“You are most amiable. I should like a sirop de cassis.”
“A sirop—excuse me?”
“Sirop de cassis. The syrup of blackcurrants.”
“Oh, a liqueur! I see. I suppose they have it here? I never heard of it.”
“They have it, yes. But it is not a liqueur.”
Douglas Gold said, laughing:
“Sounds a funny taste to me—but every man his own poison! I’ll go and order them.”
Commander Chantry sat down. Though not by nature a talkative or a social man, he was clearly doing his best to be genial.
“Odd how one gets used to doing without any news,” he remarked.
The General grunted.
“Can’t say the Continental Daily Mail four days old is much use to me. Of course I get The Times sent to me and Punch every week, but they’re a devilish long time in coming.”
“Wonder if we’ll have a general election over this Palestine business?”
“Whole thing’s been badly mismanaged,” declared the General just as Douglas Gold reappeared followed by a waiter with the drinks.
The General had just begun on an anecdote of his military career in India in the year 1905. The two Englishmen were listening politely, if without great interest. Hercule Poirot was sipping his sirop de cassis.
The General reached the point of his narrative and there was dutiful laughter all round.
Then the women appeared at the doorway of the lounge. They all four seemed in the best of spirits and were talking and laughing.
“Tony, darling, it was too divine,” cried Valentine as she dropped into a chair by his side. “The most marvellous idea of Mrs. Gold’s. You all ought to have come!”
Her husband said:
“What about a drink?”
He looked inquiringly at the others.
“Pink gin for me, darling,” said Valentine.
“Gin and gingerbeer,” said Pamela.
“Sidecar,” said Sarah.
“Right.” Chantry stood up. He pushed his own untouched pink gin over to his wife. “You have this. I’ll order another for myself. What’s yours, Mrs. Gold?”
Mrs. Gold was being helped out of her coat by her husband. She turned smiling:
“Can I have an orangeade, please?”
“Right you are. Orangeade.?
??
He went towards the door. Mrs. Gold smiled up in her husband’s face.
“It was so lovely, Douglas. I wish you had come.”