The Ancient Allan | Page 9

as
sympathetic as I felt, sighed and waited.
"It's not so bad as all that," she said with a little shake of her head,
reading my thought as she always had the power to do from the first
moment we met. "We can talk about /that/ afterwards. It's only that I
hoped we were going to have a quiet two days, and now the
Atterby-Smiths are coming, yes, in half an hour. Five of them!"
"The Atterby-Smiths!" I exclaimed, for somehow I too felt
disappointed. "Who are the Atterby-Smiths?"
"Cousins of George's, his nearest relatives. They think he ought to have
left them everything. But he didn't, because he could never bear the
sight of them. You see his property was unentailed and he left it all to
me. Now the entire family is advancing to suggest that I should leave it
to them, as perhaps I might have done if they had not chosen to come
just now."
"Why didn't you put them off?" I asked.
"Because I couldn't," she answered with a little stamp of her foot,
"otherwise do you suppose they would have been here? They were far
too clever. They telegraphed after lunch giving the train by which they
were to arrive, but no address save Charing Cross. I thought of moving
up to the Berkeley Square house, but it was impossible in the time, also
I didn't know how to catch you. Oh! it's /most/ vexatious."
"Perhaps they are very nice," I suggested feebly.
"Nice! Wait till you have seen them. Besides if they had been angels I
did not want them just now. But how selfish I am! Come and have
some tea. And you can stop longer, that is if you live through the
Atterby- Smiths who are worse than both the Kendah tribes put
together. Indeed I wish old Harût were coming instead. I should like to
see Harût again, wouldn't you?" and suddenly the mystical look I knew

so well, gathered on her face.
"Yes, perhaps I should," I replied doubtfully. "But I must leave by the
first train on Tuesday morning; it goes at eight o'clock. I looked it up."
"Then the Atterby-Smiths leave on Monday if I have to turn them out
of the house. So we shall get one evening clear at any rate. Stop a
minute," and she rang the bell.
The footman appeared as suddenly as though he had been listening at
the door.
"Alfred," she said, "tell Moxley" (he, I discovered, was the butler) "that
when Mr. and Mrs. Atterby-Smith, the two Misses Atterby-Smith and
the young Mr. Atterby-Smith arrive, they are to be shown to their
rooms. Tell the cook also to put off dinner till half-past eight, and if Mr.
and Mrs. Scroope arrive earlier, tell Moxley to tell them that I am sorry
to be a little late, but that I was delayed by some parish business. Now
do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lady," said Alfred and vanished.
"He doesn't understand in the least," remarked Lady Ragnall, "but so
long as he doesn't show the Atterby-Smiths up here, in which case he
can go away with them on Monday, I don't care. It will all work out
somehow. Now sit down by the fire and let's talk. We've got nearly an
hour and twenty minutes and you can smoke if you like. I learnt to in
Egypt," and she took a cigarette from the mantelpiece and lit it.
That hour and twenty minutes went like a flash, for we had so much to
say to each other that we never even got to the things we wanted to say.
For instance, I began to tell her about King Solomon's Mines, which
was a long story; and she to tell me what happened after we parted on
the shores of the Red Sea. At least the first hour and a quarter went,
when suddenly the door opened and Alfred in a somewhat frightened
voice announced--"Mr. and Mrs. Atterby-Smith, the Misses
Atterby-Smith and Mr. Atterby-Smith junior."
Then he caught sight of his mistress's eye and fled.
I looked and felt inclined to do likewise if only there had been another
door. But there wasn't and that which existed was quite full. In the
forefront came A.-S. senior, like a bull leading the herd. Indeed his
appearance was bull-like as my eye, travelling from the expanse of
white shirt-front (they were all dressed for dinner) to his red and
massive countenance surmounted by two horn-like tufts of carroty hair,

informed me at a glance. Followed Mrs. A.-S., the British matron
incarnate. Literally there seemed to be acres of her; black silk below
and white skin above on which set in filigree floated big green stones,
like islands in an ocean. Her countenance too, though stupid was very