great friend of mine. This is Mr Pillson, Guru; Guru, Mr Pillson. The
Guru is coming to tiffin with me, Georgie. Cannot I persuade you to
stop?"

"Delighted!" said Georgie. "We met before in a sort of way, didn't we?"

"Yes, indeed. So pleased," said the Guru.

"Let us go in," said Lucia, "It is close on lunch-time."

Georgie followed, after a great many bowings and politenesses from the
Guru. He was not sure if he had the makings of a Bolshevist. Lucia was
so marvellously efficient.




Chapter FIVE


One of Lucia's greatnesses lay in the fact that when she found anybody
out in some act of atrocious meanness, she never indulged in any idle
threats of revenge: it was sufficient that she knew, and would take
suitable steps on the earliest occasion. Consequently when it appeared,
from the artless conversation of the Guru at lunch that the perfidious
Mrs Quantock had not even asked him whether he would like to go to
Lucia's garden party or not (pending her own decision as to what she
was meaning to do with him) Lucia received the information with the
utmost good-humour, merely saying, "No doubt dear Mrs Quantock forgot
to tell you," and did not announce acts of reprisal, such as striking