Lady Ambermere's arrival was soon followed by that of other guests, and
instead of going into the special tent reserved for the lions, she took
up a commanding position in the middle of the lawn, where she could
examine everybody through her tortoiseshell handled lorgnette. She kept
Peppino by her, who darted forward to shake hands with his wife's
guests, and then darted back again to her. Poor Miss Lyall stood behind
her chair, and from time to time as ordered, gave her a cape, or put up
her parasol, or adjusted her footstool for her, or took up Pug or put
him down as her patroness required. Most of the time Lady Ambermere
kept up a majestic monologue.
"You have a pretty little garden here, Mr Lucas," she said, "though
perhaps inconveniently small. Your croquet lawn does not look to me the
full size, and then there is no tennis-court. But I think you have a
little strip of grass somewhere, which you use for bowls, have you not?
Presently I will walk around with you and see your domain. Put Pug down
again, please, Miss Lyall, and let him run about. See, he wants to play
with one of those croquet balls. Put it in motion for him, and he will
run with it. Bless me, who is that coming up the path at such a
tremendous speed in a bath-chair? Oh, I see, it is Mrs Weston. She
should not go as fast as that. If Pug was to stray on to the path he
would be run over.
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