say about Lord Darlington, and it may be that you are under the impression I am

somehow embarrassed or ashamed of my association with his lordship, and it is

this that lies behind such conduct. Then let me make it clear that nothing could

be further from the truth. The great majority of what one hears said about his

lordship today is, in any case, utter nonsense, based on an almost complete

ignorance of the facts. Indeed, it seems to me that my odd conduct can be very

plausibly explained in terms of my wish to avoid any possibility of hearing any

further such nonsense concerning his lordship; that is to say, I have chosen to

tell white lies in both instances as the simplest means of avoiding

unpleasantness. This does seem a very plausible explanation the more I think

about it; for it is true, nothing vexes me more these days than to hear this

sort of nonsense being repeated. Let me say that Lord Darlington was a gentleman

of great moral stature - a stature to dwarf most of these persons you will find

talking this sort of nonsense about him - and I will readily vouch that he

remained that to the last. Nothing could be less accurate than to suggest that I

regret my association with such a gentleman. Indeed, you will appreciate that to

have served his lordship at Darlington Hall during those years was to come as

close to the hub of this world's wheel as one such as I could ever have dreamt.

I gave thirty-five years' service to Lord Darlington; one would surely not be

unjustified in claiming that during those years, one was, in the truest terms,

'attached to a distinguished household'. In looking back over my career thus

far, my chief satisfaction derives from what I achieved during those years, and

I am today nothing but proud and grateful to have been given such a privilege.

 

Day Three - Morning