Berry And Co.

Berry And Co., by Dornford
Yates

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Title: Berry And Co.
Author: Dornford Yates
Release Date: January 5, 2006 [EBook #17469]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BERRY
AND CO. ***

Produced by Hilary Caws-Elwitt, in honor of Peter Caws

BERRY AND CO.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Published by Ward, Lock & Co.:-- BERRY AND CO. JONAH AND
CO. MAIDEN STAKES. THE STOLEN MARCH. ANTHONY
LYVEDEN. VALERIE FRENCH. AND FIVE WERE FOOLISH. AS
OTHER MEN ARE. THE BROTHER OF DAPHNE. THE COURTS
OF IDLENESS.
Published by Hodder & Stoughton:-- BLIND CORNER.
PERISHABLE GOODS. BLOOD ROYAL. FIRE BELOW. ADÈLE
AND CO.

BERRY AND CO.
BY
DORNFORD YATES
WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED
LONDON AND MELBOURNE

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY PURNELL AND SONS
PAULTON (SOMERSET) AND LONDON

DEAR VALERIE,
When a writer admits that he has an affection for something which he
has written, it is high time to pray for his soul. Yet I make bold to
confess that there are in this book some passages which I hold dear--a
seeming vanity, which must be explained.
Many times you have found me at work upon these chapters. Often you
have taken ill-written pages of manuscript from my table and, sitting
down in a chair, deciphered them for what they were worth. Once or
twice, whilst you read, you have fallen into silvery laughter.

Do you wonder that I treasure the sentences which drew forth such
music?
This is my dedication.
As many as see you are glad of the sight. All who know you are proud
of the honour. But the man whose efforts your mirth has commended is
the proudest and happiest of the lot.
Need I say that your name is not Valerie? I think not. You will know
whom I mean.
Most faithfully yours,
DORNFORD YATES.
Pau, November, 1920.

CONTENTS
I HOW WILL NOGGIN WAS FOOLED, AND BERRY RODE
FORTH AGAINST HIS WILL
II HOW DAPHNE WROTE FOR ASSISTANCE, AND MR. HOLLY
WAS OUTBID
III HOW A MAN MAY FOLLOW HIS OWN HAT, AND BERRY
TOOK A LAMP IN HIS HAND
IV HOW NOBBY CAME TO SLEEP UPON MY BED, AND BERRY
FELL AMONG THIEVES
V HOW JILL'S EDUCATION WAS IMPROVED, AND DAPHNE
GAVE HER HUSBAND THE SLIP
VI HOW NOBBY ATTENDED A WEDDING, AND BERRY SPOKE
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

VII HOW JONAH OBEYED HIS ORDERS, AND DAPHNE AND
KATHARINE FESTIVAL BACKED THE SAME HORSE
VIII HOW JILL SLEPT UNDISTURBED, AND NOBBY
ATTENDED CHURCH PARADE
IX HOW ADÈLE FESTE ARRIVED, AND MR. DUNKELSBAUM
SUPPED WITH THE DEVIL
X HOW ADÈLE BROKE HER DREAM, AND VANDY PLEYDELL
TOOK EXERCISE
XI HOW NOBBY MET BLUE BANDALA, AND ADÈLE GAVE
JONAH A KISS
CHAPTER I
HOW WILL NOGGIN WAS FOOLED, AND BERRY RODE FORTH
AGAINST HIS WILL.
"Who's going to church?" said Daphne, consulting her wrist-watch.
There was a profound silence.
My sister turned to Jill.
"Are you coming?" she said. "Berry and I are."
"I beg your pardon," said her husband.
"Of course you're coming," said Daphne.
"Not in these trousers. This is the first time I've worn them, and I'm not
going to kneel in them for any one."
"Then you'll change," said his wife. "You've plenty of time."
Berry groaned.

"This is sheer Bolshevism," he said. "Is not my soul my own?"
"We shall start," said Daphne, "in twenty minutes."
It was nearly half-past ten in the morning of a beautiful summer day,
and we were all taking our ease in the sunshine upon the terrace. It was
the first Sunday which we had spent all together at White Ladies for
nearly five years.
So far as the eye could see, nothing had changed.
At the foot of the steps the great smooth lawn stretched like a fine
green carpet, its shadowed patches yet bright with dew. There were the
tall elms and the copper beech and all the proud company of spreading
giants--what were five years to them? There was the clump of
rhododendrons, a ragged blotch of crimson, seemingly spilled upon the
green turf, and there the close box hedge that walled away the
rose-garden. Beyond the sunk fence a gap showed an acre or so of
Bull's Mead--a great deep meadow, and in it two horses beneath a
chestnut tree, their long tails a-swish, sleepily nosing each other to rout
the flies; while in the distance the haze of heat hung like a film over the
rolling hills.