Item 183 - Letter from Venetia Montagu to Edwin Montagu

[24 Queen Anne’s Gate, S.W.]——Has lost the long letter she was writing to him. Last Saturday she went to Breccles. Discusses the progress of the work there, which is proving expensive. Last night she dined with Winston. Reggie says that Geddes is not coming back from Italy and that Dalziel is to take his place at the Admiralty. Reggie and Winston are on very good terms now. On Friday [8th] she went to a party at Cardie’s given by Bouch, who is home on leave, and on Thursday she gave a dinner-party and they had stunts. Afterwards Ralph [Peto] took some of them on to a party at Ruby’s. Discusses the air-raids, in response to his telegram about the bombs in Queen Anne’s Gate. Has just come back from a day with Dolly and Jimmy. K is dining with her tonight; Bluey is much better. Is eager for Montagu’s return. Is planning to go to Breccles for a holiday. She has been busier than usual this month at Charing Cross and Arlington Street as the sister has been ill. Discusses plans for furnishing the rooms [at Breccles]. Next week Bouch will probably give a farewell party, and the Jimmys may dine on Wednesday.

TRANSCRIPT:

Sunday Feb 10th 1918

My darling Ted. A terrible thing has happened, my lovely long letter to you written day by day has got lost, I’ve searched everywhere but no trace. So this week you’ll get very little. However as by the time you get this you will either be just starting or even on your way home you wont really so much mind.

I went to Breccles last Saturday just for a lightning visit. The whole place was very upside down, trenches for the radiators and bath pipes in every floor. But the partition down in the hall, and your bedroom the little alteration done. We have enlarged your bathroom at the expense of your bedroom, but if you think the room too small you shall have another. It was rather a nice day & the rooms particularly my bedroom & the drawing room seemed deliciously sunny. I’ve ordered masses of vegetables to be planted in all the flower beds so I hope we shant actually starve this next year. I also went one day with Lutyens and ordered the baths. As you said you no longer clung to having them 8 ft long I’ve taken the usual size, but they are horribly expensive I find £25 apiece and we’ve had to have 4. Altogether the expense of everything is fearful, and on sending in your pass book was horrified to find that we were very nearly 6000 overdrawn. The worst we’ve ever been. I’ve not paid for much either so that its very distressing. I dont know what has happened to it If only Aunt Henry wd die.

I dined with Winston last night where Reggie also was. He says Geddes has left the Admiralty. He has gone ostensibly to Italy to reorganise the railways but that he is not coming back & that Dalziel is to go there. I dont think it sounds very likely, I meant that Dalziel should go. Reggie and Winston are on very good terms now.

Bouch is home on leave and on Friday he gave a supper party at Cardies. Oysters, lobsters and more champagne than I’ve ever seen. All the regular old faces. I rather enjoyed it, talking chiefly to Anthony (also home for a fortnight) Capel (over here on business) and Edgar D’Abernon.

Then on Thursday I had a capital party at 24 (this is I fear where the money goes if we could settle down at Breccles we wd save a lot)

Diana, Birrell, Phillis, Micheal, Rosemary, Hugo (it was his birthday) Diana W. Anthony, me, Bouch, Sylvia, Eddie Marsh, Baroness d’E, McEvoy. Hugo made a Spanish speech in answer to his health being drunk. Very good. After dinner we had stunts. A dialogue between McEvoy (Hugo) and Frankie de Tuyll (Micheal) being one of the best. But they also did the 3 Ambassadors again, beloved Birrell being the Englishman. He is easily the sweetest man I know, can you imagine any other old boy joining in as well as that, & I really think he enjoyed it. There was a party at Ruby’s and at about 12 Ralph arrived, quite blind, to try and collect us all to go on. Cardie, Rawle & Lady Headfort(!) had also joined us by this time. Finally he took away Diana, Rosemary, Bouch & Lady H leaving Cardie, Hugo the Baroness, McEvoy to a rather derelict game of chemin de fer. At about 1.30 we thought perhaps we wd join that at Rubys and were just packing into a taxi when Diana Bouch & Lady Headfort came back. By this time we were so hungry that we had to go down to the kitchen where we had a marvellous meal, Eggs and onions and fried potatoes! They left about 3.

Lady Headfort I liked very much, she seemed so mellow and enjoyed herself so much.

Everyone talks of meat and food at every meal. So far, tho I havent had any butchers meat for weeks, I’ve not felt the pinch. I’m afraid you will mind very much as you’ll have to live largely on chickens. {1}

I was amused by your telegram about the bombs in this street. I hadnt told you because they were so small in size and number, only one and I never heard it fall even! I used to be frightened of the raids, as you know, but now I sleep if I happen to be in bed, so I hope you will get used to them too, after all if they hit the house one is probably done for, but otherwise quite safe, and its a very tiny mark, particularly ours which is narrow. The last one, when the casualties were heavy, they were due not so much to the bomb, tho’ that started the trouble of course, as to the fact that all John Bulls heavy machinery & stacks of paper crashed into the basement! So please dont worry.

I’ve just come back from a day with Dolly and Jimmy, Cardie was also there. It was perfect. I was so glad to see darling Jimmy again. You know my passion for him. Really he is the one man you might be jealous of, only fortunately for you he is most faithful to Dolly, & my passion is unrequited. Coming back in the train he & I played piquet & I won £10. which was a very satisfactory end to a perfect day.

Tonight K dines with me. Bluey is much better, no one quite knows even now what it was.

Darling its too wonderful to think that probably I shall only write to you once again and that in 2 months you will be home. I shall take a holiday and will go to Breccles and live there in whatever state it is. I’m having a very strenuous month with Charing X and Arlington St, I have to go there as the sister is ill and I have to do her work. Fortunately they are not at all full. Charing X is foul and as usual I regret being there but cant keep away. I’ve only got 3 more weeks.

I’ve ordered carpets for the bedrooms, quite plain like here and am leaving the sitting rooms, my idea is that we should only furnish the hall to start with & perhaps the small room near the drawing room for you, then at our leisure we can look out for various odds & ends, when we are there in the spring we will make excursions to Norwich & Ipswich & Cambridge & other happy hunting grounds. Perhaps Ely. I do feel excited when I think about it.

Next week I’ve nothing much on. I expect Bouch will give us a farewell party and the Jimmys may dine on Wed. I shant be sorry to have quiet evenings as I’ve been very late this month.

Goodbye my beloved Ted. It will be grand to see you.

Bless you
Venetia

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Mostly written in pencil (see below).

{1} The writing changes here from pencil to ink.