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Good evening and welcome to tonight’s #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong where we will consider chapters 4, 5, and 6 of THE NONESUCH.
And, once again, I haven’t read this novel before so I have no idea what’s going to happen....
And, once again, I haven’t read this novel before so I have no idea what’s going to happen....
Last week, we left Ancilla saying that she had no wish to meet the Nonesuch, we were somewhat horrified by the Troublemaking Tiffany, and we became interested in Waldo. Who I think some of us would like to meet, despite his sportiness.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Despite not wanting to meet Waldo, Ancilla is unexpectedly introduced to him by the Rector, when she is with Charlotte arranging the church flowers.
“But how charming!”
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“But how charming!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo carries himself with the natural grace of the athlete, he’s good looking, and he’s well dressed although he does not adopt the “extravagances of fashion”.
What’s not to like?
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
What’s not to like?
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“Their eyes met, both pairs gray, hers very cool and clear, his faintly smiling.”
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#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“She gave him her hand, and was aware of the strength latent in the clasp of his.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
We get hints of Waldo’s past - at 35 he believes he is past the age of falling in love, and “certain painful disillusionments suffered in his youth had hardened his heart against feminine wiles”. But “what he saw in Miss Trent he liked”.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo likes Ancilla’s indifference.
“It was refreshing to meet a marriageable female who did not instantly exert herself to win his admiration.”
Very coool.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“It was refreshing to meet a marriageable female who did not instantly exert herself to win his admiration.”
Very coool.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo is kind about Charlotte’s dislike of horses, and laughs at Ancilla’s dislike of fishing. We learn that, although he loves sport, he does not despise those who do not like it - much to Ancilla’s surprise.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla goes to see Patience, the Rector’s daughter, who has also met Waldo. “What did you think of him?’ she asks Ancilla. “Were you surprised? I own I was.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Patience sums up the Nonesuch:
“He is not in the least what I had imagined.
Not proud, or - or what Dick calls a dashing blade! He was so easy, and unaffected, and well-informed; and he seems to feel just as he should about serious matters.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“He is not in the least what I had imagined.
Not proud, or - or what Dick calls a dashing blade! He was so easy, and unaffected, and well-informed; and he seems to feel just as he should about serious matters.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo’s philanthropic tendencies are also reinforced: he’s been talking to the Rector about the dreadful hardships the poor people have been suffering, and the Rector is pleased with him.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla acknowledges Waldo’s air of decided fashion, his polished manners, and his perfect address; and Patience knows that she doesn’t like him.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Patience has learned that Waldo has provided his old servants with a pension - in a very tactful manner. She feels he must be a man of sensibility to have acted in such a way.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Charlotte is over excited:
“To think we should have been the first to meet Sir Waldo, and to talk to him! Oh, Miss Trent, wasn’t it nuts for us?” #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“To think we should have been the first to meet Sir Waldo, and to talk to him! Oh, Miss Trent, wasn’t it nuts for us?” #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
But Tiffany has met and dazzled Lord Lindeth - going out on her horse unaccompanied and just happening to ride by the stream where Lindeth is going to be fishing. And just happening to drop her whip accidentally on purpose. #Shameless
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“Would you be so very obliging, sir, as to give me my whip again? I can’t think how I came to be so stupid, but I’ve dropped it!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Julian, Lord Lindeth, thinks that, never in his life had he beheld a more staggeringly lovely girl, and her enchanting smile made him blink. 
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Julian tries to ascertain whether Waldo has met anyone called Wield. “They must have called, but I can’t find any card!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo tells Julian that he’s met someone who disapproves of him: “A female whose name I can’t recall. A remarkably good looking one too and not just in the common style either.”
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#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo looks out for Miss Trent at various social events, and is conscious of disappointment when she isn’t there.
He’s been attracted by her air of cool distinction, the smile which leapt so suddenly into her eyes, her intelligence and sense of humour.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
He’s been attracted by her air of cool distinction, the smile which leapt so suddenly into her eyes, her intelligence and sense of humour.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
All the young men of the neighbourhood are OBSESSED with Waldo and go around saying “Sir! and “Honoured!” - but it’s a non sporting, studious type and the butt of jokes, Humphrey Colebatch, to whom he is kind and interested and encouraging.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo meets Mrs Underhill and finds out who the “tall lady” is. And it turns out that he slightly knows her uncle, Sir Mordaunt Trent. #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo and Julian are invited to Mrs Underhill’s for a small party. Waldo accepts and acidly hopes that Julian is properly grateful. #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo is uneasy about Julian’s enthusiasm for Tiffany.
“He had not previously known his young cousin to pursue a fair object with a determination that brushed aside such disadvantages as a vulgar aunt and a cousin whom he acknowledged to be a coxcomb.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“He had not previously known his young cousin to pursue a fair object with a determination that brushed aside such disadvantages as a vulgar aunt and a cousin whom he acknowledged to be a coxcomb.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Tiffany contrives a dramatic entrance at the Staples party. “Oh! Oh dear, I didn’t know anyone had arrived yet! I’m late and my aunt will scold! Oh how do you do Lord Lindeth!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo thinks Tiffany is incredibly beautiful - and he is neither impressionable nor 23 like Julian.
DANGER. DANGER AHEAD!
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
DANGER. DANGER AHEAD!
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo rightly suspects that Tiffany has been lurking upstairs to make her entrance at exactly the right moment. He’s indifferent when he is introduced to her, which annoys her.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
A hint about Waldo’s past: “he was said to have many flirts these seemed always to be married ladies, and the decided preferences he showed from time to time had led neither to scandal nor to any belief that his affections had been seriously engaged.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo reflects that he might have found Tiffany’s artlessness amusing had she been trying to attract anyone other than Julian; she is the first real danger Julian has encountered.
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#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Who is up for an enormous dinner of two courses, with four removes, and a score of sidedishes, ranging from a rump of beef à la Mantua, wax baskets of prawns and crayfish, orange soufflés and asparagus, and some atlets of palates?
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla accompanies Charlotte down to the drawing room after dinner, wearing a dress of crêpe with lilac ribbons, with long sleeves, and the bodies cut rather high as befits a governess. Waldo thinks she looks the most distinguished lady present. #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo asks Ancilla to dance but she declines.
“You do dance, but not with - er - gentlemen who are addicted to sporting pursuits! Have I that correctly?” asks Waldo.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“You do dance, but not with - er - gentlemen who are addicted to sporting pursuits! Have I that correctly?” asks Waldo.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“It would be most improper in me to stand up with you, or with anyone! I’m not a guest here: I am the governess!”
“Yes, but a most superior female!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“Yes, but a most superior female!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
If someone called me a superior female I would punch them.*
*The #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong does not condone violence etc etc
*The #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong does not condone violence etc etc
“I am quite beneath your touch, sir!”
“No, no, that’s coming it much to strong! When I have it on excellent authority that your uncle is a General!”
“I wish you will stop trying to make me laugh!” #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“No, no, that’s coming it much to strong! When I have it on excellent authority that your uncle is a General!”
“I wish you will stop trying to make me laugh!” #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo tells Ancilla that it is fine for him to spend time with the niece of one of his acquaintances. Ancilla asks if he knows her cousin, Mr Bernard Trent.
I am guessing (having not read this before) that Bernard might have got himself into a mess.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
I am guessing (having not read this before) that Bernard might have got himself into a mess.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Mrs Underhill confides in Ancilla that “the way his lordship (Julian) looks at Tiffany has put me in a regular fidget! Anyone can see he’s nutty upon her!”
DANGER! DANGER AHEAD!
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
DANGER! DANGER AHEAD!
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Sorry, just saw that someone mentioned Rule in a reply so I need to fan myself for a moment.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Mrs Underhill wants Ancilla to tell Tiffany she musn’t dance with Julian a third time but Ancilla fancies - and is right - that Julian knows the proprieties and won’t ask Tiffany to dance again. #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“I collect it was Lord Lindeth who took her on to the terrace!”
“Do you? My reading of the matter was that it was rather Miss Wield who took Lindeth on to it!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“Do you? My reading of the matter was that it was rather Miss Wield who took Lindeth on to it!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla averts disaster by encouraging some of the younger guests to go out on the terrace for some air. Waldo appreciates the deft way she has handled a difficult situation.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla ends the evening feeling that her first favourable impression of the Nonesuch had not been entirely erroneous. #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo spends longer than he had intended in Yorkshire. Julian would have been shocked to know that Waldo’s lazy and good natured airs masked a grim determination to disrupt his courtship of Tiffany.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Julian senses tension between Waldo and Tiffany but he doesn’t know why. He only knows that Tiffany is not at her best when Waldo is present.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo has Tiffany’s measure and is determined to provoke her to betray the last amiable side of her disposition. “He believed her to be as selfish as she was conceited”, so he has no compunction in trying to expose her. #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
I have to say I am in awe of Heyer’s conjuring of Tiffany. She does awful characters soooo well!
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo regards Julian as his especial charge. He is going to prevent Julian being trapped into an unsuitable marriage if he can.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“Indulged from the hour of her birth; endowed not only with beauty but with a considerable independence as well; encouraged to think herself a matrimonial price of the first stare, Tiffany had come to regard every unattached man’s homage as her due.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo describes Tiffany as “quite pretty” to her absolute horror. #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
It turns out that Julian knows Ancilla’s cousin Bernard and says “he’s the greatest gull that ever was” and that he keeps bad company - “the worst barnacles you ever clapped eyes on!” #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo discusses Bernard with Ancilla and ascertains that he had fallen into debt.
Waldo thinks that this is the root of Ancilla’s dislike - that her cousin was influenced by men like him - and she confirms that she dislikes the set he represents.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo thinks that this is the root of Ancilla’s dislike - that her cousin was influenced by men like him - and she confirms that she dislikes the set he represents.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo discusses Bernard with Ancilla and ascertains that he had fallen into debt.
Waldo thinks that this is the root of Ancilla’s dislike - that her cousin was influenced by men like him - and she confirms that she dislikes the set he represents.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo thinks that this is the root of Ancilla’s dislike - that her cousin was influenced by men like him - and she confirms that she dislikes the set he represents.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Waldo finds out more about Ancilla’s family and background than people who have lived alongside her for years. She is clearly happy to talk to him, and confide in him.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla tells Waldo how she came to be Tiffany and Charlotte’s governess/companion, and is witty about her superior skills in music, both pianoforte and harp, and French AND Italian. And her pupils have no aptitude for any of it.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla lets Waldo know she understands his behaviour towards Tiffany, and says “I fear it won’t do her any good either - but that, after all, is not your object, is it?” #GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla explains that Mrs Underhill does not want Tiffany to marry Julian - but invites him to Staples because a flirtation in company is much safer - and less exciting - than clandestine meetings. And Tiffany ABSOLUTELY would hold clandestine meetings.
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Ancilla explains Tiffany’s ambition:
“She means to marry a Marquis.”
“Means to - WHICH Marquis?”
“ANY Marquis.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
“She means to marry a Marquis.”
“Means to - WHICH Marquis?”
“ANY Marquis.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Mrs Underhill wants Tiffany to marry Courtenay, so Ancilla feels she has a duty to keep Tiffany unattached. And, she tells Waldo, “I feel it would be quite wicked of me not to put you on your guard.”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
Tiffany “hasn’t a particle of that sweetness of disposition which is in your cousin, and nothing but misery could be he outcome of a marriage between them!”
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
#GeorgetteHeyerReadalong
