‘You are talking like the Navy League, George.’
‘I know,’ said George. ‘I suddenly thought, Supposing the damned
fools were right.’
Walter said:
‘It is quite inconceivable, I think, that Great Britain should
be involved in a European War.’
He spoke with a note of exasperation in his voice, as though
every one were being silly. I thought they could not all be silly,
for they were saying different things.
‘It is inconceivable we could keep out,’ said Guy, ‘if France
and Germany were at War.’
‘Come, come,’ said Grandmother, ‘don’t try to make my flesh creep,
young people. I think we can trust the Austrians to settle up
their own affair; it was all in their own country after all.’
She turned to Walter, who was on her other side, and asked him
how his book was getting on; and after that we talked about plays,
the Vedrenne Barker Season at the Savoy and Rheinhardt’s production
of Œdipus. I had seen none of them, nor Walter of course, for
we seldom went to plays, but all the others had, and I liked
to hear about them.
After dinner we had coffee in the drawing-room; then Grandmother
went to her memoirs, in her sitting-room upstairs, and we played
Demon Pounce with two card tables joined together and five packs
of cards. We called it Prawn Eye, and we often used to play it.
Guy generally won, and sometimes George; Hugo and Walter were
the worst. Hugo laughed and looked across at Walter.
‘You and I are competing for the Donkey prize,’ he said.
Walter tried to laugh too, but he looked worried; I could see
that he thought it a silly game, and that spoilt the fun for
me.
I had to go home early to feed Eleanor. The others stayed on
to play longer. I ran upstairs to Grandmother to say ‘good night.’
She was sitting by the fire, for she always had a fire in her
room, with her book on her knee and her spectacles on the table
by her side. She was not reading, and she looked very tired.
I realized, with a sudden shock, that she was old.
She started when I came in, and then smiled.
‘I have come to say “good night,” Grandmother,’ I said.
She put both her hands on my shoulders, as I stooped down.
She said:
‘Dear child, bless you. I am happy about you.’