One who was unfamiliar with Betty Neels's books might have wondered why on earth I included "house #1" as a label. It's because nearly always, the hero has two or three, often with servants to match. So for this chapter, I longed to be able to label this "house #2" - because doesn't a flat that covers a whole floor of a house in London count? But I can't, because even if it's posh, it's still a flat. So with the wedding coming up, Jake takes Annis to look at his flat, which of course is furnished and decorated exactly to her taste (soft colors, a Sheraton table, an original Turner in the sitting-room, etc.).
I'd forgotten about Betts's utterly bourgeois tastes - and I mean that literally. Jake and Annis go to Claridges, and he treats her to lobster and champagne, among other things. Whatever would Lord Peter Wimsey say? Well, I suspect he'd say nothing, but the silence would speak volumes. Quite a lot is given to Annis in this chapter: lunch, a sapphire engagement ring, a car.
Jake's busy in the weeks before the wedding, so Matt becomes Annis's right hand. In a different author's hands, this would lead to a wholly different plot, but it doesn't, because Matt's still keen on marrying Annis's sister.
The chapter ends with Annis going down the aisle to her wedding.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
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