I didn't
argue the matter, but I gave my cook a holiday to go and visit his aged
parents some ninety miles away. The emergency cook was not a specialist
in curries, in fact, I don't think cooking in any shape or form could
have been one of his strong points. I believe he originally came to us
in the guise of a gardener, but as we never pretended to have anything
that could be considered a garden he was utilised as assistant goat-herd,
in which capacity, I understand, he gave every satisfaction. When the
Bishop heard that I had sent away the cook on a special and unnecessary
holiday he saw the inwardness of the manoeuvre, and from that moment we
were scarcely on speaking terms. If you have ever had a Bishop with whom
you were not on speaking terms staying in your house, you will appreciate
the situation."
Annabel confessed that her life-story had never included such a
disturbing experience.
"Then," continued Matilda, "to make matters more complicated, the
Gwadlipichee overflowed its banks, a thing it did every now and then when
the rains were unduly prolonged, and the lower part of the house and all
the out-buildings were submerged. We managed to get the ponies loose in
time, and the syce swam the whole lot of them off to the nearest rising
ground.
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