‘So you’ve been writing letters all day; dear me!’ said the lady of the broderie anglaise, looking over her glasses.

‘Nothing would persuade me to,’ said Sydney.

‘It’s dull for you young people on a day like this. No wonder the Misses Lawrence were romping.’

‘Were they? I didn’t notice.’

‘Oh, as you said, “we” I thought you had been with Veronica.’

‘I haven’t seen Veronica all day,’ said Sydney, and while everybody listened intently she turned away from Tessa’s chair and wandered over to the window. ‘Doesn’t it rain? I like it!’ she was moved to exclaim. ‘If I were Monet and alive now, I would paint this and present the picture to the P.L.M. as a poster for the Côte d’Azur.’ She smiled out at the rain with an air of complicity.

‘Well, what on earth have you been doing with yourself all day?’ asked Mrs Hepworth, who was so motherly-looking that she could ask anybody anything point-blank.

Sydney frowned for a moment as though she were trying to remember. ‘Thinking,’ she said at last, ‘with great pleasure of the thousands of villas round the hundreds of bays along these hundreds of miles of coast where the couples are living – as one is told they are living – for one another. Think what living for one another at close quarters would be like today. Think specially of what, before they became so rare, it would have been like to be living with a Russian. “It has been raining for weeks, the hay is rotting and we are living on illusions ——” But perhaps you don’t read Russian plays? Even in fine weather, I must say I think the importance of personal relations is very much over-estimated. Oh, thank you, Tessa; then I’ll owe you three lire for the stamps.’

‘Yes, we’re very shockable in here,’ said Mrs Hillier briskly, ‘as I expect you thought. Personally, I think the interest of these improper couples is, in all weathers, very much over-estimated, but for girls of your age they have always a great fascination. I know they had for me until I went to India. You and your young friend must have been enjoying yourselves, chatting away.’

‘I haven’t got a young friend,’ said Sydney, and now, quite unable to refrain from laughing at herself, she guffawed at Mrs Hillier with a keen appreciation of her own ridiculousness but with unabated gloom.

‘Then won’t you stay down here and make up the second four for bridge? You see there are only seven of us; we’ll be going down directly.’

‘Oh, thank you, no; I must be going up.’

‘You know the lift is out of order?’

‘Is it? I never use it. I put the kettle on for tea just now and I must go and keep and eye on it.’