"The vagueness of generalities that is G.o.dfrey," replied Lady Tanagra.
"Now, Patricia, you must explain that "only" at which you broke off.
You say you can imagine G.o.dfrey in love, only----"
"I think he would place it on the same plane as honour and sportsmanship, probably a little above both."
Elton looked up from the bread he was crumbling, and gave Patricia a quick penetrating glance, beneath which her eyes fell.
Lady Tanagra looked at Patricia in surprise, but said nothing.
"Can you imagine Tan in love, Patricia?" enquired Bowen. "We Bowens are notoriously backward in matters of the heart," he added.
"I shall fall in love when the man comes along who--who----" Lady Tanagra paused.
"Will compel you," said Patricia, concluding the sentence.
Again Elton looked quickly across at her.
"What do you mean?" demanded Lady Tanagra.
"I think," said Patricia deliberately, "that you are too primitive to fall in love. You would have to be stormed, carried away by force, and wooed afterwards."
"It doesn"t sound very respectable, does it?" said Lady Tanagra thoughtfully, then turning to Bowen she demanded, "Peter, would you allow me to be carried away by force, stormed, and wooed afterwards?"
"I think, Tanagra, you sometimes forget that your atmosphere is too exotic for most men," said Elton.
"G.o.dfrey," said Lady Tanagra reproachfully, "I have had quite a lot of proposals, and I won"t be denied my successes."
"We were talking about love, not offers of marriage," said Elton with a smile.
"Cynic," cried Lady Tanagra. "You imply that the men who have proposed to me wanted my money and not myself."
"Suppose, Tanagra, there were a right man," said Patricia, "and he was poor and honourable. What then?"
"I suppose I should have to ask him to marry me," said Lady Tanagra dubiously.
"But, Tan, we"ve just decided," said Bowen, "that you have to be carried away by force, and cannot love until force has been applied."
"I think I"ve had enough of this conversation," said Lady Tanagra.
"You"re trying to prove that I"m either going to lose my reputation, or die an old maid, and I"m not so sure that you"re wrong, about the old maid, I mean," she added. "I shall depend upon you, G.o.dfrey, then,"
she said, turning to Elton, "and we will hobble about the Park together on Sunday mornings, comparing notes upon rheumatism and gout. Ugh!"
She looked deliberately round the table, from one to the other. "Has it ever struck you what we shall look like when we grow very old?" she asked.
"No one need ever grow old," said Patricia.
"How can you prevent it?" asked Bowen.
"There is morphia and the fountain of eternal youth," suggested Elton.
"Please don"t let"s be clever any more," said Lady Tanagra. "It"s affecting my brain. Now we will play bridge for a little while and then all go home and get to bed early."
In spite of her protests Bowen insisted on seeing Patricia to Galvin House. For some time they did not speak. As the taxi turned into Oxford Street Bowen broke the silence.
"Patricia, my mother wants to know you," he said simply.
Patricia shivered. The words came as a shock. They recalled the incident of her meeting with Bowen. She seemed to see a grey-haired lady with Bowen"s eyes and quiet manner, too well-bred to show the disapproval she felt on hearing the story of her son"s first meeting with his fiance. She shuddered again.
"Are you cold?" Bowen enquired solicitously, leaning forward to close the window nearest to him.
"No, I was thinking what Lady Meyfield will think when she hears how you made the acquaintance of--of--me," she finished lamely.
"There is no reason why she should know," said Bowen.
"Do you think I would marry----?" Patricia broke off suddenly in confusion.
"But why----?" began Bowen.
"If ever I meet Lady Meyfield I shall tell her exactly how I--I--met you," said Patricia with decision.
"Well, tell her then," said Bowen good-humouredly. "She has a real sense of humour."
The moment Bowen had uttered the words he saw his mistake. Patricia drew herself up coldly.
"It was rather funny, wasn"t it?" she said evenly; "but mothers do not encourage their sons to develop such acquaintances. Now shall we talk about something else?"
"But my mother wants to meet you," protested Bowen. "She----"
"Tell her the story of our acquaintance," replied Patricia coldly. "I think that will effectually overcome her wish to know me. Ah! here we are," she concluded as the taxi drew up at Galvin House. With a short "good night!" Patricia walked up the steps, leaving Bowen conscious that he had once more said the wrong thing.
That night, as Patricia prepared for bed, she mentally contrasted the Bowens" social sphere with that of Galvin House and she shuddered for the third time that evening.
"Patricia Brent," she apostrophised her reflection in the mirror.
"You"re a fool! and you have not even the saving grace of being an old fool. High Society has turned your giddy young head," and with a laugh that sounded hard even to her own ears, she got into bed and switched off the light.
CHAPTER XIV
GALVIN HOUSE MEETS A LORD
The effect of _The Morning Post_ announcement upon Galvin House had been little short of sensational. Although all were aware of the engagement, to see the announcement in print seemed to arouse them to a point of enthusiasm. Everyone from the servants upwards possessed a copy of _The Morning Post_, with the single exception of Mrs. Barnes, who had mislaid hers and made everybody"s life a misery by insisting on examining their copy to make quite sure that they had not taken hers by mistake.
Had not Patricia been so preoccupied, she could not have failed to notice the atmosphere of suppressed excitement at Galvin House. Many glances were directed at her, glances of superior knowledge, of which she was entirely unconscious. Woman-like she never paused to ask herself what she really felt or what she really meant. Her thoughts ran in a circle, coming back inevitably to the maddening question, "What does he really think of me?" Why had Fate been so unkind as to undermine a possible friendship with that d.a.m.ning introduction? After all, she would ask herself indifferently, what did it matter? Bowen was nothing to her. Then back again her thoughts would rush to the inevitable question, what did he really think?
Since the night of her adventure, Patricia had formed the habit of dressing for dinner. She made neither excuse nor explanation to herself as to why she did so. Miss w.a.n.gle and Mrs. Mosscrop-Smythe, however, had covertly remarked upon the fact; but Patricia had ignored them. She had reached that state in her psychological development when she neither explained nor denied things.
With delicacy and insight Providence has withheld from woman the uncomfortable quality of introspection. Had Patricia subjected her actions to the rigid test of reason, she would have found them strangely at variance with her determination. With a perversity characteristic of her s.e.x, she forbade Bowen to see her, and then spent hours in speculating as to when and how he would disobey her. A parcel in the hall at Galvin House sent the colour flooding to her cheeks, whilst Gustave, entering the lounge, bearing his flamboyant nickle-plated apology for the conventional silver salver, set her heart thumping with expectation.
As the day on which Bowen was to dine at Galvin House drew near, the excitement became intense, developing into a panic when the day itself dawned. All were wondering how this or that garment would turn out when actually worn, and those who were not in difficulties with their clothes were troubled about their manners. At Galvin House manners were things that were worn, like a gardenia or a patent hook-and-eye.