Love in Our Time Read Online Free Page B

but … ” Then he stopped himself. After all, if it was Alice’s party he supposed that she had a right to ask whom she wanted. “All right,” he said. “You ask Willie. I hardly know him.”
    â€œYou’ll like him,” Alice assured him. “I know you will. Willie’s ever so nice really.”
    The thought of having Willie served to cheer her: it made it all seem so much more like one of the parties she was used to. So far back as she could remember, Willie had come to every party; she had a series of impressions of him as a small boy always red and hot looking and a little awkward, and always in a dark suit that was too small for him—they were the forerunners of the whole range of suits that he bought later on.
    When she had cleared away, it was Alice who was the first to mention the party again.
    â€œWhat are we going to give them to eat?” she asked.
    â€œSausages,” he told her.
    â€œBut there’s got to be something else.”
    â€œNo, there hasn’t,” he said. “Just sausages.”
    â€œBut supposing one of them doesn’t like sausages?”
    â€œWell, he goes without,” Gerald replied. It was a point that he hadn’t considered before; the newspaper paragraph hadn’t said anything about people not liking sausages. It just took it for granted that all Belgravia adored them.
    â€œI’m going to make some sandwiches as well,” Alice exclaimed suddenly. “Then they can all have what they like.”
    â€œO.K.,” said Gerald.
    â€œAnd I’ll make some fruit salad. They’ll want something like that after eating sausages.”
    â€œO.K.,” said Gerald again. It seemed useless to argue. She was just beginning to enter into the spirit of the thing, and already she had left him far behind. He had begun by telling himself that they would just have a few friends in, and now he kept consoling himself by reflecting that, as they didn’t do it often, they might as well do it properly.
    â€œWhat are you going to give them to drink?” Alice asked.
    â€œBeer,” he answered. “As much beer as they can drink.”
    â€œThere ought to be some cup,” Alice objected.
    â€œWhat for?” Gerald asked. “Have you ever heard of a man drinking cup?” It seemed a silly sort of suggestion to make.
    â€œWell, what about the women? Why can’t they have what they like?”
    He paused. “Oh, all right, then. Let’s have some cup as well!”
    If he had known that this was the way the party was going he wouldn’t have minded if Tony had turned up in Court dress. A mere boiled shirt or two would be nothing. All the same, he found it rather flattering. He liked the idea of making a bit of a show now that he was married.
    â€œIt’s going to be rather fun,” Alice said a few minutes later. “If we push the couch back we could have somedancing in here afterwards. We could get quite a lot of people in if we had them in relays.”
    But Gerald was past raising any objections. He lit a cigarette and lay back in his chair. “It’s your party,” he said magnanimously.
    Alice got up and sat on the arm. She began playing with his hair. He put his arm round her.
    â€œSorry I was cross last night,” she said.
    â€œBut you weren’t. I was.”
    She slid off the arm on to his knee.
    â€œI didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said.
    â€œIt was only me being silly.”
    â€œNo, it wasn’t. I was beastly.”
    He stubbed out his cigarette and put his arms round her.
    â€œDo you love me?” he asked.
    â€œYou know I do.”
    â€œHow much?”
    â€œAll the world and then some.”
    â€œO.K.,” he said.

Chapter Three
    It was eight-five on Friday evening. The lights were on in both rooms and everything was ready—ready twenty-five minutes too early. Gerald and Alice were sitting there,