“It would be like a game,” said Martin, glowing.
“With toys?” ejaculated Bunny, entranced.
Ben was firmly opposed. “I won’t do it. I want to have long trousers and grow a moustache.”
Martin’s face was serious with the vision of huge alternatives.
“That’s it,” he said. “We’ve got to know before we can decide. It’s terribly important. If they don’t have a good time, we’d better——”
“We could ask them if they’re happy,” exclaimed Ruth, thrilled by the thought of running out on the veranda to propose this stunning question.
“They wouldn’t tell you,” said Alec. “They’re too polite.”
Phyllis was trying to remember instructive examples of adult infelicity. “They don’t tell the truth,” she agreed. “Mother once said that if Daddy went on like that she’d go mad, and I waited and waited, and he did and she didn’t.”
“You mustn’t believe what they say,” Martin continued. “They never tell the truth if they think children are around. They don’t want us to know what it’s like.”
“Perhaps they’re ashamed of being grown up,” Ben suggested.