face was dangerously red. “You are trouble! I Knew that the minute I first saw you looking like a typhoon in that purple shroud, and you have been nothing but a nightmare ever since. I wouldn’t put it past you to sue me for breach of promise when I break off our fictitious engagement.”
“You’re not worth it.” I made for the stairs. “You don’t have any money to tempt me.”
“Know something else,” he said from behind me. “I don’t understand why this farce is necessary. Other than having a fantastic face and figure, your cousin Vanessa is a zero. Talk about bored to yawns back there. While she was talking to me all I could
“Class dismissed!” whispered Freddy, reaching for the biggest candle. Force of habit, no doubt; as a child he had always grabbed for the cake with the cherry on top. The one I wanted. At the door I turned to see if Ben was following me ready to commit murder the moment we were happily alone, but he was saying a prolonged goodnight to Vanessa. If their candles got any closer they would both go up in smoke. To a vague murmur of belated congratulations I went disconsolately out into the hall and bumped smack into Uncle Maurice, who had been lurking by the stairs waiting for a word with me. He set our candles down on a small marble table and clasped my hands in his moist spongy ones. His face was very close to mine. I could smell his hair cream and his breath hot and heavy with port.
“Ellie, my dear,” he said, “forgive an old buffer collaring you like this, out with your father chasing sheep in the Outback, I feel you need the advice and affection of a mature man of the world. Is this sudden engagement wise? A woman with your outstanding qualities could do rather better than your Mr. Haskell. Something about that fellow I don’t trust. A touch of the Arab there I would say.”
“Come now, Uncle, what do you think he is going todo? Drop his candle and burn the house down so he can buy up the land cheap?” Ben was a shallow creature given over to the lure of Vanessa’s flesh but one of us had to be loyal to our relationship.
“Now, now, Ellie.” Uncle Maurice squeezed my hands again and chuckled reprovingly, a twinkle appearing in his bulging eyes. “Don’t you think, my dear, you could call me Maurice? At my age, ‘Uncle’ makes a chap feel old. Besides, it is only a courtesy title. Our relationship is really quite distant. What was your mother to Merlin, a second cousin?”
“Something like that,” I said, wondering how soon I could make my getaway. Uncle Maurice seemed to be having a little trouble breathing.
“Ellie,” he wheezed, moving closer still. I could feel his waistcoat buttons pressing through the purple silk. “Some of my friends call me Maury, you know.”
Before I could respond with “Oh really!” the drawing room door opened and Ben came out with Vanessa hanging onto his sleeve. Rather shamefacedly, he drew away from her.
“There you are, darling,” I said. “Were you telling Vanessa that I want her to be my bridesmaid?”
My cousin paled and Uncle Maurice dropped my hands, backing towards the stairs. With a little less than his usual aplomb he picked up his candle and bade us goodnight. Vanessa trailed gracefully after him up the stairs.
When they had gone Ben said, “Don’t glare at me. I had to be polite to the girl, didn’t I? Mrs. Swabucher’s instructions were that I enchant your relations with my sauvity. What she didn’t advise me was that I was going to be trapped into an engagement.”
“Oh, don’t worry.” I shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be consummated.”
“Nothing connected with marriage is funny.”
“Fiddle! No one is going to handcuff you to the altar. This is an innocent pretence. Besides, you brought this on yourself salivating every time you looked at Vanessa. Not part of our deal.”
“Do you know what you are?” Ben gave the tail of histie a jerk which threatened to strangle him. His face was dangerously red. “You are trouble! I Knew that the minute I first saw you looking like a typhoon in that purple shroud, and you have been nothing but a nightmare ever since. I wouldn’t put it past you to sue me for breach of promise when I break off our fictitious engagement.”
“You’re not worth it.” I made for the stairs. “You don’t have any money to tempt me.”
“Know something else,” he said from behind me. “I don’t understand why this farce is necessary. Other than having a fantastic face and figure, your cousin Vanessa is a zero. Talk about bored to yawns back there. While she was talking to me all I could
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