The Interrupted Tale Read Online Free PDF Page B

under the dirt.”
    Lady Constance poked at the tulip bulbs with her parasol’s sharp tip. “My dear man, if I will not be able to see these awful ‘bulbs,’ as you call them, what difference does it make where you put them?”
    Penelope felt sorry for the frustrated gardener, who had a great deal of work to do and no parasol to shield him from the sun, either. And she had business of her own with Lady Constance, so the sooner this confusion about the tulips was settled, the better. “My lady, perhaps I can be of some help,” she interjected. “I believe this situation calls for a leap of the imagination.”
    Lady Constance turned to her. “Miss Lumley, do I look like a Russian ballerina to you? I am in no mood for leaping.”
    â€œIt will not require any exertion, I promise. But if you could imagine that it were spring right now . . .”
    â€œNonsense. Look at the leaves on the trees. They are falling like . . .” Even as Lady Constance gazed upward, a leaf landed on her pert, doll-like nose. “Why, like leaves in autumn.”
    â€œSo they are, my lady. But if you would close your eyes for just a moment, perhaps you could imagine that it is spring.”
    â€œClose my eyes! Very well. I will humor you, but only out of boredom.” With a skeptical snort , Lady Constance squeezed her eyes shut, whereupon she brightened immediately. “I see it!” she exclaimed in surprise. “It is just as you say, Miss Lumley. April crocuses everywhere I look.”
    Pleased, Penelope went on. “And now that it is spring, imagine that there are pretty tulips blooming as well, so that all your friends might come for a garden party and admire them.”
    Lady Constance squealed with delight. “A garden party! Yes, of course. There is the punch bowl, and the wrought-iron garden chairs arranged just so. And look at the guests! Lady Partridge and Lady Peartree are wearing the same hat. How humiliating.”
    â€œQuite embarrassing, I agree. Now, where are the tulips?”
    Â 

    â€œIt is just as you say, Miss Lumley. April crocuses everywhere I look.”
    Â 
    Lady Constance gestured blindly around her with the parasol. Penelope and the gardener had to jump out of the way.
    â€œOver here, and around the fountain. And sprinkled in and around these other plants on the right. And in a large clump over there, near that shrubby thing, the whatsit. Lilac. Oh! And look what else is here in the garden, come springtime. . . .” Her voice trailed off, but her expression grew dreamy and soft.
    The gardener gave Penelope a grateful look. “Around the fountain, in the flower beds, and near the lilac. Very good, my lady. That is just what you will see, come April.” At last the poor man was able to get to work. There were hundreds of bulbs to be planted; Penelope grew weary thinking of all the holes he would have to dig. And yet she too could imagine how lovely the tulips would look come springtime, and was glad for his efforts.
    Â 
    W ITH HER MOOD CONSIDERABLY LIGHTENED, Lady Constance twirled her parasol and began to stroll through the garden. “Come April, he says! Who can think that far ahead?” She smiled to herself; it was the smile of a person who has an important secret but no intention of telling it. “Truly, Miss Lumley, those tulips cost a shocking sum. But Fredrick bought them for me without any complaint. What a dear and generous man he is.”
    Lord Fredrick Ashton was hardly what Penelope would call a “dear and generous man,” but it was not her place to offer an opinion, so she said nothing.
    They stopped under the shade of a beechnut tree. Lady Constance lowered her parasol and shut it with a snap. “It is pleasant here, but there is no bench. Would it be perfectly uncivilized of us to sit upon the ground?”
    It seemed out of character for Lady Constance to propose anything