Seaview House by Elizabeth Fair

Author:Elizabeth Fair [Fair, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Dean Street Press
Published: 2017-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

14

On Saturday some of the visitors left, and a lot more arrived. For the first time that year every bedroom was occupied and the dining-room had a prosperous, crowded look which delighted Edith and dismayed Marileen. The sun shone, the porch was cluttered with buckets and spades, and by Saturday evening there was already a dusting of sand in the hall, up the stairs, and along the passages. Sand and sticky fingermarks were the bane of Edith’s life during the summer; but parents and their infant offspring were the mainstay of her hotel.

If Mr. Heritage had taken any interest in the art of hotel-keeping he would have realized that Edith and her relatives would be too busy during the week-end to have time for entertaining, or ensnaring, Edward. His program of non-stop social engagements was matched, at Seaview House, by a nonstop whirl of dusting and sweeping, making beds, counting the laundry while the van man waited impatiently at the door, serving meals and washing-up. By Sunday afternoon the rush of work had lessened, but Marileen was off duty and Lucy was taking her place, while Edith and Rose, with their shoes off, lay on their beds and rested their aching feet.

Lucy served tea, washed-up, laid the tables, and set out the children’s supper in a small room opening off the dining-room. The children’s meal, which had to be fitted in between tea and dinner, was a nuisance to all concerned and parents were strongly encouraged to allow their offspring to stay up to dinner; this week, however, there were five infants who required milk, bread and butter, and biscuits at six o’clock. Lucy had just finished cutting the bread and butter and was carrying it along to the dining-room when she heard someone calling her name. She looked back and saw Philippa, her dear but lately neglected friend, standing at the kitchen door.

“Darling, have you taken the veil or something?” Philippa demanded. She advanced towards Lucy and gave her a stage kiss, cheek to cheek with no damage to lipstick, and then stood back and surveyed her with critical enthusiasm. “I believe you’ve fined down,” she said. “That shows what a long time it is since I last saw you.”

Lucy felt guilty; for somehow it was always she who neglected Philippa, and not the other way round.

“Yes, I know it’s been ages,” she said. “I’ve been so busy . . . I’ve got exams to pass, at the end of this session.”

Philippa gave a significant laugh. She had a variety of laughs, for she had not yet despaired of being allowed to go on the stage, and she spent a great deal of time in her bedroom practicing nuances of expression.

“I’ve been hearing how busy you are. Nevil says you’re an absolute slave—to duty.”

“Oh, does he?” Lucy answered awkwardly.

Philippa’s voice, like her laugh, was full of significance, but it might mean nothing. She was akin to Mrs. Siddons in being unable to utter the most casual phrase without giving it weight and urgency.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.