"She asked you not to?"
"Yes, she asked me not to talk about her, if I ever met you again."
"But why? I don't understand."
"No, neither do I. I told her it was rot and I refused to promise. You
want to know if Elizabeth's happy. Well, yes, I suppose that in her own
way she is. My brother's a most devoted husband and seems to be as much
in love with her as he ever was; he stands from under and fetches and
carries, and Elizabeth likes that sort of thing."
Joan frowned. "I see you're still unjust to her, Richard; you always
were a little bit, you know."
"My dear, I'm not unjust; you asked me to tell you about her, and I'm
telling you the impression I received when I stayed in her house last
year."
"Go on," said Joan.
"Well, then, she has a truly magnificent mansion in Cape Town. It's
white and square and rather hideous, that's the outside; inside it's
full of very expensive, supposedly antique furniture, all shipped out
from England. They entertain a great deal; my brother's managed to grow
indecently rich; helped by the war, I'm afraid. And he's generous,
positively lavish. Did you know that Lawrence got a baronetcy a little
while ago? Well, he did, so Elizabeth's now Lady Benson! Funny, ain't
it? I'm sorry there are no children; Lawrence would have loved to found
a family, poor old fellow. He deserved that baronetcy all right, though,
he was extremely useful to the Government during the war. Elizabeth was
pretty useful too in a humbler way. I believe she organized more
charities and hospital units and whatnots than any woman in South
Africa; they tell me her tact and energy were phenomenal, in fact she's
a kind of social leader in Cape Town. People go out with introductions
to her, and if she takes them up they're made for ever, and if she don't
they sink into oblivion; you know, that sort of thing." He paused.