Oswald has sometimes thought Albert's uncle only played to please us. But H.O. may be right.
"I wonder if they often play it in Rome," H.O. went on. "That post-card he sent us with the Colly-whats-its-name-on—you know, the round place with the arches. They could have ripping games there——"
"It's not much fun with only two," said Dicky.
"Besides," Dora said, "when people are first married they always sit in balconies and look at the moon, or else at each other's eyes."
"They ought to know what their eyes look like by this time," said Dicky.
"I believe they sit and write poetry about their eyes all day, and only look at each other when they can't think of the rhymes," said Noël.
"I don't believe she knows how, but I'm certain they read aloud to each other out of the poetry books we gave them for wedding presents," Alice said.
"It would be beastly ungrateful if they didn't, especially with their backs all covered with gold like they are," said H.O.
"About those books," said Oswald slowly, now for the first time joining in what was being said; "of course it was jolly decent of Father to get such ripping presents for us to give them. But I've sometimes wished we'd given Albert's uncle a really truly present that we'd chosen ourselves and bought with our own chink."
"I wish we could have done something for him," Noël said; "I'd have killed a dragon for him as soon as look at it, and Mrs. Albert's uncle could have been the Princess, and I would have let him have her."