“Letusfollowtheexampleofallgreatgolfers,“Hamelsaid。“Letusforthismorning,atanyrate,imaginethatyourwholeworldisencompassedwithintheseeighteenholes。Wehavebeensenthereinamomentofgoodhumourbyyourtyrantuncle。Thesunshines,andthewindisfromthewest。Whynot?“
“Thatisallverywellforyou,“sheretorted,smiling,“butIhavetoppedmydrive。“
“Purelyanincident,“heassuredher。“Thevicissitudesofthegamedonotenterintothequestion。Ihavedrivenaballfarabovemyusualform,butIamnotgloatingoverit。IprefertorememberonlythatIamgoingtospendthenexttwohourswithyou。“
Sheplayedhershot,andtheywalkedforalittlewaytogether。
Shewassuddenlysilent。
“Doyouknow,“shesaidfinally,justalittlegravely,“Iamnotatallusedtospeechesofthissort。“
“Thenyououghttobe,“hedeclared。“Nothingbutthelonelylifeyouhavebeenlivinghaskeptyoufromhearingthemcontinually。“
Shelaughedalittleattheimpotenceofherrebuffandpausedforamomenttomakehernextshot。Hame1,standingalittleononeside,watchedherappraisingly。Hershort,greytweedskirtwasobviouslythehandiworkofanaccomplishedtailor。Hergreystockingsandsuedeshoeswereimmaculateandshowedacareforherappearancewhichpleasedhim。Herswing,too,revealedagrace,thegraceoflongarmsandasupplebody,atwhichpreviouslyhehadonlyguessed。Thesunshineseemedtohavebroughtoutacoppertingefromherabundantbrownhair。
“Doyouknow,“heremarked,“IthinkIambeginningtolikeyouruncle。Greatideaofhis,sendingusoffheredirectlyafterbreakfast。“
Herfacedarkenedforamoment,andherealisedhiserror。Thesamethought,indeed,hadbeeninboththeirminds。Mr。Fentolin’scourteoussuggestionhadbeenofferedtothemalmostintheshapeofacommand。Itwasscarcelypossibletoescapefromthereflectionthathehaddesiredtoridhimselfoftheirpresenceforthemorning。
“Ofcourse,“hewenton,“Iknewthattheselinksweregood-quitefamous,aren’tthey?“
“Ihaveplayedonsofewothers,“shetoldhim。“IlearnedmygolfherewithKing,theprofessional。“
Hetookoffhiscapandhandedittohiscaddy。Hehimselfwasbeginningalreadytolookyounger。Thelongbluewavescameripplingupthecreeks。Thesaltwind,softwithsunshine,blewintheirfaces。Themarshesonthelandwardsideweremauvewithlavenderblossom,Inthedistance,thered-tiledcottagesnestleddeepamongabackgroundofgreentreesandrisingfields。
“Thisindeedisalandofpeace,“hedeclared。“IfIhadn’ttogiveyouquitesomanystrokes,Ishouldbereallyenjoyingmyself。“
“Youdon’tplaylikeamanwhohasbeenlivingabroadforagreatmanyyears,“sheremarked。“Tellmeaboutsomeoftheplacesyouhavevisited?“
“Don’tletustalkseriously,“hebegged。“I’lltellyouofthembutletitbelateron。ThismorningIfeelthatthespringairisgettingintomyhead。Ihaveanabsurddesiretotalknonsense。“
“Sofar,“sheadmitted,“youhaven’tbeenaltogetherunsuccessful。“
“Ifyouarealluding,“hereplied,“tothepersonalremarksIwasemboldenedtomakeonmywayhere,Icanonlysaythattheywereexcusedbytheirtruthfulness。“
“Iamnotatallsurethatyouhaveknownmelongenoughtotellmewhatcolourssuitme,“shedemurred。
“Thenwhatwillyousay,“heenquired,“ifIadmiretheangleofthatquillinyourhat?“
“Don’tdoit,“shelaughed。“Ifyoucontinuelikethis,Imayhavetogohome。“
“Youhavesentthecaraway,“heremindedhercheerfully。“Youwouldsimplyhavetosituponthebalconyandreflectuponyourwastedmorning。“
“Ideclinetotalkupontheputtinggreen,“shesaid。“Itputsmeoff。Ifyouwillstandperfectlyquietandsaynothing,Iwillplaythelike。“
Theymovedoffpresentlytothenextteeingground。
“Idon’tbelievethisnonsenseisgoodforourgolf,“shesaid。
“Itisimmenselygoodforusashumanbeings,“heprotested。
Theyhadplayedtheninthholeandturnedforhome。Ontheirrightnowwasashimmeringstretchofwetsandandathinlineofsea,inthedistance。Thetide,receding,hadleftlittleislandsofvirginsand,grasstufted,thehomeofcountlesssea-gulls。Abrown-sailedfishingboatwasracingforthenarrowentrancetothetidalway。
“Iambeginningtounderstandwhatthereisaboutthiscoastwhichfascinatedmyfatherso,“heremarked。
“Areyou?“sheansweredgravely。“YearsagoIusedtoloveit,butnotnow。“
Hetriedtochangethesubject,butthegloomhadsettleduponherfaceoncemore。
“Youdon’tknowwhatitislike,“shewenton,astheywalkedsidebysideaftertheirballs,“tolivedayandnightinfear,withnoonetotalkto-noone,thatistosay,whoisnotunderthesameshadow。Eventhevoicesofthewindandthesea,andthescreamingofthebirds,seemtobringalwaysanevilmessage。Thereisnothingkindlyorhopefuleveninthesunshine。Atnight,whenthetidecomesthunderinginasitdoessooftenatthistimeoftheyear,oneisafraid。Thereissomuchtomakeoneafraid!“
Shehadturnedpaleagain,notwithstandingthesunshineandthefresheningwind。Helaidhishandlightlyuponherarm。Shesufferedhistouchwithoutappearingtonoticeit。
“Ah,youmustn’ttalklikethat!“hepleaded。“Doyouknowwhatyoumakemefeellike?“
Shecamebackfromtheworldofherownunhappyimaginings。
“Really,Iforgotmyself,“shedeclared,withalittlesmile。
“Nevermind,itdoesonegoodsometimes。Oneup,areyou?
Henceforth,then,golf-alltherigourofthegame,mind。“
Hefellinwithhermood,andtheirconversationtouchedonlyuponthegame。Onthelastgreenhesuffereddefeatandacknowledgeditwithalittlegrimace。
“IfImightsayso,MissFentolin,“heprotested,“youarealittletoogoodforyourhandicap。Iusedtoplayaveryreasonablescratchmyself,butIcan’tgiveyouthestrokes。“
Shesmiled。
“Doubtlessyourlongabsenceabroad,“shebeganslowly,“hasaffectedyourgame。“
“Iwasroundineighty-one,“hegrumbled。
“Youmusthavetravelledinmanycountries,“shecontinued,“wheregolfwasanimpossibility。“
“Naturally,“headmitted。“Letusstayandhavelunchandtryagain。“
Sheshookherheadwithalittlesighofregret。
“Yousee,thecariswaiting,“shepointedout。“Weareexpectedhome。Ishan’tbeaminuteputtingmyclubsaway。“
TheyspedswiftlyalongthelevelroadtowardsSt。David’sHall。
Farinthedistancetheysawit,builtuponthatstrangehill,withthesunlightflashinginitswindows。Helookedatitlongandcuriously。
“Ithink,“hesaid,“thatyoursisthemostextraordinarilysituatedhouseIhaveeverseen。Fancyagiganticmoundlikethatinthemidstofanabsolutelyflatmarsh。“
Shenodded。
“ThereisnootherhousequitelikeitinEngland,“shesaid。“I
supposeitisreallyawonderfulplace。Haveyoulookedatthepictures?“
“Notcarefully,“hetoldher。
“Youmustbeforeyouleave,“sheinsisted。“Mr。Fentolinisagreatjudge,andsowashisfather。“
Theirroadcurvedalittletothesea,andatitslastbendtheywereclosetothepebblyridgeonwhichtheTowerwasbuilt。Hetouchedtheelectricbellandstoppedthecar。
“Doletuswalkalongandhavealookatmyqueerpossessiononcemore,“hebegged。“Luncheon,youtoldme,isnottillhalf-pastone,anditisaquartertonow。“