“Shall we bathe?” said Jack.
“No good,” said Mike. “The water was too warm to be pleasant yesterday — and I bet it’s really hot today. It gets like a hot bath after a day like this.”
A big gong boomed through the palace. It was time for lunch — a late one for the children. Nora groaned.
“It’s too hot to eat! I can’t move. I don’t believe I could even swallow an ice-cream!”
“Lunch is indoors for you today,” announced Ranni, coming out on to the terrace. “It is cooler indoors. The electric fans are all going in the play-room. Come and eat.”
None of the children could eat very much, although the dishes were just as delicious as ever. Ranni and Pilescu, who always served the children at meal-times, looked quite worried.
“You must eat little Prince,” Ranni said to Paul.
“It’s too hot,” said Paul. “Where’s my mother? I’m going to ask her if I need wear any clothes except shorts. That’s all they wear in England in the summer, when it’s holiday-time and hot.”
“But you are a prince!” said Ranni. “You cannot run about with hardly anything on.”
Prince Paul went to find his mother. She was lying down in her beautiful bedroom, a scented handkerchief lying over her eyes.