11 An Exciting Plan
“You go after them, Gwen,” said Clarissa, urgently. “I daren’t tear up that steep hill. They’ll be half-way up by now.”
“No, indeed, Miss Clarissa, I wouldn’t dream of you racing¹ up that hill, and you only just recovering from that bad heart of yours,” said Mrs. Lucy at once. “I meant this other girl to go.”
Gwendoline was certainly not going to go chasing up Langley Hill in the hot sun, to fetch back people she disliked, to enjoy a fine tea. Let them go without!
She pulled rather a long face. “I will go, of course,” she said, “but I think there’s something a bit wrong with my heart, too—it flutters, you know, when I’ve done something rather energetic. It makes me feel I simply must lie down.”
“Oh dear—that’s how I used to feel!” cried Clarissa, sympathetically. “I forgot you spoke³ about your heart today, Gwen. Well, it can’t be helped. We can’t get the others back here to tea.”
“What a pity,” mourned Mrs. Lucy, and took them inside her dear little cottage. Set on a table inside was a most marvellous home-made tea!
There were tongue sandwiches with lettuce⁴, hard-boiled eggs to eat with bread-and-butter, great chunks⁵ of new-made cream cheese, potted meat, ripe tomatoes grown in Mrs. Lucy’s brother’s greenhouse, gingerbread cake fresh from the oven, shortbread, a great fruit cake with almonds crowding the top, biscuits of all kinds and six jam sandwiches!
“Gracious!” said Gwen and Clarissa, in awe⁶. “What a spread!”
“Nurse, it’s too marvellous for words,” said Clarissa. “But oh dear, what a waste! And such an expense, too!”
“Oh now, you needn’t think about that,” said Mrs. Lucy at once. “Your sister came to see me yesterday, her that’s married, and she gave me some money to spend on getting a good spread for you all. So here it is—and only the two of you to eat it. Well, certainly, Miss Clarissa, you did give me to understand in your letter that the whole class were coming.”
“No, Nurse—I said the whole of our form from North Tower were coming for a picnic and could we (that’s Gwen and I) come and have tea with you,” explained Clarissa. “I suppose you thought that “we” meant the whole lot. I’m so very sorry.”

分享到：