Nightingale Wood by Gibbons Stella

Author:Gibbons, Stella [Gibbons, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Hachette Digital
Published: 2011-02-17T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XVI

How happily three summer days flew past! Viola shone with her secret; she played with Polo, picked out tunes on the piano with one finger, sang last year’s songs up and downstairs, tried to help everyone and made rather a nuisance of herself. She wrote Mrs Victor Spring, Viola Spring, Yours sincerely Mrs V. Spring, all over her writing-block, repaired her small store of clothes with a vague idea of being ready for a sudden departure, and kissed the dance programme every night before she went to sleep. It has been hinted that her nature was affectionate; now that it had received encouragement there was no holding it; she was in love, so much in love that she did not realize that it was Wednesday morning and the letter had not come; and that the man she was in love with was the legendary Victor Spring. Victor had now become Him. He was less of a real person than ever. She never once thought about his character or his income or his mother. She was drunk. She wandered about like a dazzled moth, smiling dreamily, and running downstairs when the postman came, crying:

‘Anything for me?’

He had said: ‘Good. I’ll write to you,’ so of course he would. It was not like last time when he had not said anything.

When Friday morning came and there was no letter, she could still find satisfying reasons why there should not be, for she remembered Mr Wither saying that Victor was very busy just now; and had not Victor himself told her that he had cut two Board meetings and a trip to the North to come to the garden party? Having made this excuse for him, she happily resumed her waiting for the letter, living on memories and hardly aware of the days as they flew, nor of the fact that the atmosphere of The Eagles was much pleasanter than was usual.

Tina had fresh liveliness in her manner and colour in her cheeks, Madge was always good humoured and made a lot of jokes, which pleased Mrs Wither and kept her from disapproving of everything as much as usual, and Mr Wither, because the money had again rallied, was on top of the world. He showed it by suddenly giving the four women a pound each.

Fawcuss, Annie and Cook were kept busy and contented about the annual Summer Fête given by the Vicar of Sible Pelden; they were knitting, baking and sewing things for the Give What You Like stall. Saxon’s whistle, cheerful and sweet even when it was rendering: ‘Whaddam I Gonta Do?’ was heard all day round the mansion and in the yard like the voice of an invisible house-spirit. Polo learned to do Trust and Paid For. Mr Spurrey wrote that his rheumatism was better. The weather was beautiful, and everything too pleasant to last.

The general contentment was increased on Monday morning by the arrival of an elegant printed invitation, to the entire household, to attend a garden party

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