Pièce 154 - Letter from Janet Trevelyan to Elizabeth Trevelyan

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2, Cheyne Gardens. - Delighted by Bessie's 'delicate & lovely piece of handiwork', which is 'too duckish for words' and 'brought the thought of the little creature it is to clothe' to her very vividly. Was on the verge of telling Bessie a few times, but was shy, though saw in her eyes that she knew and 'felt the unspoken bond in spite of silence'. Is very well, and she and George are 'both very happy'; at first she had a few regrets 'for selfish reasons' that she was pregnant so soon, but 'George was so deeply pleased that he soon talked [her] out of that'. Wallington will be 'a heavenly place for revels of that sort' next summer; thanks Bessie for the news from there, her 'description of the morning bathe' makes her and George 'scream'. Wishes she could 'see them bicycling down the hill in bathing suits' and recommends that Bessie go and spy on them one morning. Glad that Molly has 'at last conquered Aunt Annie [Philips]'. is working slowly for her article on 'Mrs Goethe' [the mother of the poet], but has not done any writing yet as she has been busy with George's proofs [for "England Under the Stuarts "]; hears that Bob 'shook his head over the peroration', but it is too late to make any large alterations. The "Quarterly [Review]", for which she is doing the article 'on approval', has not given her a deadline, but she wants to finish it in the next two months 'for obvious reasons' [her pregnancy] so perhaps it may appear in the January number; fears it will be 'too amateurish & bad' to be accepted anywhere. Finishes the letter later, after showing George Bessie's gift, 'he couldn't say anything at first' but thinks it 'the nicest thing [she] could possibly have done'.