Chapters (19)
Lucia read the menu and slightly moistened her lips. She directed on Elizabeth a long penetrating gaze that mutely questioned her. Then the character of that look altered. There was no reproach in it, only comprehension and unfathomable contempt.
The ghastly silence continued as the lobster was handed round. It came to Lucia first. She tasted it and found that it was exactly right. She laid down her fork, and grubbed up the imperfectly buried hatchet.
‘Are you sure you copied the recipe out quite correctly, Elizabetha mia?’ she asked. ‘You must pop into my kitchen some afternoon when you are going for your walk – never mind if I am in or not – and look at it again. And if my cook is out too, you will find the recipe in a book on the kitchen shelf. But you know that, don’t you?’
‘Thank you, dear,’ said Elizabeth. ‘Sweet of you.’
Then everybody began to talk in a great hurry.
Biographical Note
Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940) was born in Wellington College, Berkshire, the fifth of six children. His father, Revd Edward White Benson, was headmaster of the school at the time and later became the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Benson was educated at Marlborough College and King’s College, Cambridge, where he read for a degree in Classics and Archaeology. Upon his graduation he worked on archaeological digs in Britain, Egypt and Greece for several years.
He published his first novel, Dodo, in 1893, to instant acclaim. Following the death of his father in 1896, he began to write full time, publishing a novel a year for the rest of his life. His satires, romances and supernatural melodramas secured his place as a bestselling author during his lifetime. He remains best known today for his six ‘Mapp and Lucia’ novels. Other authors have written sequels to them and they have been adapted for television twice.
Benson led a varied and active life, representing Britain in figure-skating, serving as the mayor of Rye and summering on the island of Capri. He was a prominent socialite in London circles, and was awarded an OBE and made an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College in recognition of his services to literature.
Benson never married and died in University College Hospital, London, in 1940.
Under our three imprints, Hesperus Press publishes over 300 books by many of the greatest figures in worldwide literary history, as well as contemporary and debut authors well worth discovering.
Hesperus Classics handpicks the best of worldwide and translated literature, introducing forgotten and neglected books to new generations.
Hesperus Nova showcases quality contemporary fiction and non-fiction designed to entertain and inspire.
Hesperus Minor rediscovers well-loved children’s books from the past – these are books which will bring back fond memories for adults, which they will want to share with their children and loved ones.