With an effort I mastered my voice.
"I think, perhaps," I ventured, "if you wore them for an hour or two, they might—might shake down. You see," I continued hurriedly, "you're not accustomed——"
"Brother," said Berry gravely, "you've got it in one. I'm not accustomed to wearing garments such as these. I confess I feel strange in them. Most people who are not deformed would. If I hadn't got any thighs, if my stomach measurement was four times that of my chest, and I'd only one arm, they'd be just about right. As it is, short of mutilation——"
"Can't you brace up the breeches a little higher?" said Daphne.
"No, I can't," snapped her husband. "As it is, my feet are nearly off the ground."
Seated upon the bed, Jonah rolled over upon his side and gave himself up to a convulsion of silent mirth.
"The sleeves and the waistcoat," continued my sister, "are nothing.
Adèle and I can easily alter them. What worries me is the breeches."
"They'd worry you a damned sight more if you had 'em on," said Berry. "And if you think I'm going to wear this little song-without-words, even as amended by you and Adèle, you're simply unplaced. To say I wouldn't be seen dead in it conveys nothing at all."
"My dear boy," purred Daphne, "be reasonable. It's far too late to get hold of anything else: it's the ball of the season, and fancy dress is de rigueur. I'm sure if you would only brace up——"
With an unearthly shriek, Berry collapsed in my arms.