“Oh, you’ve heard all about that?”
“I have. She told me, and I respected her for it. I thought it most courageous of her. It’s about time somebody brought a little brightness into that poor girl’s life. You don’t realize how desperately lonely she has been. She had to take up that art business to give her an interest, poor child, but she’s really cut out for an ordinary, sensible, feminine life. You may not understand that, with your ideas, but she has really a very sweet nature.”
“Sorry, Fentiman.”
“She made me ashamed, the way she took the whole thing. When I think of the trouble I got her into, owing to my damned dishonest tinkering about with—you know—”
“My dear man, you were perfectly providential. If you hadn’t tinkered about, as you say, she’d be married to Penberthy by now.”
“That’s true—and that makes it so amazing of her to forgive me. She loved that blighter, Wimsey. You don’t know. It’s absolutely pathetic.”
“Well, you’ll have to do your best to make her forget it.”
“I look on that as a duty, Wimsey.”
“Just so. Doing anything tonight? Care to come and look at a show?”
“Sorry—I’m booked. Taking Miss Dorland to the new thing at the Palladium, in fact. Thought it’d do her good—buck her up and so on.”
“Oh?—good work!—Here’s luck to it …”
“… and the cooking is getting perfectly disgraceful. I spoke to Culyer about it only yesterday. But he won’t do anything. I don’t know what’s the good of the committee. This club isn’t half what it used to be. In fact, Wimsey, I’m thinking of resigning.”
“Oh, don’t do that, Wetheridge. It wouldn’t be the same place without you.”
“Look at all the disturbance there has been lately. Police and reporters—and then Penberthy blowing his brains out in the library. And the coal’s all slate. Only yesterday something exploded like a shell—I assure you, exactly like a shell—in the card-room; and as nearly as possible got me in the eye. I said to Culyer, ‘This must not occur again.’ You may laugh, but I knew a man who was blinded by a thing popping out suddenly like that. These things never happened before the War, and—great heavens! William! Look at this wine! Smell it! Taste it! Corked? Yes, I should think it was corked! My God! I don’t know what’s come to this Club.”
Colophon
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
was published in 1928 by
Dorothy L. Sayers.
This ebook was transcribed and produced for
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League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy
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