The Last Houseparty Read Online Free Page B

leaders of the world as surely as we know that the clock outside in Lupton’s Tower will now strike twelve. We will wait and hear it.”
    Harry paused.
    â€œHe’d timed it perfectly,” he said in his own voice. “The trouble was the clock struck a hundred and twenty-eight.”
    2
    â€œIt’s bloody cheek,” said Vincent, speaking extra stiffly because he was gripping the turn-ups of his white flannels under his chin as he worked the coat hanger up them before putting them in the wardrobe.
    â€œCan’t expect anything else from Zena,” said Harry, tossing socks into a drawer. “She’s like that.”
    They were in a bleakish room on the floor below the servants’ attics. The bed frames were iron, ornamented with brass bobbles. There was one washstand, its crockery bearing the Snailwood crest but mostly chipped. This and the wardrobe and the two chests of drawers and the two wooden chairs were painted white. The only element that suggested comfort was the horsehair cushions on the seats in the window niches, and even those seemed more designed for a boy to stretch out on and read a book with his fingers stuffed in his ears all Sunday afternoon, than for an adult to sit on and feel easy. Vincent and Harry went through the process of unpacking half-automatically, knowing where it was natural to put their clothes and which drawers needed a jerk to unstick them.
    â€œShe’s thoroughly mucked me up with my adjutant,” said Vincent. “We do most of our training at week-ends in the TA, and I’ve begged off a couple of Saturdays for cricket matches already. I’d sworn I wouldn’t this time.”
    â€œBut the order came from on high.”
    â€œMakes it worse. He can’t abide political soldiers.”
    â€œNever mind. No doubt Zena will have arranged for compensation in the shape of glamour girls.”
    â€œTo help solve the Palestine question?”
    â€œOh, I don’t know. Some of these old chaps have quite boyish tastes, no matter how grey their eminences. I thought Mrs Dubigny herself wasn’t half bad, for a start.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThink it’s any part of her duties to sleep with Uncle Snaily?”
    â€œYou’ve been publishing too many cheap novels.”
    â€œI hear that’s why Nan left. Zena decided that she had performed that function as long as duty demanded and tried to get Nan to take over. Nan jibbed.”
    â€œWho told you all this?”
    â€œNobody told me all of it. Purser was full of sly hints last time I came. Nan left without another job to go to, so I heard, and she hasn’t a bean of her own. Mrs Dubigny I am told is divorced. She is distinctly easy on the eye, and she doesn’t look as though she’d mind.”
    â€œYou can’t trust Purser when it comes to Zena.”
    â€œI’m making allowances for that. Finished?”
    â€œDon’t wait for me. You want to look at that list.”
    â€œIt’s going to be a very interesting week-end, Vince. I’ll give you a rapid crib, so you can make the correct noises while all the old buffers are woffling on.”
    â€œI’ll stick to the army line, thanks. Provided the politicians will let us get on with it we can stamp on this revolt, pacify the Arabs and carry on from there.”
    â€œThey aren’t half making a soldier of you. Presumably that will be the Brigadier’s line. I don’t know much about him.”
    â€œRifleman. Said to be a sound chap, though. Bit of an expert on camel patrols or something like that.”
    â€œTremendously useful for settling a religious war. The point is, Vince, that this lot of politicians we’ve got now haven’t the slightest intention of letting the army loose to pacify the Palestinian Arabs. It doesn’t matter a hoot what anyone’s promised the Jews in the past, they can see that if we stick to our word we’re going to lose