Loving - Henry Green [74]
to say to the Insurance Company?' He was absolutely stunned. His jaw hung open. 'Oh Raunce,' she called over her shoulder. He stood up straight. Perhaps he simply could not make a sound. 'Who found it?' she asked. He seemed to pull himself together. 'It was Edith,' he answered at random and probably forgot at once whom he had named. Even then she had the last word. She turned round when she was some way off down the passage. 'Oh Raunce,' she said, 'I'm afraid your luncheon to-day may be burned,' gave a short laugh, then was gone. Young Mrs Tennant came into the Red Library where her mother-in-law was seated at the desk which had a flat sloping top of rhinoceros hide supported on gold fluted pillars of wood. 'Where's Jack?' she asked. 'Fishing of course dear.' 'I shouldn't have thought there was enough water in the river.' 'Oh Violet,' Mrs Tennant replied, 'that reminds me. Ask tomorrow if I've told Raunce the servants can't have any more baths, so that I shan't forget. Or not more than one a week anyway until we can be sure the wells won't go dry.' 'I will. Was he always as fond of fishing?' 'Always. But tell me Violet. Oughtn't we to do something about him in the evenings? Get someone over I mean. Another man so that he needn't sit over his port alone.' 'But who is there now they've stopped the petrol?' the young woman asked. 'Anyway I'd have thought a girl would have been better.' 'Oh no we don't want anything like that do we? In any case they're all Roman Catholics. No I was thinking of Captain Davenport?' 'Not him,' Mrs Jack answered too quickly. 'Why not Violet? He used to be such a companion of yours?' 'Well I don't think Jack likes him.' 'Oh I shouldn't pay any attention,' Mrs Tennant said vaguely. 'I've so often noticed that if they can talk salmon trout they never go as far as disliking one another. Ring him up.' 'You're sure? I mean I don't want to crowd the house out just when you've got Jack home.' 'Oh really Violet,' her mother-in-law replied. That's perfectly sweet of you but in this great barn of a place with the servants simply eating their heads off it's a breath of fresh air to see someone new. Oh the servants, Violet darling,' Mrs Tennant said in tragic tones. She turned her leather Spanish stool round to face the younger woman. 'Have they been tiresome again?' 'Did I tell you I'd got my ring back?' Mrs Tennant enquired. 'No. How splendid.' 'My dear it was quite fantastic. When I arrived I found all the servants up in arms about it with not a trace of the ring. They were going round in small circles accusing each other.' 'Good lord,' her daughter-in-law remarked looking almost rudely out of the open window on the edge of which she was perched. 'Whether it's never having been educated or whether it's just plain downright stupidity I don't know,' the elder Mrs Tennant went on, 'but there's been the most detestable muddle about my sapphire ring.' 'Your sapphire cluster ring?' 'Yes I lost it just before we crossed over for Jack's leave. You know I told you. I was wearing the thing one day and the next I knew it was gone. I must have taken it off to wash my hands. Anyway suddenly it had disappeared into thin air. Such a lovely one too that Jack's Aunt Emily gave me.' 'You never said,' Mrs Jack complained limp. 'Didn't I darling? Well there it is. And the moment I got inside the house three days ago I found Raunce crossing and uncrossing his fingers obviously most terribly nervous about something. Well I let him get it off his chest and what d'you think? It seems that when the insurance inspector came down after I'd reported the loss the pantry Albert all at once went mad and said he'd got it whatever that means. What would you say?' 'Why I suppose he'd picked the thing up somewhere.' 'My dear that's just what I thought at the time. But not at all. Oh no Raunce took the trouble to explain the boy had never even seen my ring. In the meantime of course the inspector had gone back to Dublin and I received a rather odd letter from them, everything considered, and only this morning to say that in view of the circumstances