Thursday._

I am only just awake, Mamma.  We had such an enchanting evening last night, and stayed up so late I slept like a top.  We drove to the club house in motors, and there were about six or seven women beside ourselves and ten or twelve men all in shirt-sleeves and aprons, and the badge of the Club, a squirrel, embroidered on their chests.  I don’t know why, but I think men look attractive in shirt-sleeves.  Sometimes at home in the evening, if I am dressed first, I go into Harry’s room to hurry him up, and if I find him standing brushing his hair I always want him to kiss me, when his valet isn’t there, he looks such a darling like that; and he always does, and then we are generally late.  But I must not think of him, because when I do I just long for him to come back, and to rush into his arms, and of course I have got to remain angry with him for ages yet.

How I have wandered from the delightful squirrels!  Well, the one who asked us was called Dick Seton, and as I told you he is a pet, and a young man! That is, not elderly, like the business ones we met in New York, and not a boy like the partners at the dance, but a young man of thirty, perhaps, with such nice curly light hair and blue eyes, and actually not married! Everything of this age is married in New York.

There was a huge slate in the kitchen with who was to do each course written up, and it looked so quaint to see in among the serious dishes: 

“Cutting Grouts for Soup”—­the Countess of Chevenix assisted by Mr. Buckle.

“Hollandaise Sauce”—­The Marchioness of Valmond, Mr. Dick Seton.

And we did do ours badly, I am afraid, because there was a nice low dresser in a cool gloomy place, and we sat down on that, and my assistant whispered such lovely things that we forgot, and stirred all wrong, and the head cook came and scolded us, and said we had spoilt six eggs, and he should not give us another job; we were only fit to arrange flowers!  So we went to the dining-room, and you can’t think of the fun we had.  The Club house is an old place with low rooms and all cosey.  Octavia was in there—­the dining-room—­helping to lay the cloth, as she had been rather clumsy, too, and been sent away, and her young man was as nice as mine; and we four had a superb time, as happy as children, but Tom was nothing but a drone, for he sat with Kitty in a window seat behind some curtains, and did not do a thing.

My one said he had never seen such a sweet squirrel as me in my apron, and I do wish, Mamma, we could have fun like this in England; it is so original to cook one’s dinner!  And when it came in, all so well arranged, each member knowing his appointed duties, it was excellent, the best one could taste.  And everybody was witty and brilliant, and nobody wanted to interrupt with their story before the other had finished his.  So the time simply flew until it came to dessert, and there were speeches and toasts,