Gamaliel went into Bluebell’s room to admire himself in her long mirror. Bluebell stood behind him, a tall, cadaverous woman with short-sighted, vaguely kind eyes, hair prematurely grey and bony, long fingered hands with which she was patting her hair into place.
Gamaliel turned to her. ‘But I am a prince!’ he said. ‘The Black Prince! Was he as black as I am?’
‘No. He wore black armour, that is all.’
‘Black is beautiful, don’t you think?’
‘I think so. In a little while we shall find out what my grandmother thinks.’
‘Oh, she will like me. Everybody does.’
‘How fortunate you are!’
‘What shall I call her?’
‘Mrs Leyden, unless she suggests anything else.’
Her long hands fluttered about his bow tie. ‘And remember not to scrape your plate. It isn’t done in the best circles.’
‘Yes, I must make a good impression. Do you think this jacket suits me? It is tight across the shoulders.’
‘It makes you look very distinguished.’
‘Do I bow or shake hands?’
‘Bow first and then see how things go.’
‘Are you a society woman?’
‘No, thank God, I am an artist.’
‘And I am the Black Prince.’
‘And you are the Black Prince, but do not get above yourself if the people at Headlands are kind to you. It is not good manners to become exuberant in public’
‘I shall remember. Do you think I shall be head boy at school next year?’
‘You know that better than I do.’
‘I think I shall. I am very popular.’ He turned to the mirror and preened himself.
Parsifal came into the room. ‘The car has come for us,’ he said. ‘You had better sit beside the chauffeur, Blue, so as not to crease your dress. We three men can squash up on the back seat. I must say it was very civil and thoughtful of your grandmamma to offer the car. Taxi hire from Truro would have been a great expense.’
‘We could have hired from Trewith in the village.’
‘His old rattle-banger? Hardly, on such an occasion. Oh, well, come along. We mustn’t keep Lunn waiting.’
‘Lunn is a great deal too big for his boots,’ said Bluebell. ‘Just because he serves a household of women, he thinks he can do as he pleases. Kindly hand me my cloak. How do you think I look?’
‘Splendid, my dear, and Gamaliel too.’
‘And,’ said Bluebell, ‘for a last word of warning, Gamaliel, remember not to criticise the food. If you do not like what you are given, say nothing, just put your knife and fork beside one another on your plate, sit back and wait for the servants to collect. And remember that everything will be served over your left shoulder, so sit up straight and do not impede the service.’
‘Are you going to be ashamed of me at table?’
‘Indeed I hope not. You have natural good manners and should succeed admirably.’
‘That is what I think,’ said Gamaliel, smiling broadly.
With the inclusion of Ruby’s Barnaby Orme-Head, the seating arrangements had suffered some changes and Fiona and Maria had decided to dispense with the seat opposite Romula’s at the lower end of the table.
‘It’s going to look so odd otherwise, madre,’ explained Fiona. ‘We’ve given Maria the seat on your right, next to her we’ve put Mr Orme-Head, then Diana, then Gamaliel, next to him Ruby (who is nearest his age) and then Parsifal.’
‘On the other side of the table,’ said Maria, ‘next to you we’ve put Garnet, then Fiona and next to her are the two children. The boy Quentin will be opposite his mother so that she can keep an eye on him, and Rupert is to be next to the little girl to fulfil the same purpose. The children go to a very good boarding-school, so they should not be too uncouth. Bluebell is to neighbour Rupert and that concludes the seating arrangements.’
‘Oh, well, I suppose it will have to do,’ said Romula. ‘You seem to have given thought to the matter.’ She looked older than her seventy-five years, a cossetted, selfish woman dependent upon others just as much as they were dependent upon her. ‘I would have preferred to have Fiona next to me rather than Garnet.’
‘It would make the party less symmetrical, madre, that’s all, but just as you wish,’ said Fiona. ‘I have no desire to sit between Garnet and a fidgety little boy, I assure you.’
‘Oh no, let be, let be. Who is this Gamaliel? Is he Jewish? Will the food suit him? I believe they have fads.’
‘Oh, no, he is not Jewish, madre,’ said Fiona, when she had exchanged glances with Maria. ‘He is an orphan whom Parsifal and Blue adopted some years ago.’
The introduction of Gamaliel when he arrived provided something of a sensation.
‘But he’s black!’ Romula exclaimed, leaning heavily upon her silver-topped ebony stick and gazing astoundedly upon the comely youth.
‘Black is beautiful,’ said Gamaliel. ‘Do you not think so, dear old Mrs Leyden? I like old ladies. They also are beautiful.’
‘You are a very astonishing young man,’ said Romula. ‘I will have you next to me at table.’
The rearranged seating at table proved not unsatisfactory so far as most of those present were concerned. Fiona and Maria saw no reason for giving the music teacher a place next to Romula, so Maria remained on her right with Barnaby next and Diana on the other side of him.
Fiona was opposite him and next to her sat Garnet, so that she was between him and Gamaliel who, although mindful of the table manners which Bluebell had been at pains to teach him, still managed to entertain his hostess in his own way.
‘Have you ever been mugged, dear old lady?’ he enquired. ‘After dinner I will show you what to do if it ever happens to you. Also I have a manual on karate. I will lend it to you and then you will be safe under any circumstances. I will teach you the killer chop. You may not use it in competitions, of course, but it can be a very good thing to know.’
‘Does your pupil make the progress you would wish, Mr Orme-Head?’ asked Diana in the voice she kept for what might be termed state occasions.
‘Oh, yes, indeed,’ the shock-headed young man replied. ‘She works hard, practises assiduously and is unusually gifted.’
‘How nice,’ said Diana, dismissing him in her mind (despite his handsome appearance) as a stuffed shirt and abandoning her intention of flirting with him. This had been intended to stimulate Garnet, who appeared to be having an absorbing conversation with Fiona, punctuated, to Diana’s envious fury, by laughter.
Meanwhile, Gamaliel was consolidating his position with the giver of the feast.
‘Do you believe that women are superior to men?’ he asked Romula.
‘No. I think the sexes complement one another.’
‘Women are superior. They give birth.’
‘Well they most certainly could not do that without the help of men in the first place.’
‘The Virgin Mary did, if you believe the story. Suppose I had not been born? What a tragedy! Do you think white is superior to black?’
‘Mrs Leyden will be in trouble if she says so,’ said Maria with heavy humour. ‘You might invoke the Race Relations Board, Gamaliel, and they are a sensitive body.’
‘Ham, Shem and Japheth were brothers. Black, yellow and white, but Ham seems to come first and he was black,’ said Gamaliel. ‘Three kings came from the east, too, black, yellow, white. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold comes first. Gold is black. Black is beautiful.’
‘Get on with your dinner, or you will be less than equal with the rest of us; you will be all behind,’ said Maria.
‘So you believe all men are equal,’ said Gamaliel, obediently shovelling food into his mouth. ‘Does God believe that?’