Greenery Street by Denis Mackail

Author:Denis Mackail [Mackail, Denis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781903155257
Published: 1925-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

IV

‘Hullo,’ said a voice, breaking in on these thoughts. ‘What about it?’

Felicity stopped, looked up, and recognised Mrs Lambert.

‘Hullo,’ she replied.

‘What about it?’ repeated Mrs Lambert, and it became apparent now that the enquiry was not the genial generality for which Felicity had taken it, but bore a particular meaning which she was expected to identify. As she reached this inference, Mrs Lambert became more explicit.

‘What about that?’ she said, pointing upward with the tip of her parasol. ‘Do you mean to say you never noticed it?’

Felicity raised her eyes and saw, to her surprise, that a black and white board had been fixed to the centre of Mrs Lambert’s balcony. ‘This desirable residence,’ it said, ‘to be let. Apply to the sole agents, Messrs Gibbons and Duke.’

‘Oh!’ she gasped, as the legend penetrated her brain. And then: ‘I say, are you leaving?’

‘Isn’t it tragic!’ said Mrs Lambert.

Felicity’s sympathy made her face quite pale.

‘But why?’ she asked.

‘Well,’ said Mrs Lambert, ‘it’s now or never, if you see what I mean. We’ve been here over three years — and that’s longer than most people — and if we waited any more, we shouldn’t get any premium for our lease. Tony’s asking three hundred for two years,’ she confided. ‘Do you think we’ll get it?’

Felicity had no idea, but she didn’t have to say so, for Mrs Lambert rushed on almost without a pause.

‘It’s no use whining about it,’ she said. ‘You’ve seen yourself how uncomfortable we are. Tony’s had no dressing-room since Easter, and I can’t tell you what the night-nursery’s like. All the same, that board gives me something a good deal worse than the horrors. One gets fond of Greenery Street, doesn’t one?’

‘I think it’s terrible for you,’ said Felicity, with real emotion. ‘I don’t know what I should do if — I don’t know how you can do it.’

‘Well,’ replied Mrs Lambert, ‘I won’t say we haven’t seen it coming. It’s the children’s fault, of course; but you can’t exactly blame them.’

‘No,’ said Felicity.

‘And luckily we’ve got somewhere else to go.’

‘Oh, have you? Where?’

‘Well,’ said Mrs Lambert, ‘it’s mother’s house really — at least, it belongs to father — only as they never use it and can’t make up their minds to sell it, we didn’t see why we shouldn’t have it ourselves. Do you?’

Felicity felt that her experience hardly covered such a situation, but the easiest thing was to agree. Before she could do so, however, Mrs Lambert had again gone ahead.

‘After all,’ she said, ‘we’ve looked after all their frightful furniture all this time, so in a way it’s only fair. I hope you’ll come and see us after we’re in.’

It was no more possible to resist this friendliness than it was to decide whether one liked Mrs Lambert or not.

‘We’d love to,’ said Felicity. And carried away by the warmth of her own reply: ‘But you’ve got to dine with us first. Before you go, I mean.’

Surely Ian couldn’t object, when he learnt the circumstances. It was the least that one could do.

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