Tony took no notice of this silly joke.
“So she rang up everybody in town——” he continued.
“Except me,” said Aggie bitterly.
“Oh, never mind that,” said Tony. “She rang up everybody, and couldn’t get hold of anyone. Then she rang up Lucia.”
“Who instantly said she was disengaged, and rang me up to go to the theatre with Pepino,” said Aggie. “I suspected something of the sort, but I wanted to see the play, and I wasn’t going to cut off my nose to spite Lucia’s face.”
“Besides, she would have got someone else, or sent Pepino to the play alone,” said Tony. “And you’ve got hold of the wrong end of the stick, Aggie. Nobody wants to spite Lucia. We all want her to have the most glorious time.”
“Aggie’s vexed because she thinks she invented Lucia,” observed Adele. “That’s the wrong attitude altogether. Tell me about Pep.”
“Simply nothing to say about him,” said Tony. “He has trousers and a hat, and a telescope on the roof at Riseholme, and when you talk to him you see he remembers what the leading articles in the Times said that morning. Don’t introduce irrelevant matters, Adele.”
“But husbands are relevant—all but mine,” said Adele. “Part of the picture. And what about Stephen?”
“Oh, you always see him handing buns at tea-parties. He’s irrelevant too.”