"Burma? I had a cousin there once. He was in the Gloucestershire
Regiment."
"Indeed?" I answered. My tone was one of utter unconcern in her cousin's
history. "Miss Wade, will you take Bombay ducks with your curry?"
In public, I thought it wise under the circumstances to abstain from
calling her Hilda. It might lead to misconceptions; people might suppose
we were more than fellow-travellers.
"You have had relations in Burma?" Lady Meadowcroft persisted.
I manifested a desire to discontinue the conversation. "Yes," I
answered, coldly, "my uncle commanded there."
"Commanded there! Really! Ivor, do you hear? Dr. Cumberledge's uncle
commanded in Burma." A faint intonation on the word commanded drew
unobtrusive attention to its social importance. "May I ask what was his
name?--my cousin was there, you see." An insipid smile. "We may have
friends in common."
"He was a certain Sir Malcolm Tepping," I blurted out, staring hard at
my plate.
"Tepping! I think I have heard Dick speak of him, Ivor."
"Your cousin," Sir Ivor answered, with emphatic dignity, "is certain to
have mixed with nobbut the highest officials in Burma."
"Yes, I'm sure Dick used to speak of a certain Sir Malcolm.
Pages:
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310