They did not stay long; and indeed, after the disappearance of the
Austrian count, a microbe pricking people to departure seemed to
multiply in the Villa Bella Vista. The sailor went suddenly, on receipt
of a letter from the Admiralty, that prying institution having learned
and disapproved of the way in which he was spending his leave and his
pay. Lord Burden followed Mrs. Ernstein to Cannes; and Dodo, who never
ceased to want good value for her money, was bitterly dissatisfied with
the unmarried men who remained.
The principal one had at first attracted not only Dodo but every other
woman, with the exception of Mary. He spoke English well, yet appeared
to be equally at home in all socially useful languages. He looked like a
Russian, dressed like a Frenchman, claimed to have estates in Italy,
copper mines in Spain, a shooting in Hungary, and told delightful
anecdotes of his intimate friendship with most existing sovereigns. Not
a king or queen of any standing but--according to him--came often to his
"little place" in this country or that, and addressed him as "Dear
Alfred." His manner, his voice, were so smooth that they oiled the
creaking wheels of life at the villa; and his stories, told at the
table, distracted guests' attention from the skeleton at the feast--a
premature skeleton of a once muscular chicken, or a lamb that had seen
its second childhood. Unfortunately, however, a journalist who knew
everybody and everything in the world was brought in to luncheon by Lord
Dauntrey one day, and recognized the favourite of the household as a
famous Parisian furrier.
Pages:
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309