Today his Lordship got the sad news that his uncle, Sir Lionel, has suffered a stroke. This means Lord Darlington will depart for Scotland tomorrow, and will most likely stay with Sir Lionel for up to three weeks, when a meeting with some French dignitaries will make his return to Darlington Hall necessary.
As soon as Lord Darlington had informed me about this I sought out Miss Kenton. I found her in the drawing room where she was arranging flowers. She was as shocked as I was by the news, for Sir Lionel has not just been a frequent guest at Darlington Hall but is very well liked by the staff on account of his friendly and generous nature.
"What about the costume ball?" she asked. It was only eight days to that event, so it was a very valid question.
"His Lordship insists that it should go ahead as planned. Just without him being present, of course. We are to defer in everything to the wishes of Mr Cardinal and his wife."
"I am glad. I don't want to sound insensitive but we have invested a lot of work in this and it would be a shame if it had been in vain."
"Yes, I agree Miss Kenton." I examined her flower arrangement which, as always, was very tasteful and done with great skill. "With Lord Darlington gone, you might wear the evening dress after all," I said, still looking at the flowers.
"You're right, I'll think about it. To be honest, I haven't got far with my own costume yet. But if I use the dress I will have to come up with an idea as whom I should be disguised as." Miss Kenton deliberated for a while. "I don't like to go as a real person, that would somehow feel preposterous." She fell silent again for a while. "Ah," she finally exclaimed. "Yes, that might work."
"You've thought of something?"
"Yes. Do you know E.M. Forster's Howards End?"
"No, unfortunately not."
"You should read it, it's very good. Anyway, it's set in the right period, and the protagonist is a woman about my age. I suppose if I can't think of anyone else that will have to do."
"Well, Miss Kenton, if it allows you to use the gown it sounds like a good idea."
"Yes." She looked at me searchingly. After a few moments she smiled in a rather mischievous way and stated, "Mr Stevens, I have to say I think it is quite nice of you to take such an interest. In fact, if I didn't know you better I'd say that you seem suspiciously keen on me wearing that dress."
I moved a branch of cherry blossoms, then stepped back to test the effect. "Really, Miss Kenton, that's nonsense. I just wanted to spare you the trouble of sewing a costume."
"Indeed," she said dryly. "I'm very grateful for your consideration."
I glanced at her and found her examining me in a rather odd way. I looked back to the flowers, nodded approvingly and took my leave.
Of course Miss Kenton's comment was nonsense, but I have to admit that her dress and the whole business of dressing up have very much been on my mind over the last days. The reason is that, until today, I still hadn't decided on a costume for myself. It should be readily apparent that the choice was not an easy one. Whatever I chose had to be dignified, but could not be ostentatious. I considered military uniforms as well as diverse forms of clerical dress, but somehow nothing seemed quite right. Tonight, after much consideration, I finally decided that I would take my cue from Miss Kenton, which means that I will use one of the old suits from the attic. I have been up there a few days ago, going through several of the boxes containing clothes from as far back as the time of Lord Darlington's grandfather, and found an evening suit which seems to be late Victorian. It is dignified and should be old-fashioned enough to serve as a costume, and it can be altered to fit me without much effort. Some more searching in the recesses of the attic – very dusty recesses, I have to add; I will have to send some staff up to have it cleaned – produced an old and empty doctor's bag. I have no idea how it came to be up there, it might even be the relict of a former fancy dress party. But it gave me a good idea for a costume and I am rather relieved that this trying problem has been solved.
I also took the time to look up the novel Miss Kenton mentioned, which I found in his Lordship's library. Not that I doubt her judgement or that I worry her dressing up as the protagonist will not be suitable for the occasion. And I certainly don't think that Miss Kenton would ever read any books which would be deemed inappropriate. But it is surely understandable that one wanted to know what kind of associations might be connected with this literary figure. Naturally I only had the time to page through the novel, but it seems that Margaret Schlegel is a respectable, sensible character and so I truly have nothing to worry about.