Театр
Chapter 4
"Yes,ofcourseIseewhatyoumean."
"Iknowitdoesn’tmeansomuchaswhenIwasagirl,butafterallhewasbornagentleman."
"Oh,butsomeverynicepeoplegoonthestagenowadays,youknow.It’snotlikeintheolddays."
"No,Isupposenot.I’msogladhebroughtyoudownhere.Iwasalittlenervousaboutit.Ithoughtyou’dbemade-upand...perhapsalittleloud.Noonewoulddreamyouwereonthestage."
("Ishoulddamnwellthinknot.Haven’tIbeengivingaperfectperformanceofthevillagemaidenforthelastforty-eighthours?")
TheColonelbegantomakelittlejokeswithherandsometimeshepinchedherearplayfully.
"Nowyoumustn’tflirtwithme,Colonel,"shecried,givinghimaroguishdeliciousglance."JustbecauseI’manactressyouthinkyoucantakelibertieswithme."
"George,George,"smiledMrs.Gosselyn.AndthentoJulia:"Healwayswasaterribleflirt."
("Gosh,I’mgoingdownlikeabarrelofoysters.")
Mrs.GosselyntoldheraboutIndia,howstrangeitwastohaveallthosecolouredservants,buthownicethesocietywas,onlyarmypeopleandIndiancivilians,butstillitwasn’tlikehome,andhowgladshewastogetbacktoEngland.
TheyweretoleaveonEasterMondaybecausetheywereplayingthatnight,andonSundayeveningaftersupperColonelGosselynsaidhewasgoingtohisstudytowriteletters;aminuteortwolaterMrs.Gosselynsaidshemustgoandseethecook.WhentheywereleftaloneMichael,standingwithhisbacktothefire,litacigarette.
