Not at all. Kind of Celimene to be so interested. But Mame felt she must take time to think over the matter. Some of the other birds on the water were such sweet ducks that it seemed a pity to grab at the nearest, merely because of its geographical situation.
XXXVII
AT the last moment, almost, came the much-desired invitation to Dunkeldie. Lady Violet having heard that Mabel, her recently married sister, had decided not to go north this year, although expected to do so as usual, took the news in person to the ducal yacht as soon as it entered the harbour. As the astute Violet foresaw, Aunt Emily felt herself to be in rather a hat. It was a bit late in the day. Whoever filled the vacancy would do so now as an obvious substitute. Nobody likes to be that, as her niece was careful to point out. But her clever little American friend who was seeing as much of Britain as she could in the shortest possible time was likely to have no feelings of that kind. And everybody found her such fun!
It was always Aunt Emily’s instinct to take the line of least resistance, particularly where the enterprising Violet was concerned. Dear Violet had her peculiarities, but she was a general favourite. She was so vivacious, so modern, so good-natured. You couldn’t help liking Violet.
On this occasion Violet did not disdain a tactical coup. While Aunt Emily wavered she presented a kind of ultimatum. She had taken it so much for granted that Miss Du Rance would be included in the invitation to Dunkeldie, that she was afraid she could not go north without her little friend. This rather “put it up” to Aunt Emily. But as the clever niece surmised, her own position with Clanborough House was strong enough “to try it on.”
Aunt Emily had really no very strong feelings in the matter, even if some of her friends appeared to have. There was no harm in the little American beyond the fact, as one of the most influential of her countrywomen had quaintly expressed it, “she was as common as pig tracks.” But as the unconventional Violet pointed out, it all came down to whether one cared for a little garlic in the salad. Most people, nowadays, liked a dash of pungency. Even the most fastidious were in favour of a touch of spice in the social dish. There was no harm in Miss Du Rance. Her only crime, even in the eyes of her critics, was that she was so very amusing. She would certainly add to the gaiety of Dunkeldie and that was all that mattered.
Face to face with dear Violet, Aunt Emily did not take long to yield. Of late years this clever niece had been the life and soul of the party; her absence would now make a gap that nothing could fill. Besides, in some ways Miss Du Rance was the obvious solution. If she didn’t really mind being asked at such short notice she would be made very welcome at Dunkeldie.
The invitation was really obtained by force majeure. But none the less it came in its way as a triumph. Yet it was not so much a triumph for Miss Du Rance as for her friend and sponsor. Mame was still rather unsophisticated. Certain social nuances meant less to her than to Celimene. One set of “the folks” was much like another; so long as she could keep getting about to this function and that, she would not worry. But Lady Violet had made her protégée’s cause so much her own that she felt she could hardly afford to have her publicly slighted.
Odd, was it not, that dear Violet should be so determined to run the funny little American? But Violet was like that. She was always “running” someone. And as a rule the someone was more or less impossible. One year it was a Russian dancer, another a cubist painter, or a Polish musician. She seemed to take up queer people and develop a passion for them as others did for pekes or bulldogs or chows or angoras. Dear Violet’s trouble was too many brains. Her vein of freakishness sought expression in the freakishness of the world at large.
Dunkeldie, as usual, was a huge success. The weather was perfect; the sport excellent. But the sport hardly mattered so much, even if it were heresy to say so, as in less attractive places. It was the people who gathered there who counted most. Year by year they came to Dunkeldie to have a good time. Along with some of the finest shots in the kingdom were others who, if they did not add to the prowess of the field, were highly accomplished in the arts and the graces of life.