Georgie quickened his step, and the old familiar glamour brightened
round him. As soon as he got within speaking distance, he called to
her, and turning round, "like a guilty thing surprised," a little box
flew out of her hand. As it fell the lid came off, and there was
scattered on the green grass a multitude of red lozenges. She gave a
cry of dismay.
"Oh! Mr Georgie, how you startled me" she said. "Do help me to pick
them up. Do you think the damp will have hurt them? Any news? I was so
wrapped up in what I was doing that I've spoken to nobody."
Georgie assisted in the recovery of the red lozenges.
"You dropped this as you walked," he said. "I picked it up in order to
give it you."
"Ah, that is kind, and did you see what it was?"
"I couldn't help seeing the outside," said Georgie.
She looked at him a moment, wondering what was the most prudent course.
If she said nothing more, he would probably tell everybody....
"Well, then I shall let you into the whole secret," she said. "It's the
most wonderful invention, and increases your height, whatever your age
is, from two to six inches. Fancy! There are some exercises you have to
do, rather like those Yoga ones, every morning, and you eat three
lozenges a day. Quite harmless they are, and then you soon begin to
shoot up. It sounds incredible, doesn't it? but there are so many
testimonials that I can't doubt it is genuine. Here's one of a man who
grew six inches. I saw it advertised in some paper, and sent for it.
Only a guinea! What fun when Robert begins to see that I am taller than
he is! But now not a word! Don't tell dear Lucia whatever you do. She
is half a head taller than I, and it would be no fun if everybody grew
from two to six inches. You may write for them, and I'll give you the
address, but you must tell nobody."
"Too wonderful" said Georgie. "I _shall_ watch you. Here we are.
Look, there's Perdita's flower. What a beauty!"
It was not necessary to press the mermaid's tail, for Lucia had seen
them from the music-room, and they heard her high heels clacking over
the polished floor of the hall.
"Listen! No more need of high heels!" said Mrs Quantock. "And I've got
something else to tell you. Lucia may hear that. Ah, dear Lucia, what a
wonderful Perdita-blossom!"
"Is it not?" said Lucia, blowing kisses to Georgie, and giving them to
Daisy. "That shows spring is here. _Primavera!_ And Peppino's
_piccolo libro_ comes out today. I should not be a bit surprised
if you each of you found a copy of it arrived before evening. Glorious!
It's glorious!"
Surely it was no wonder that Georgie's blood began to canter along his
arteries again. There had been very pleasant exciting years before now,
requiring for their fuel no more than was ready at this moment to keep
up the fire. Mrs Quantock was on tip-toe, so to speak, to increase her
height, Peppino was just delivered of a second of these vellum volumes
with seals and tapes outside, Mrs Weston was going to become Mrs
Colonel at the end of the week, and at the same hour and church
Elizabeth was going to become Mrs Atkinson. Had these things no savour,
because----
"How is 'oo?" said Georgie, with a sudden flush of the spring-time
through him. "Me vewy well, sank 'oo and me so want to read Peppino's
bookie-bookie."
"'Oo come in," said Lucia. "Evewybody come in. Now, who's got ickle bit
news?"
Mrs Quantock had been walking on her toes all across the hall, in
anticipation of the happy time when she would be from two to six inches
taller. As the animated pamphlet said, the world assumed a totally
different aspect when you were even two inches taller. She was quite
sorry to sit down.
"Is next week very full with you, dear Lucia?" she asked.
Lucia pressed her finger to her forehead.
"Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday," she began. "No, not Tuesday, I am doing
nothing on Tuesday. You want to be the death of me between you. Why?"
"I hope that my dear friend, Princess Popoffski, will be staying with
me" said Mrs Quantock. "Do get over your prejudice against
spiritualism, and give it a chance. Come to a seance on Tuesday. You,
too, of course, Georgie: I know better than to invite Lucia without
you."
Lucia put on the far-away look which she reserved for the masterpieces
of music, and for Georgie's hopeless devotion.
"Lovely! That will be lovely!" she said. "Most interesting! I shall
come with a perfectly open mind."
Georgie scarcely lamented the annihilation of a mystery. He must surely
have imagined the mystery, for it all collapsed like a card-house, if
the Princess was coming back. The seances had been most remarkable,
too; and he would have to get out his planchette again.
"And what's going to happen on Wednesday?" he asked Lucia. "All I know
is that I've not been asked. Me's offended."
"Ickle surprise," said Lucia. "You're not engaged that evening, are
you? Nor you, dear Daisy? That's lovely. Eight o'clock? No, I think a
quarter to. That will give us more time. I shan't tell you what it is."
Mrs Quantock, grasping her lozenges, wondered how much taller she would
be by then. As Lucia played to them, she drew a lozenge out of the box
and put it into her mouth, in order to begin growing at once. It tasted
rather bitter, but not unpleasantly so.