I strode out of my room with a calm that concealed my trepidation, if that's the word I mean. Jeeves once used a rather neat phrase, saying that he felt zero to the bone, but when I expressed my admiration he said something to the effect that he'd pinched it from a lady friend of his, Emily Dickinson.
While we Woosters might feel trepidation, we don't allow it to show, retaining the calm, icy exterior. I imagine that before Waterloo, the Wooster in attendance looked as calm as a man who's not too hungry while he's waiting for the next course. Unruffled, I mean. And I was unruffled and prepared to remain unruffled, particularly when it concerns items of fashion. The thing is, I was expecting Jeeves to k. up a fuss over my selection of tie, which was a red bow tie rather than the grey ordinary one he'd laid out to go with my suit. Not being a man to be dictated to, I took the b. tie from its place of concealment and put it on. Not, mind you, that I concealed it out of timidity, but that I wanted to avoid the inevitable raising of the eyebrow and "indeed, sir" that can chill a room so quickly the inhabitants say, "Hullo ullo ullo, did we move to the north or the south pole?" At least until the last moment.
As expected, Jeeves glided out of his room and came to a dead halt when he saw my cherished tie. "I apologize, sir, I must have forgotten to put out the tie that goes with that suit."
I breezily answered, "No, Jeeves, nothing escaped that master brain of yours. I thought that this tie would add more festivity to the, well, festivities. We move with the times, Jeeves, we move with the times."
"Yes, sir." I determined to watch over my tie with the steadfastness, if that's the word, of a hen with one chick. His response did not imply that he approved and he is not above skullduggery, if that's the word I want.
When we pulled into the grounds of the Luthor homestead, it's not too much to say that I marvelled. Jeeves sometimes refers to a place a pal of his built, or as Jeeves put it, a pleasure dome decreed, but Jeeves' pal would have felt pretty silly looking at the way that chez Luthor was bedecked. I mentioned as much to Jeeves, who agreed. Usually there is complete harmony between Jeeves and self, just on certain matters he is inclined to impose his views with an iron h. unless firmly resisted.
When the bride appeared, I could see that the Luthor bean would have done a top-notch job as a recruiter for a harem. She would have knocked most other girls into a cocked hat just with her profile, and Jeeves would have added something about her face launching plenty of ships, I suspected. I muttered as much to Jeeves when the ceremony was over, and he responded that she exuded confidence and vitality. I wasn't quite sure what exuded means, but I'd guess it means has in pots and pots, since the words did apply. He seemed somewhat distant, though, which I took as childish sulking over the tie, which I considered absolutely to grace the o.
Levity and such abounded, but when the Wooster ship and the rugby chappie's ship passed in the night, rugby chappie didn't seem to recognize me or Jeeves. Now, I've known many, including my nearest and dearest, who feign that state of not recognizing me, but never seen the same treatment meted out to Jeeves, and I suspected that something was amiss. He was fixing the b. and groom with a strained look and stepping backwards, bumped into a pole and nearly made the whole canopy imitate the walls of Jerico, as we winners of knowledge of Scripture prizes say, and tumble down. However, Jeeves was there and caught the pole, so all was well. The rugby chappie muttered an apology that seemed to encompass not just Jeeves but the pole and possibly anybody else in the n. vicinity and left.
The Luthor chappie was clearly eager to spend his time elsewhere and we stood not upon the order of our parting, a rather catchy way of putting it that Jeeves had, though not original with him. Jeeves was pensive on the way home, which for a moment I thought was more unbecoming sulking over the tie, but it seemed more like the answer to a problem was eluding him and he was considering eating more fish to give that extra oomph to the brain cells. I asked him what was on his m. and he answered that the marriage seemed a bit quick out of the starting post, and he was reminded of the old adage.
"The gloomy one about betting on the dark horse?"
"I was rather thinking, 'Marry in haste, repent at leisure.'"
"The Luthor chap seems to have gotten his share of brain cells, I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
"I certainly hope so, sir."
While we Woosters might feel trepidation, we don't allow it to show, retaining the calm, icy exterior. I imagine that before Waterloo, the Wooster in attendance looked as calm as a man who's not too hungry while he's waiting for the next course. Unruffled, I mean. And I was unruffled and prepared to remain unruffled, particularly when it concerns items of fashion. The thing is, I was expecting Jeeves to k. up a fuss over my selection of tie, which was a red bow tie rather than the grey ordinary one he'd laid out to go with my suit. Not being a man to be dictated to, I took the b. tie from its place of concealment and put it on. Not, mind you, that I concealed it out of timidity, but that I wanted to avoid the inevitable raising of the eyebrow and "indeed, sir" that can chill a room so quickly the inhabitants say, "Hullo ullo ullo, did we move to the north or the south pole?" At least until the last moment.
As expected, Jeeves glided out of his room and came to a dead halt when he saw my cherished tie. "I apologize, sir, I must have forgotten to put out the tie that goes with that suit."
I breezily answered, "No, Jeeves, nothing escaped that master brain of yours. I thought that this tie would add more festivity to the, well, festivities. We move with the times, Jeeves, we move with the times."
"Yes, sir." I determined to watch over my tie with the steadfastness, if that's the word, of a hen with one chick. His response did not imply that he approved and he is not above skullduggery, if that's the word I want.
When we pulled into the grounds of the Luthor homestead, it's not too much to say that I marvelled. Jeeves sometimes refers to a place a pal of his built, or as Jeeves put it, a pleasure dome decreed, but Jeeves' pal would have felt pretty silly looking at the way that chez Luthor was bedecked. I mentioned as much to Jeeves, who agreed. Usually there is complete harmony between Jeeves and self, just on certain matters he is inclined to impose his views with an iron h. unless firmly resisted.
When the bride appeared, I could see that the Luthor bean would have done a top-notch job as a recruiter for a harem. She would have knocked most other girls into a cocked hat just with her profile, and Jeeves would have added something about her face launching plenty of ships, I suspected. I muttered as much to Jeeves when the ceremony was over, and he responded that she exuded confidence and vitality. I wasn't quite sure what exuded means, but I'd guess it means has in pots and pots, since the words did apply. He seemed somewhat distant, though, which I took as childish sulking over the tie, which I considered absolutely to grace the o.
Levity and such abounded, but when the Wooster ship and the rugby chappie's ship passed in the night, rugby chappie didn't seem to recognize me or Jeeves. Now, I've known many, including my nearest and dearest, who feign that state of not recognizing me, but never seen the same treatment meted out to Jeeves, and I suspected that something was amiss. He was fixing the b. and groom with a strained look and stepping backwards, bumped into a pole and nearly made the whole canopy imitate the walls of Jerico, as we winners of knowledge of Scripture prizes say, and tumble down. However, Jeeves was there and caught the pole, so all was well. The rugby chappie muttered an apology that seemed to encompass not just Jeeves but the pole and possibly anybody else in the n. vicinity and left.
The Luthor chappie was clearly eager to spend his time elsewhere and we stood not upon the order of our parting, a rather catchy way of putting it that Jeeves had, though not original with him. Jeeves was pensive on the way home, which for a moment I thought was more unbecoming sulking over the tie, but it seemed more like the answer to a problem was eluding him and he was considering eating more fish to give that extra oomph to the brain cells. I asked him what was on his m. and he answered that the marriage seemed a bit quick out of the starting post, and he was reminded of the old adage.
"The gloomy one about betting on the dark horse?"
"I was rather thinking, 'Marry in haste, repent at leisure.'"
"The Luthor chap seems to have gotten his share of brain cells, I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
"I certainly hope so, sir."