The following morning Julia was annoyed because Charles and Philip had taken Drake off somewhere and it seemed they would be away for the whole of the day.
In the afternoon I went for a ride with her and Cassie. She was talking all the time about the party.
“It was really quite enjoyable,” she said. “I can’t wait to be ‘out.’ Then it will be all parties like that. Drake will be in London. He’s bound to be asked to all the parties … or most of them … because of his father and his uncle. People are more respectful towards cabinet ministers than admirals.”
“One wouldn’t have thought so,” I said, “when you consider the way in which they are vilified by the press.”
“People take an interest in them because of that. There has to be a war for sailors to be made much of. I do hope Drake goes into politics. It will be most exciting.”
Cassie said thoughtfully: “Do you think you will be there to see the excitement?”
Julia blushed. “I … I always thought I’d like to lead that sort of life. You know, all the thrill of elections … and going to the House and meeting people like Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. Gladstone. Mary Anne Wyndham Lewis was afterwards Lord Beaconsfield’s wife. Everybody called her Mary Anne even when she became Lady Beaconsfield. It’s frightfully romantic, She had lots of money. That was really why he married her.”
“Very romantic,” I said sarcastically. “Would you agree, Cassie?”
“Well, often those suitable marriages turn out very well in the end,” said Julia. “Theirs did and she used to say that he might have married her for money, but after the years together he would marry her for love. Drake was most interesting about it. You would have loved it, Cassie … so would you, Lenore. But you had to look after those boring Barkers.”
“Philip and Cassie came along and helped out. It wasn’t so bad then.”
“Theirs is a happy marriage,” said Cassie. “Mrs. Barker thinks Mr. Barker is quite wonderful. It is rather charming to watch the way she listens to him, nodding her head all the time. I think if anyone said a word against him, or attempted to con-tradict him, she would be ready to slay them.”
“That sort of marriage where one partner is subservient to the other is bound to be a success,” I said. “I expect that is what every man is looking for.”
“I don’t think Drake would want that. He loves you to disagree with him. I’ve noticed that.”
“I hadn’t,” said Cassie.
“Dear Cass, you haven’t been with him like I have.” She preened herself. “He is so amusing. I loved the story of Lord Beaconsfield’s wife. I think he was plain Mr. Benjamin Disraeli then. She hurt her hand when she got into the carriage to drive with him to the House, where he was going to make an important speech. She did not tell him that she had crushed her hand in the carriage door when getting into it. The pain must have been terrible but she sat there smiling and chatting as though nothing was wrong because she feared he might be upset and that would spoil his speech. The pain must have been terrible.”
“What a lovely story,” said Cassie. “I like it very much, don’t you, Lenore?”
“Yes,” I replied. “But I was thinking that I would not want to be a shadow of my husband … like Mrs. Barker for in-stance. I should want to be myself. I might want to do something in life … quite apart from marriage.”
Julia said: “Oh, I wouldn’t want to be somebody else’s shadow. Politicians’ wives, though, have their place in society. Disraeli’s Mary Anne used to follow everything that went on in the House and she used to sit up and wait for him to come home and she always had a cold supper waiting for him no matter at what time he arrived; and then he would tell her all that had gone on in Parliament. And Mrs. Gladstone is very well known in society. She always makes sure that her husband’s material comforts are looked after. Drake says that in the home she is the one who gives the orders. So you see … it is a most exciting life.”
“Why are you suddenly so interested in the political scene?” asked Cassie.
Julia blushed a little. “I suppose it is because I’ve been talking to Drake.”
Cassie and I exchanged glances. It was clear to us that this was Julia in love. It was to be expected. She was past seventeen and Drake would be about four years older, so both of them could be considered marriageable.
As we neared the house we met Drake with Charles. They had obviously been for a ride.
“Hello,” said Drake. “Are you just returning?”
“We’ve been taking an afternoon’s ride,” explained Julia.
“The forest is beautiful,” said Drake. He smiled at us all in his friendly fashion. Julia was gazing at him. She was rather obvious, I thought, and wondered if I dared tell her that it would be better to hide her feelings a little.
“Going back to the house now?” asked Charles.
Julia said we were.
I did not speak. Charles had not addressed me. He behaved is though I were not there. I wondered if he was going to ignore me from then on. I did not mind if he did. In fact I should be rather pleased.
We rode towards the house. Drake was between Julia and me.
He said: “It was a most interesting evening.”
“It was, wasn’t it,” replied Julia.
“I saw you were very busily engaged,” he went on, turning to me.
“Lenore had orders from Mama,” explained Julia. “Mama was afraid people would find the Barkers boring. So Lenore had to look after them.”
“That was very noble of you,” said Drake.
“Not in the least. I was told to do it.”
“Never mind,” put in Julia. ‘ ‘You were there and you danced with Charles and Philip. We had a marvellous time, didn’t we, Drake?”
“It was very amusing,” he answered.
“What about you, Charles?” asked Julia.
“Oh, I had a very good evening,” said Charles,
“Enjoying yourself with the young ladies?”
“Immensely,” replied Charles.
We had come to the mausoleum.
“What an extraordinary building,” commented Drake.
“It’s the mausoleum,” Julia explained.
“It’s most ornate.”
“It was built about a hundred years ago,” explained Charles ‘ ‘It’s rather eerie, is it not?”
“Well, I suppose it would be,” said Drake. “Is it open?”
“Good Heavens, no. It’s opened very rarely … only when someone is put in there, I suppose. Just think, I shall be there one day … Philip too. What a thought. You girls … well, I suppose you’ll marry and you won’t be Sallongers then … so therefore unworthy of the place.”
“I’ve always been interested in mausoleums,” said Drake. He had dismounted. “I want to look at it. That stone work is unusual. All that work … for the resting place of the dead.”
“I call it the House of the Dead,” said Cassie.
“That makes it sound quite frightening,” said Julia with a shiver.
“I wouldn’t like to walk past it at night,” went on Cassie. “Would you, Lenore?”
“I think I should feel a little uneasy,” I admitted.
“I wonder why they call it a mausoleum,” said Julia. “It suits it, doesn’t it? You couldn’t imagine having a party in a mausoleum.”
“I think the eeriness has become attached to the word be-cause of what it implies,” suggested Drake.” I wonder who first called it that,” said Cassie.” I can tell you that,” added Drake.’ ‘I was thinking of taking up archaeology at one time. If I fail as a politician, I might take it up again. It is called a mausoleum because of the tomb erected at Halicarnassus to Mausolus, the King of Caria, by his widow. That was about 353 B.C. I believe it was large and magnificent and was recognized to be one of the seven wonders of the world.”