“Oh, shame,” cried Miss de Lisle. “ ‘Lettice’ is incomparable.”
“You can have it,” said Christopher John. “Give me ‘Audrey.’ ”
“That,” said Miss de Lisle, “is because some time or other you’ve known a girl called ‘Audrey’ you rather liked.”
The man nodded.
“No doubt that’s the explanation,” he said gravely. “She was certainly dazzling. I always associate her with King Richard the Third.”
“For Heaven’s sake,” said Audrey. “But why with him?”
“Because, my lady,” said Christopher, “if Shakespeare may be believed, upon a certain occasion he demanded a horse.”
As Christopher John had foretold, so it fell out.
Audrey was Queen of Sundial within the week.