"She turned away from the window at last. On her writing-table lay the letters which had come for her that morning. A card for a dress-show; a shooting invitation for Clem; two dinner-parties; three sherry-parties; a highly aperitive notice of some chamber-music concerts; and a letter from Vin at school - would she please send on his umbrella, his camera, and his fountain-pen, which leaked rather? (But even that could not daunt her today.)
She rearranged the fire a little, mostly for the pleasure of handling the fluted steel poker, then sat down by it. Tea was already laid: there were honey sandwiches, brandy-snaps, and small ratafia biscuits; and there would, she knew, be crumpets. Three new library books lay virginally on the fender-stool, their bright paper wrappers unsullied by subscriber's hand. The clock on the mantelpiece chimed, very softly and precisely, five times. A tug hooted from the river. A sudden breeze brought the sharp tang of a bonfire in at the window. The jigsaw was almost complete, but there was still one piece missing. And then, from the other end of the square, came the familiar sound of the Wednesday barrel-organ, playing, with a hundred apocryphal trills and arpeggios, the "Blue Danube" waltz. And Mrs. Miniver, with a little sigh of contentment, rang for tea."
-- From "Mrs. Miniver" by Jan Struther
(The photo is of a teacup the boys gave me a few years with Country Peach Passion Tea by Celestial Seasonings. It's my new favorite and tastes like summer in a cup.)
No comments:
Post a Comment