CHAPTER VI

hadnodoubtsaidmanyterribleandvulgartilingsandhadbehavedinawaynoladyandgentlemanwould—thegirl,forinstance,openlyadmittingshehadrunawayfromhomebutwhattheyweredoingnowatleastwasbeyondreproach,and,byuniting,twoblackswereafterall,inspiteofwhatpeoplesaidaboutitsnotbeingpossible,goingtomakeonewhite.Atanyrateitwascharitabletohopeso. Sotheyclearedtheirthroatsandwishedherjoy. "Thankyou,"saidIngeborgalittlefaintly,lookingfromonetotheother,"it'ssokindofyou—but—" TheythenshookhandswithHerrDremmelandsaidtheyweresuretheywishedhimjoy,too,andhethankedthemwithproprietyandbows. "SuchathinghasneverhappenedonaDent'sTourbefore—oh,no,neverbeforeatallI'msure,"saidthemostelderlyladynervously,withanumberofnods. "Thereisn'ttimeenough,that'swhatIsometimesthink,"saidtheyoungladywhohadhurriedhercompanionawaytothesunsettheeveningbefore."What'saweek?"Andshestaredatthecakeandfrowned. "Dent'shadafuneralonce,"saidasquaresmallladywhokeptherhandsplungedinthepocketsofagreyjersey. "NowMissJewks,really—"protestedtheelderlylady."Onedoesn'tmention—" "Well,itwasn'ttheirfault,MissAndrews.Theydidn'twanttohaveit,I'msure.ItwasagentlemanfromGipsyHill—" "Whatabeautiful—er—cake,"hastilyinterruptedtheelderlylady. "Funnything,Isometimesthink,"continuedMissJewks,"togoforaholidayanddieinstead." "Thosesilverleaves—"saidtheelderlylady,raisinghervoice,"Icallthemdainty." "It'slikeawedding-cake,isn'tit?"saidtheyoungladyofthesunset,peeringcloseatitwithafaceofgloom. "Willyounot,Ingeborg,"saidHerrDremmel,callingherforthefirsttimebyhername,"cutthecake?Andperhapstheseladieswilldousthehonouroftastingit." Shedidnotrecognisehiminthispersistentceremoniousness.Everytraceofhisusuallaxbehaviourwasgone,hiseaseandfamiliarityofspeech,andhewasasstiffandcorrectandgraveasifhewerelayingafoundationstoneoropeningamuseum.Theywerethemanners,thoughshedidnotknowit,whichallGermansaretrainedtoproduceonpublicoccasions. "Oh,thankyou—" "Oh,you'rereallyverykind—" "Oh,thankyouverymuchI'msure—" Therewasamurmurofawkwardandreluctantthanks.Thesevenladieswerenotatallcertainthattheircordialityoughttostretchasfarascake.Theyhadbeenmovedbyanimpulsethatdidhonourtotheirwomanlinesstooffercongratulations,buttheydidnotforallthatforgetthedreadfulthingsthecouplehadconstantlybeenheardtalkingaboutandthemanyclearproofsithadprovidedthatitwaswhatDent'sTourswereaccustomedtodescribeasnoclassandthoughtheyalllikedcake,andweregettingsteadilyhungrierastheDentweekdrewtoitsclose,theyweredoubtfulastothesocialwisdomofeatingit.Itwouldbeveryunpleasantifthesepeople,encouraged,werelaterontopresumeiftheyweretotrytousetheeatencakeasaweaponforforcingtheirwayint