| Thursday, 17 September 1942 |
[Mar. 27th, 2009|03:13 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  scared | ] |
Pappa Matteo has gone with Signor Nicodemo and Signor Santino and this time not to the front, but to the Academy, I think. Lady Leffoy has not had so many guests today, but everyone is worried, because Florian and Charis and the new princess all had to go back. And Mr Dashwood. And something bad is happening. There have been lots of letters, and they are all very important and I could tell the news in the letters was Not Meant For Children. This happens when things in them are hard to explain. I wish people would try. If I was as smart as Florian or Fia they would, but I would not like to be smart enough to lead the Company.
Everything has been very dreary and sad here, since the men were killed in the village. There is always someone important sick here, first it was the prince doctor, then it was Mr Dashwood, and then Mr Mercutio Malaspina, although everyone frowns when that is talked about, and I think he was not a hero, down at the village.
I am very worried. So are Mamma Egeria and Silvia, but that is because of Mario. I love Mario too, but he is not quite my brother like Hubert is. So I am worried about Hubert. I won't ask the gods about him though, because they would not like what he did. |
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| Tuesday 15 September 1942 |
[Sep. 11th, 2008|09:36 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  curious | ] |
Warded more strongly than usual, with a ward Mario taught her
Serving tea for Lady Leffoy is a lot like serving tea for Mummy and Daddy when they had a meeting, except that I am supposed to listen to how people talk to me and that will tell Lady Leffoy more about them. Which makes sense and I wonder why Mummy and Daddy didn't pay more attention to what I said about Mr Lockhart, and what Hubert said too. I wish I had known how to explain it better, because I was right, and so was Hubert.
Things I have learned so far:
1. Lady Leffoy likes honey in her tea. They have very good smelling honey here.
2. Mr Marco Malaspina is very worried about Miss Bella Malaspina, although I am not allowed to hear why and I am not going to be stupid and ask her. I watched her when we were sewing which she is very good at because it is her talent and she seems very quiet and usually nice and not like what I heard the boys from Caerleon call her.
3. To be very very polite to anyone who is a guest here because people who are not get hurt.
But I think Lady Leffoy knows all these things already. |
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| Monday 14 September 1942 |
[Jul. 4th, 2008|08:13 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sad | ] |
The prince is well again and he has taken his love away, and everyone is happy about that now. Except maybe Miss Benedetto, who was jilted. There is no party today and there is a lot of work to be done and we are no longer to be up at the house with Jennie or Florian or Ximena or Alastor. One thing I miss about school and Communism is that there aren't meant to be two groups of people, one working and one playing. I know it does happen anyway sometimes but it didn't happen in St Hilda's very much. And La Donna and Mr Nicodemo work very hard too, and Isabella is always sewing and sewing, but not everyone is working.
Silvia and I are trying not to get underfoot. Silvia is happy there are no classes for us here, although if we do not go back at all there will be some.
I hope Mario gave Hubert my letter. I know that he doesn't like Hubert one bit, but I cannot sneak around behind everyone's back and even if I did I don't know where I'd get an owl from. |
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| Saturday 12 September 1942 |
[Jan. 15th, 2008|09:32 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  confused | ] |
Soon we will go to dress the Ladies, and do work for them. I hope it is not too hard and that they are not all horrible and we have to work in the kitchen all day and burn our hands. I have to do this until I am twenty-one.
Silvia wants to take me to find a kitten when we don't have to work. The kitten can be my kitten and it will not be killed like the dove was. I don't think I understand this, but I don't know that Mamma Egeria or Silvia could explain it. Maybe Mario could but he is not awake yet because of the party for boys. Or maybe Signor Nicodemo did explain it and I didn't understand the words. My Da could have explained it but not so that I could have understood, and Hubert wouldn't want to explain it now because Miss Ducas is here and he is not a Communist when she is around.
I wish Mum was here, I probably would have understood her.
I wonder what happens to people really when they die? Communists say nothing at all but I hope they are wrong. Maybe my Mum is still around somewhere and the dove is gone to her to look after. I don't understand what the gods would want with it. |
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| martedì 8 settembre 1942 |
[Sep. 15th, 2007|09:07 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | sad | ] |
I'm Dory Vincenti now. I spose I should try writing in this in Italian. This is my first try. I don't really know how to spell all the words I know in Italian though. I will do my best. Silvia can't help much and anyway she is talking to Hamish again. Mario said he would, but I don't want to show him my diary, so I will have to write something else for him. He showed me how to do the date though and also he says that it's only sensible not to let people read my diary. He showed me a new ward for it.
Lady Leffoy (in Italian she is just The Woman, which is strange) came to school because she is on the a Director and Silvia's my Zio Alessio and a Signor Nicodemo came too. She is very beautiful even though she is sick at the moment. She is not like Hubert said. And I don't have to marry Tadzio. But they really will kill a chicken because that is how I get introduced to the Vincenti's gods.
Hubert is still my real brother though but they won't let him be a Vincenti too because he helped Mummy and Daddy with the paper. |
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| 1 September 1942 (Later) |
[Jan. 29th, 2007|11:58 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | sad | ] |
I should be happy now. I’m at school. I’ve wanted to go to school with Hubert and Dimity and Mr Gresham and Fia and Silvia and Clarence since forever. I’m not happy, though. Hubert says Mummy and Daddy are going to prison.
He says they were Colabba working with the Nazis. I don’t understand why they would. Aren’t the Nazis the Bad Guys? Mummy got me up last night and said we were going on a trip, but I hadn’t got my shoes on yet before the constables came.
They took Hubert’s camera. Hubert’s angry with them. Hubert’s angry with everyone. I think he’s even angry with himself. I gave him Arnold back even though Hubert gave me him last year, because he needed Arnold more than me and I have Raggedy Ann.
I got put into St Hilda's college. So did Silvia, but she’s supposed to pretend I’m not there. Kat explained it to me. Kat and Clarence are Avalonians like Chandra and Fia’s a Caerleon like Mario (and Kat’s stupid brother.)
There was a big fight at the train station and a boy from Armorica drowned. One of the boys in the fight says he saw the squid eat him. I’m glad I didn’t see it.
I wish I could wind the clock back to when Silvia lived at Mrs Scalara’s house and everyone was friends. |
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| 1 September 1942 |
[Dec. 19th, 2006|02:34 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | numb | ] |
Constables came and took Mummy and Daddy and Hubert away and I’m staying at a house somewhere with a girl named Cat Kat and her dumb brother and big sister Annie who is Hubert’s age. And Annie’s friend with the funny name and her dad. (Annie’s friend’s dad, not Annie’s and Kat’s. Their dad is On The Run From The Law.) And a pretty boy named Chandra that Kat’s dumb brother doesn’t like. His name is Indian he says but he is not the right colour for the Indian sun.
The constables said I can see Hubert later but I haven’t yet. I’m scared I won’t see him or Mummy or Daddy ever again, even though the constables said I will. But maybe they were lying. Constables are just people and people can lie. Kat’s dad was an constables and now he's wanted for treason. (Kat cut half her hair off and it looked funny, but Chandra is fixing it. He said he knew how to. Chandra knows a lot of stuff.)
Mr Scribbler is on the run too. I think he might be Chandra’s uncle.
I wish Hubert was here. |
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| 31 August 1942 |
[Nov. 17th, 2006|05:16 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | worried | ] |
Mummy and Daddy are yelling at each other. I can’t understand everything they say from up here and some of it I’m still not sure I heard right. I think it’s about Mr Scribbler. Mummy’s really angry at him, even angrier than Hubert is, which is hard. Hubert thinks Fia’s daddy is going to send us to prison. I hope he doesn’t.
I’m not sure if it’s actually about Mr Scribbler though because I thought I heard Mummy say something about being Manipulated and that’s what the Fascists and other bad guys do to the Working People Of The World and Mr Scribbler is not a bad guy, even if he is a bit scary. He used to watch me and Hubert every once in a while when Mummy and Daddy needed An Evening Alone Together and he told us we could call him Uncle Damien (which is his real name, the other one which I can’t spell is just for writing. I think of him as Mr Scribbler though cos he’s not really our uncle. And I don't like him that much.)
He came over to see Mummy and Daddy that night when Hubert was at Mr Vieira’s and Mr Ramsden’s houses and Clarence was at ours, but I didn’t really hear any of it because I was too busy with Clarence. The only part I did hear was about his little sister who is DEAD. I felt really sorry for her, but right now I feel even sorrier for Hubert and me. I don’t like listening to people yell. |
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| 29 August 1942 |
[Aug. 14th, 2006|12:49 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  hopeful | ] |
Hubert was fighting with Mummy and Daddy and Daddy especially but they’ve quieted down now. Mr Scribbler needed a picture of Fia’s dad for the front of the Tatler and he didn’t have one that was just right and Mummy found him one Hubert took and made it really big and Hubert got all mad cos they didn’t ask him and Mr Scribbler didn’t pay him and making it all big and grainy looking was a desecration. (I got Mummy to spell that for me.)
I wish I could help in the print shop like Hubert does but Daddy says I’m still too little to be around the presses and if there was an accident I could get really hurt. Maybe I’ll be big enough next year. Mummy lets me help in the kitchen though. She says I’m a better cook than she is but I think that’s cos I like to play with the recipes in the cookbook Granny Jacobi sent me and Mummy just makes whatever’s fastest and easiest.
If I was bigger I’d be able to go to the Party with Hubert in a pretty dress and dance with Mr Gresham but I’m too little for that too. And I’m too little for the other Party that Mr Ramsden is having that the grown-ups can’t know about. But Clarence and Fia are too little for the parties too and Hubert said that if I asked Clarence to stay the night at our house we could have our own little party together. So I will. After his mum and dad leave cos his mum is SCARY!!! |
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| 23 August 1942 |
[May. 6th, 2006|06:50 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  grumpy | ] |
SILVIA IS MOVING AWAY!!!
Everyone is going. Silvia and Aelia and their brothers and Silvia’s mum and Dimity and her granny too. Fia and her new brother (who is Hubert’s age) aren’t going for good like the rest of them, but even they’re going away all day! And even Hubert’s gone at Mr Gresham’s house. Today is going to be BORING. So so so so so boring.
Why do the Leffoys have to take all my friends and send them to Cornwall? |
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| 18 August 1942 |
[Mar. 6th, 2006|01:06 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | curious | ] |
Dimity isn’t living with Fia anymore!
She’s living with Silvia now. There were lots of people in and out of Fia’s house today. Aelia’s father got rescued from the Fascists and now Fia’s father lives with her.
Fia’s got a pretty big brother. Almost as pretty as Mr Gresham.
Hubert’s at Mr Gresham’s house. I like my friends here but there’s part of me that wishes I’d come with. |
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| 13 August 1942 |
[Jan. 14th, 2006|05:01 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
I think Hubert is walking out with someone! He is certainly writing a lot of letters and I snuck a glance at one of the envelopes and it had a lady’s name on it. Maybe all the times he’s been visiting Mr Gresham he’s really been visiting his sweetheart!
Mr Gresham comes over here too a lot, though. Hubert says he is avoiding his mum. I don’t mind because Mr Gresham is very pretty and nice to me. I hope I get to see him a lot when I am at school.
Only two and a half weeks left! I can’t wait! |
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| 2 August 1942 |
[Nov. 22nd, 2005|05:25 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
Hubert wasn’t home from his party by the time Mummy and Daddy had to go off to Plot Revolution so they just took me without him instead. It was fun, the Loose Women (as Hubert calls them) always like to play with me, but sometimes I wonder why Sundays are for Plotting Revolution in the afternoon, instead of going to church in the morning like for the people in my books.
Hubert and Mr Gresham and Mr Eifion and Mr Vieira and Mr Mablin were in the garden when we got home. They were being very silly and singing loudly and there were lots of bottles lying on the grass. Mr Vieira and Mr Mablin were kissing!
Daddy says he’s going to need to brew more hangover cure now and Hubert’s going to have to help him. I’m glad I don’t! It smells really yucky! |
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| 31 July 1942 |
[Nov. 3rd, 2005|06:33 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
I get to go to school with Hubert and Mr Gresham!!!
Mr Gresham is very nice. He and Hubert took me to the cinema yesterday and he let me have his handkerchief to cry in when Bambi’s mummy died and I’m going to keep it forever. Hubert says that Mr Gresham’s girl jilted him at the start of summer, but he doesn’t know why. |
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