Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson

Author:D. E. Stevenson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2012-07-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

The Drawing-Room Meeting

Barbara Buncle was a little late for the drawing-room meeting on Thursday afternoon. She had been working at her new novel all the morning, and then, just as she was in the middle of dressing, Sally had appeared and had wanted to hear all about her adventures in town, and all about Virginia and the new clothes. Barbara tried to talk and dress at the same time but she was not used to it, having been an only child with no sisters to initiate her in the art.

“That stocking’s inside out,” Sally told her, “and there’s a tiny hole in the heel. You had better give it to me to mend while you put on your hat.”

Barbara complied meekly. Her new outfit had not arrived yet, so she had to wear her old hat—the one that looked so ridiculous upon her new hair.

“You can’t go like that,” said Sally frankly. “Haven’t you got any other hats at all?”

“None that I could wear,” admitted Barbara sadly.

Sally put down the stocking, which she had mended neatly, and rummaged in Barbara’s wardrobe. She unearthed an old black felt which Barbara had intended to give to Dorcas, twisted it this way and that in her small capable hands, and finally crammed it onto Barbara’s head, back to front, and told her to go.

“You’ll be fearfully late if you don’t hurry,” she said, just as if it were not her fault at all that Barbara was late. “Gran started hours ago. And I want you to listen to everything that everybody says and remember it all to tell me. I’d give anything to be there.”

Barbara promised, and seized her umbrella, and fled, quite forgetting about the hat.

Mrs. Featherstone Hogg had arranged all her chairs around the drawing-room walls. They were filled with people. She herself was seated in the middle with a card-table in front of her, covered with a red cloth, and laden with writing materials. Beside her sat Mr. Bulmer wearing his gloomiest expression.

Mr. Bulmer’s gloom was due partly to domestic difficulties which had arisen in the absence of his wife, and partly to the feeling that he looked a fool sitting in the middle of Mrs. Featherstone Hogg’s drawing-room on a bedroom chair. He had tried to efface himself upon the sofa beside Mrs. Goldsmith, but Mrs. Featherstone Hogg had pounced upon him, and dragged him forth and seated him at her side; and there he was, for all the world like an exhibit in a show—a secondary exhibit, of course, for Mrs. Featherstone Hogg was obviously the primary exhibit herself.

The Meeting had not yet started when Barbara arrived, so she was not late after all, or else the Meeting was late in starting. She slipped—as inconspicuously as possible—into a seat beside Sarah Walker and looked round the room.

Miss King was sitting near the window beside Mrs. Carter, and beyond them was Mrs. Dick flanked by two of her gentlemen paying guests—Mr. Fortnum and Mr. Black. (The latter was Barbara’s supercilious young friend from the bank, of course.

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