Joanna said kindly, “Not at all. Have another handkerchief.”

I gather she supplied the necessary article. I reentered the room and handed Megan a brimming glass.

“What is it?”

“A cocktail,” I said.

“Is it? Is it really?” Megan’s tears were instantly dried. “I’ve never drunk a cocktail.”

“Everything has to have a beginning,” I said.

Megan sipped her drink gingerly, then a beaming smile spread over her face, she tilted her head back and gulped it down at a draught.

“It’s lovely,” she said. “Can I have another?”

“No,” I said.

“Why not?”

“In about ten minutes you’ll probably know.”

“Oh!”

Megan transferred her attention to Joanna.

“I really am awfully sorry for having made such a nuisance of myself howling away like that. I can’t think why. It seems awfully silly when I’m so glad to be here.”

“That’s all right,” said Joanna. “We’re very pleased to have you.”

“You can’t be, really. It’s just kindness on your part. But I am grateful.”

“Please don’t be grateful,” said Joanna. “It will embarrass me. I was speaking the truth when I said we should be glad to have you. Jerry and I have used up all our conversation. We can’t think of anymore things to say to each other.”

“But now,” I said, “we shall be able to have all sorts of interesting discussions—about Goneril and Regan and things like that.”

Megan’s face lit up.

“I’ve been thinking about that, and I think I know the answer. It was because that awful old father of theirs always insisted on such a lot of sucking up. When you’ve always got to be saying thank you and how kind and all the rest of it, it would make you go a bit rotten and queer inside, and you’d just long to be able to be beastly for a change—and when you got the chance, you’d probably find it went to your head and you’d go too far. Old Lear was pretty awful, wasn’t he? I mean, he did deserve the snub Cordelia gave him.”

“I can see,” I said, “that we are going to have many interesting discussions about Shakespeare.”

“I can see you two are going to be very highbrow,” said Joanna. “I’m afraid I always find Shakespeare terribly dreary. All those long scenes where everybody is drunk and it’s supposed to be funny.”

“Talking of drink,” I said turning to Megan. “How are you feeling?”

“Quite all right, thank you.”

“Not at all giddy? You don’t see two of Joanna or anything like that?”

“No. I just feel as though I’d like to talk rather a lot.”

“Splendid,” I said. “Obviously you are one of our natural drinkers. That is to say, if that really was your first cocktail.”

“Oh, it was.”

“A good strong head is an asset to any human being,” I said.

Joanna took Megan upstairs to unpack.

Partridge came in, looking sour, and said she had made two cup custards for lunch and what should she do about it?