CHAPTER XVII
LADY PEGGY MAKES A FRIEND
One Sunday morning as Patricia was sitting in the Park watching thepromenaders and feeling very lonely, she saw coming across the grasstowards her Godfrey Elton accompanied by a pretty dark girl in an ambercostume and a black hat. She bowed her acknowledgment of Elton'ssalute, and watched the pair as they passed on in the direction ofMarble Arch.
Suddenly the girl stopped and turned. For a moment Elton stoodirresolute, then he also turned and they both walked in Patricia'sdirection.
"Lady Peggy insisted that we should break in upon your solitude," saidElton, having introduced the two girls.
"You will forgive me, won't you?" said Lady Peggy, "but I so wanted toknow you. You see Peter has the reputation of being invulnerable.We're all quite breathless from our fruitless endeavours to entanglehim, and I wanted to see what you were like."
"I'm afraid you'll find I'm quite common-place," said Patricia,smiling. It was impossible to be annoyed with Lady Peggy. Herfrankness was disarming, and her curiosity that of a child.
"I always say," bubbled Lady Peggy, "that there are only two men inLondon worth marrying, and they neither of them will have me, althoughI've worked most terribly hard."
"Who are they?" enquired Patricia.
"Oh! Goddy's one," she said, indicating Elton with a nod, "and Peter'sthe other. They are both prepared to be brothers to me; but they'renot sufficiently generous to save me from dying an old maid."
"I must apologise for inflicting Peggy upon you, Miss Brent," saidElton; "but when you get to know her you may even like her."
"I'm not going to wait until I know her," said Patricia.
"Bravo!" cried Lady Peggy, clapping her hands. "That's a snub for you,Goddy," she said, then turning again to Patricia, "I know we're goingto be friends, and you can afford to be generous to a defeated rival."
"I must warn you against Lady Peggy," said Elton quietly. "She's amost dangerous young woman."
"And now, Patricia," said Lady Peggy, "I'm going to call you Patricia,and you must call me Peggy. I want you to do me a very great favour."
Patricia looked at the girl, rather bewildered and breathless by theprecipitancy with which she made friends. "I'm sure I will if Ipossibly can," she replied.
"I want you to come and lunch with us," said Lady Peggy.
"It's very kind of you, I shall be delighted some day," repliedPatricia conventionally.
"No, now!" said Lady Peggy. "This very day that ever is. I want youto meet Daddy. He's such a dear. Goddy will come, so you won't belonely," she added.
"I'm afraid I've got----" began Patricia.
"Please don't be afraid you've got anything," pleaded Lady Peggy. "Ifyou've got an engagement throw it over. Everybody throws overengagements for me."
"But----" began Patricia.
"Oh, please don't be tiresome," said Lady Peggy, screwing up hereyebrows. "I shall have all I can do to persuade Goddy to come, andit's so exhausting."
"I will come with pleasure," said Elton, "if only to protect Miss Brentfrom your overwhelming friendliness."
"Oh, you odious creature!" cried Lady Peggy, then turning to Patriciashe added with mock tragedy in her voice, "Oh! the love I've languishedon that man, the gladness of the eyes I have turned upon him, thepressures of the hand I've been willing to bestow on him, and this ishow he treats me." Then with a sudden change she added, "But you willcome, won't you? I do so want you to meet Daddy."
"If the truth must be told," said Elton, "Peggy merely wants to be ableto exploit you, as everybody is wanting to know about you and what youare like. Now she will be a celebrity, and able to describe you indetail to all her many men friends and to her women enemies."
Lady Peggy deliberately turned her back upon Elton.
"Now we are going to have another little walk and then we'll go and getour nosebags on," she announced. "No, you're not going to walk betweenus"--this to Elton--"I want to be next to Patricia," she announced.
Patricia felt bewildered by the suddenness with which Lady Peggy haddescended upon her. She scarcely listened to the flow of small talkshe kept up. She was conscious that Elton's hand was constantly at thesalute, and that Lady Peggy seemed to be indulging in a series ofcontinuous bows.
"Oh! do let's get away somewhere," cried Lady Peggy at length. "Myneck aches, and I feel my mouth will set in a silly grin. Why on earthdo we know so many people, Goddy? Do you know," she addedmischievously, "I'd love to have a big megaphone and stand on a chairand cry out who you are. Then everybody would flock round, becausethey all want to know who it is that has captured Peter the Hermit, aswe call him." She looked at Patricia appraisingly. "I think I canunderstand now," she said.
"Understand what?" said Patricia.
"What it is in you that attracts Peter."
Patricia gasped. "Really," she began.
"Yes, we girls have all been trying to make love to Peter and fuss overhim, whereas you would rather snub him, and that's very good for Peter.It's just the sort of thing that would attract him." Then with anothersudden change she turned to Elton and said, "Goddy, in future I'm goingto snub you, then perhaps you'll love me."
Patricia laughed outright. She felt strongly drawn to thisinconsequent child-girl. She found herself wondering what would be theimpression she would create upon the Galvin House coterie, who wouldfind all their social and moral virtues inverted by such directness ofspeech. She could see Miss Wangle's internal struggle, disapproval ofLady Peggy's personality mingling with respect for her rank.
"Oh, there's Tan!" Lady Peggy broke in upon Patricia's thoughts "Goddy,call to her, shout, wave your hat. Haven't you got a whistle?"
But Lady Tanagra had seen the party, and was coming towards themaccompanied by Mr. Triggs.
Lady Peggy danced towards Lady Tanagra. "Oh, Tan, I've found her!" shecried, nodding to Mr. Triggs, whom she appeared to know.
"Found whom?" enquired Lady Tanagra.
"Patricia. The captor of St. Anthony, and we're going to be friends,and she's coming to lunch with me to meet Daddy, and Goddy's comingtoo, so don't you dare to carry him off. Oh, Mr. Triggs! isn't it alovely day," she cried, turning to Mr. Triggs, who, hat in hand, wasmopping his brow.
"Beautiful, me dear, beautiful," he exclaimed, beaming upon her andturning to shake hands with Patricia. "Well, me dear, how goes it?" heenquired. Then looking at her keenly he added, "Why, you're lookingmuch better."
Patricia smiled, conscious that the improvement in her looks was not alittle due to Lady Peggy and her bright chatter.
"You've become such a gad-about, Mr. Triggs, that you forget poor me,"she said.
"Oh no, he doesn't!" broke in Lady Peggy, "he's always talking aboutyou. Whenever I try to make love to him he always drags you in. I'vereally come to hate you, Patricia, because you seem to come between meand all my love affairs. Oh! I wish we could find Peter," cried LadyPeggy suddenly, "that would complete the party."
Patricia hoped fervently that they would not come across Bowen. Shesaw that it would make the situation extremely awkward.
"And now we must dash off for lunch," cried Lady Peggy, "or we shall belate and Daddy will be cross." She shook hands with Mr. Triggs, blew akiss at Lady Tanagra and, before Patricia knew it, she was walking withLady Peggy and Elton in the direction of Curzon Street.
Patricia was in some awe of meeting the Duke of Gayton. Hitherto shehad encountered only the smaller political fry, friends andacquaintances of Mr. Bonsor, who had always treated her as a secretary.The Duke had been in the first Coalition Ministry, but had been forcedto retire on account of a serious illness.
"Look whom I've caught!" cried Lady Peggy as she bubbled into thedining-room, where some twelve or fourteen guests were in process ofseating themselves at the table. "Look whom I've caught! Daddy," sheaddressed herself to a small clean-shaven man, with beetling eyebrowsand a broad, intellectual head. "It's the captor of Peter the Hermit."
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The Duke smiled and shook hands with Patricia.
"You must come and sit by me," he said in particularly sweet andwell-modulated voice, which seemed to give the lie to the somewhatstern and searching appearance of his eyes. "Peter is a great friendof mine."
Patricia was conscious of flushed cheeks as she took her seat next tothe Duke. Later she discovered that these Sunday luncheons were alwaysstrictly informal, no order of precedence being observed. Young andold were invited, grave and gay. The talk was sometimes frivolous,sometimes serious. Sunday was, in the Duke's eyes, a day of rest, andconversation must follow the path of least resistance.
Whilst the other guests were seating themselves, Patricia looked roundthe table with interest. She recognised a well-known Cabinet Ministerand a bishop. Next to her on the other side was a man with hungry,searching eyes, whose fair hair was cropped so closely to his head asto be almost invisible. Later she learned that he was a Serbianpatriot, who had prepared a wonderful map of New Serbia, which healways carried with him. Elton had described it as "the map thatpasseth all understanding."
It embraced Bulgaria, Roumania, Transylvania, Montenegro, Greece,Albania, Bessarabia, and portions of other countries.
"It's a sort of game," Lady Peggy explained later. "If you can escapewithout his having produced his map, then you've won," she added.
At first the Duke devoted himself to Patricia, obviously with theobject of placing her at her ease. She was fascinated by his voice.He had the reputation of being a brilliant talker; but Patricia decidedthat even if he had possessed the most commonplace ideas, he would haveinvested them with a peculiar interest on account of the whimsicaltones in which he expressed them. He was a man of remarkable dignityof bearing, and Patricia decided that she would be able to feel verymuch afraid of him.
In answer to a question Patricia explained that she had only met LadyPeggy that morning.
"And what do you think of Peggy's whirlwind methods?" asked the Dukewith a smile.
"I think they are quite irresistible," replied Patricia.
"She makes friends quicker than anyone I ever met and keeps themlonger," said the Duke.
Presently the conversation turned on the question of there-afforestation of Great Britain, springing out of a remark made bythe Cabinet Minister to the Duke. Soon the two, aided by a number ofother guests, were deep in the intricacies of politics. During a lullin the conversation the Duke turned to Patricia.
"I am afraid this is all very dull for you, Miss Brent," he remarkedpleasantly.
"On the contrary," said Patricia, "I am greatly interested."
"Interested in politics?" questioned the Duke with a tinge of surprisein his voice.
Gradually Patricia found herself drawn into the conversation. For thefirst time in her life she found her study of Blue Books and herknowledge of statistics of advantage and use. The Cabinet Ministerleaned forward with interest. The other guests had ceased their localconversation to listen to what it was that was so clearly interestingtheir host and the Cabinet Minister. In Patricia's remarks there wasthe freshness of unconvention. The old political war-horses saw howthings appeared to an intelligent contemporary who was not trammelledby tradition and parliamentary procedure.
Suddenly Patricia became aware that she had monopolised theconversation and that everyone was listening to her. She flushed andstopped.
"Please go on," said the Cabinet Minister; "don't stop, it's mostinteresting."
But Patricia had become self-conscious. However, the Duke with greattact picked up the thread, and soon the conversation became general.
As they rose from the table the Duke whispered to Patricia, "Don'thurry away, please, I want to have a chat with you after the othershave gone."
As they went to the drawing-room, Lady Peggy came up to Patricia andlinking her arm in hers, said:
"I'm dreadfully afraid of you now, Patricia. Why everybody waspositively drinking in your words. Wherever did you learn so much?"
"You cannot be secretary to a rising politician," said Patricia with asmile, "without learning a lot of statistics. I have to read up allsorts of things about pigs and babies and beet-root and street-noisesand all sorts of objectionable things."
"What do you think of her, Goddy?" cried Lady Peggy to Elton as hejoined them.
"I'm afraid she has made me feel very ignorant," replied Elton. "Justas you, Peggy, always make me feel very wise."
In the drawing-room the Serbian attached himself to Patricia andproduced his "map of obliteration," as the Duke had once called it,explaining to her at great length how nearly all the towns and citiesin Europe were for the most part populated by Serbs.
It was obvious to her, from the respect with which she was treated,that her remarks at luncheon had made a great impression.
When most of the other guests had departed, the Duke walked over toher, and dismissing Peggy, entered into a long conversation onpolitical and parliamentary matters. He was finally interrupted byLady Peggy.
"Look here, Daddy, if you steal my friends I shall----" she paused,then turning to Elton she said, "What shall I do, Goddy?"
"Well, you might marry and leave him," suggested Elton helpfully.
"That's it. I will marry and leave you all alone, Daddy."
"Cannot we agree to share Miss Brent?" suggested the Duke, smiling atPatricia.
"Isn't he a dear?" enquired Lady Peggy of Patricia. "When other menpropose to me, and quite a lot have," she added with almost childishsimplicity, "I always mentally compare them with Daddy, and then ofcourse I know I don't want them."
"That is my one reason, Peggy, for not proposing," said Elton. "Icould never enter the lists with the Duke."
"You're a pair of ridiculous children," laughed the Duke.
In response to a murmur from Patricia that she must be going, LadyPeggy insisted that she should first come upstairs and see her den.
The "den" was a room of orderly disorder, which seemed to possess thefreshness and charm of its owner. Lady Peggy looked at Patricia, a newrespect in her eyes.
"You must be frightfully clever," she said with accustomed seriousness."I wish I were like that. You see I should be more of a companion toDaddy if I were."
"I think you are an ideal companion for him you are," said Patricia.
"Oh! he's so wonderful," said Lady Peggy dreamily. "You know I'm notalways such a fool I appear," she added quite seriously, "and I dosometimes think of other things than frills and flounces andchocolates." Then with a sudden change of mood she cried, "Wasn't itclever of me capturing you to-day? As soon as you're alone Daddy willtell me what he thinks of you, and I shall feel so self-important."
As Patricia looked about the room, charmed with its dainty freshness,her eyes lighted upon a large metal tea-tray. Lady Peggy following hergaze cried:
"Oh, the magic carpet!"
"The what?" enquired Patricia.
"That's the magic carpet. Come, I'll show you," and seizing it shepreceded Patricia to the top of the stairs. "Now sit on it," shecried, "and toboggan down. It's priceless."
"But I couldn't."
"Yes you could. Everybody does," cried Lady Peggy.
Not quite knowing what she was doing Patricia found herself forced downupon the tea-tray, and the next thing she knew was she was speedingdown the stairs at a terrific rate.
Just as she arrived in the hall with flushed cheeks and a flurry ofskirts, the door of the library opened and the Duke and Elton came out.
Patricia gathered herself together, and with flaming cheeks anddowncast eyes stood like a child expecting rebuke, instead of which theDuke merely smiled. Turning to Elton he remarked:
"So Miss Brent has received her birth certificate."
As he spoke the butler with sedate decorum picked up the tray andcarried it into his pantry as if it were the most ordinary thing in theworld for guests to toboggan down the front staircase.
"To ride on Peggy's 'magic carpet,' as she calls it,"
said the Duke,"is to be admitted to the household as a friend. Come again soon," headded as he shook hands in parting. "Any Sunday at lunch you arealways sure to catch us. We never give special invitations to thefriends we want, do we, Peggy? and I want to have some more talks withyou."
As Patricia and Elton walked towards the Park he explained that LadyPeggy's tea-tray had figured in many little comedies. Bishops, CabinetMinisters, great generals and admirals had all descended the stairs inthe way Patricia had.
"In fact," he added, "when the Duke was in the Cabinet, it was theyoungest and brightest collection of Ministers in the history of thecountry. Every one of them was devoted to Peggy, and I think theywould have made war or peace at her command."
When Patricia arrived at Galvin House, she was conscious of the worldhaving changed since the morning. All her gloom had been dispelled,the drawn look had passed from her face, and she felt that a heavyweight had been lifted from her shoulders.