Georgie,
Lucia and Olga were absentees, and so, making a house-to-house
visitation she went first to Georgie. He with secret knowledge of the
tableaux (indeed he was stitching himself a robe to be worn by King
Cophetua at the time and hastily bundling it under the table) regretted
that he was already engaged. This was rather mysterious, but he might
have planned, for all Mrs Quantock knew, an evening when he would be
"busy indoors," and since those evenings were never to be pried upon,
she asked no questions, but went off to Lucia's to give her invitation
there. There again she was met with a similarly mysterious refusal.
Lucia much regretted that she and Peppino were unable to come, and she
hoped Daisy would have a lovely party. Even as she spoke, she heard her
telephone bell ringing, and hurried off to find that Georgie, faithful
lieutenant, was acquainting her with the fact that Mrs Quantock was
planning a party for Saturday; he did not know how far she had got. At
that moment she had got just half-way to Old Place, walking at unusual
speed. Lucia grasped the situation with amazing quickness, and cutting
off Georgie with a snap, she abandoned all idea of her party being
impromptu, and rang up Olga. She would secure her anyhow....
The telephone was in the hall, and Olga, with her hat on, was just
preparing to go out, when the bell sounded. The words of grateful
acceptance were on her very lips when her front-door bell rang too,
very long and insistently and had hardly left off when it began again.
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