|
|
|
|
|
|
ny of 'em. I get to feel wrinkled myself after the first week." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Linda started, not having noticed Peter's attention to the conversation. She had known he was behind her, but he had seemed to be listening to what his aunt had to say to the general. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"It would suit your purposes very well if we didn't, wouldn't it?" Rose-Anne asked smoothly, but her voice had turned from cool to cold with a hard, brittle undertone. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Oh, don't be a fool, Rosie," Peter snapped. "What difference could it make to me?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"We could cramp your style," Donald sneered. "And if you don't care whether we go or not, how come you're always there whenever we are?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"You know damn well why I'm there," Peter replied angrily, but low enough so that Mrs. Bates would not hear. "It's quite deliberate, and I haven't tried to hide my purpose. If I wasn't there, you'd be after Aunt Em to have all your rackety friends down, and there'd be parties all day and all night. You know she can't take that kind of thing, not with her notions of what's required of a hostess." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"She enjoys our friends," Rose-Anne put in. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Yes, in small doses they're even good for her," Peter replied less aggressively. "A weekend is swell. Two weeks at a time is too much." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"But you can't ask people to come all the way to Corfu for a weekend," Rose-Anne protested. "Don't be daft," she added, but she was smiling now. |
|
|
|
|
|