第88章

And later on, if I am still here, when you begin to have visitors, you must let me sit at your left, and all my little ways of helping would be so unobtrusive, that no one would notice.""Oh, thanks," said Garth."I am immensely grateful.I have often been reminded of a silly game we used to play at Overdene, at dessert, when we were a specially gay party.Do you know the old Duchess of Meldrum? Or anyway, you may have heard of her? Ah, yes, of course, Sir Deryck knows her.She called him in once to her macaw.She did not mention the macaw on the telephone, and Sir Deryck, thinking he was wanted for the duchess, threw up an important engagement and went immediately.Luckily she was at her town house.She would have sent just the same had she been at Overdene.I wish you knew Overdene.The duchess gives perfectly delightful 'best parties,' in which all the people who really enjoy meeting one another find themselves together, and are well fed and well housed and well mounted, and do exactly as they like; while the dear old duchess tramps in and out, with her queer beasts and birds, shedding a kindly and exciting influence wherever she goes.Last time I was there she used to let out six Egyptian jerboas in the drawing-room every evening after dinner, awfully jolly little beggars, like miniature kangaroos.They used to go skipping about on their hind legs, frightening some of the women into fits by hiding under their gowns, and making young footmen drop trays of coffee cups.The last importation is a toucan,--a South American bird, with a beak like a banana, and a voice like an old sheep in despair.But Tommy, the scarlet macaw, remains prime favourite, and I must say he is clever and knows more than you would think.""Well, at Overdene we used to play a silly game at dessert with muscatels.We each put five raisins at intervals round our plates, then we shut our eyes and made jabs at them with forks.Whoever succeeded first in spiking and eating all five was the winner.The duchess never would play.She enjoyed being umpire, and screaming at the people who peeped.Miss Champion and I--she is the duchess's niece, you know--always played fair, and we nearly always made a dead heat of it.""Yes," said Nurse Rosemary, "I know that game.I thought of it at once when I had my blindfold meals.""Ah," cried Garth, "had I known, I would not have let you do it!""I knew that," said Nurse Rosemary."That was why I week-ended."Garth passed his cup to be refilled, and leaned forward confidentially.