"
The parlour-maid enters, and casts more than one searching glance at
Vivie's bruised features, but performs her duties in a workmanlike
manner.
_Frank_: "My story? Oh well, it's a happy one on the whole--very
happy. Soon as the war was over, I got busy in Rhodesia and pitched
on a perfect site for a stock and fruit farm. The B.S.A. Co. was
good to me because I'd known Cecil Rhodes and Dr. Jim; and by
nineteen four I was going well, they'd made me a magistrate, and
some of my mining shares had turned out trumps. Then Westlock came
out as Governor General, and Lady Enid had brought out with her a
jolly nice girl as governess to her children. She was the daughter
of a parson in Hertfordshire near the Brinsley estates. Well, I
won't say--bein' the soul of truth--that I fell in love with
her--straight away--because I don't think I ever fell deep in
love--straight away--with any girl but you, Vivie. But I did feel,
as it was hopeless askin' you to marry me, here was the wife I
wanted. She was good enough to accept me and the Westlocks were
awfully kind and made everything easy. Lady Enid's a perfect
brick--and, by the bye, she's a great Suffragist too. Well: we were
married at Pretoria in 1904, and now we've got four children; a
sturdy young Frank, a golupshous Vivie--oh, I told Muriel
everything, she's the sort of woman you can--And the other two are
called Bertha after my mother and Charlotte after Mrs.
Pages:
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275