A Young Woman's Guide to Carrying On by Jilly Wosskow

Author:Jilly Wosskow [Wosskow, Jilly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-9565177-0-8
Publisher: Bookline & Thinker
Published: 2009-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Always be punctilious

A letter arrived on the following Tuesday morning; of course, I recognized Rafael’s extravagant handwriting immediately. I tried to look nonchalant as Giles read it out loud.

Dear Giles and Kathryn,

Thank you very much for such a fantastic weekend. It was so nice to meet you, Giles, and to reacquaint myself with your delightful wife and adorable children. I was particularly impressed by your collection of tin soldiers. All painted by yourself! What a rewarding, if time-consuming, hobby.

Being a bachelor it is hard for me to return hospitality in my modest flat. So I wondered if you and your family would do me the honour of joining me for a weekend in London? We could stay in my Chambers’ apartment, and I will book theatre tickets for us to see Cats. Do let me know your thoughts.

Kind regards,

Rafael Margolis.

P.S. I do hope Lucinda has recovered from her hay fever.

I stifled a giggle at the tin soldier references, and asked Giles what he thought of the idea.

“Maybe we could go at half-term,” I suggested.

“Out of the question; I’ll deal with it.” With an air of finality, he folded up the letter and put it in his pocket. I was determined that we would make the trip, but knew I would have to bide my time.

Later that day, I found Giles’s reply to Rafael. It was on the hallstand waiting to be posted. I stuffed it in my pocket and locked myself in the bathroom. Then, taking care not to tear the envelope, I opened it.

Dear Rafael,

Thank you so much for coming to stay with us last weekend. You were the most perfect of houseguests; taking pains to entertain the gentlemen whilst effortlessly captivating our ladies and children. Indeed you were a great hit with my own dear daughter, Jessica; it is always rewarding to see one’s own children successfully socially interacting in and out of their own class.

Thank you for your kind invitation. My family and I would of course be delighted to join you in London. Unfortunately, however, I have a very full diary at the moment and we are, as you must understand, unable to take Sebastian out of school. I do understand your difficulty in entertaining at your home so please think no more of it. You owe us nothing. We were paid in abundance by your wit and charisma.

In answer to your kind enquiry, Lucinda seems to be quite recovered from the atypical hay fever attack. I will make it my business to let her know that you asked after her. I’m sure she will be charmed.

Sincerely,

Lord G.G.G. Havers.

How could he be so dismissive of my friend? I was appalled by that rude comment about class and surprised at Giles. For all his faults, I didn’t know he was capable of such snobbery. Before I had time to calm down and change my mind, I scribbled my own note to Rafael.

Dear Rafe,

It was lovely to see you again, and thanks for the letter. It really made me giggle.

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