Mrs Pendercoet’s Lost Identity

Mrs Pendercoet is a regular participant in the Chelsea Arts Club fancy dress ball. She consults a couple of acquaintances, including a young man called Rollo, about possible costumes that will flatter her figure and also cause a stir. She is annoyed by Rollo’s facetious suggestions and tells him so undiplomatically. She eventually decides to dress as Pomona, the Roman goddess of orchards. Rollo, however, has already briefed a press reporter at the ball, and Mrs Pendercoet is mortified when her costume is misrepresented in the newspaper the following day.