Eve Hendrie has taken a job as paid companion to Mrs Rastall-Retford, a lady of unpleasant temper made worse by a diet. Her previous post was as governess to young Hildebrand but his mother had sent her away when her brother, Peter Rayner, fell in love with her, so leaving Eve with a strong dislike for all the Rayners.
Now Peter has engineered an invitation to stay with Mrs R-R. and her son and promptly renews his wooing. But Eve has some tricks up her sleeve ...
| Mrs Rastall-Retford | an unpleasant lady |
| Eve Hendrie | her companion |
| Mr Rastall-Retford | her son |
| Peter Rayner | in love with Eve |
First published July 1911 in the Strand magazine.
Possibly re-published February 1913 in Pictorial Review (US) as A Dinner of Herbs.
Tramp
- tramp steamer, one that plied its trade from port to port.
'A book of verses underneath the bough, a jug of wine, and thou'
- Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
'And leave you chained to the rock, Andromeda? Not for Perseus!'
- in Greek mythology Andromeda, daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus, was chained to a rock to be eaten by a sea-monster that was ravaging the coast, and so appease it. Perseus, after negotiating with the king, slew the monster and won Andromeda's hand in marriage.
'Many people consider that Dante has spoken the last word on the post-mortem housing of the criminal classes.'
- Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet (1265-1321) who wrote The Inferno in which he is given a tour of hell.
Sargasso Sea
- a region of the North Atlantic where masses of seaweed collect.
'Varsity
- an outdated term for university, notably Oxford or Cambridge, that now sounds pretentious.
Damon and Pythias
- two friends in ancient Syracuse who were prepared to die for each other.
'Nemesis may not be an Alfred Shrubb, but give her time and she gets there.'
- Alfred Shrubb was a British runner who broke seven world bests in one night, 5 November 1904, including the world record for 10 miles which stood for the next 24 years.
Chicane
- in bridge, a hand without trumps or cards of one suit.
Revoke
- in bridge, to fail to follow suit when one has a card of that suit in one's hand, so incurring heavy penalties and one's partner's displeasure (often with recriminations and arguments etc.)
'This is considerably sharper than a serpent's tooth.'
- Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4.