Have you read any of his books?

Yours sincerely,

Harold Day”

And by the next post a letter came for them both from John.

“October 8th, 1901

My dears May and Muriel,

I think of you both busy at your studies and projects, and wish so much that I could be spending time with you. I am very busy as always, but wondered what you would think of perhaps meeting me in London one weekend.
 

The new play, a musical, The Chinese Honeymoon, opened at the Royal Strand  Theatre on the 5th of October, and has had very good reviews.  Would it be of interest to you?  I imagine you would take the train to London from Worcester on Saturday morning, and I would endeavour to find suitable accommodation for you nearby.  My father has relatives in this area, and although we don’t hear from or visit them often, this would be a good reason for me to make their acquaintance again.  If you write and say you are interested, I will look into it. I would suggest sometime in November, but will not book anything until I hear from you.

With great regard,

John”

May had received this letter, and rushed over the Muriel’s house. 

“Do you think we could go?” she said. “Do you think your parents would allow it?” I expect my mother would if yours would – but it would depend on where we were to stay in London.  Do you have any contacts there?”

Muriel was as excited as May when she read the letter, and they went together to discuss the situation with Mrs. King.  Muriel’s mother was not at all convinced that going on the train to London was the sort of thing two young girls should be doing – and even though they would accompanied to the theatre by a man they knew and respected, she still had her doubts. But she said she would discuss it with Muriel’s father, and she would let them know.

They then went back to May’s house to see how Mrs. Stinton would take the idea. Eliza was not a woman who had had much experience of the wider world, and she couldn’t visualise that her daughter would be able to do such a journey with just another girl as she as companion. And to meet up with Mr. Day was being very brash, no matter how nice a man he was. Even though he was studying for Holy Orders, she still did not like the idea of the girls staying with his relatives whom they had never met – and John hardly knew them from the sound of things.

“I know how much you want to do this, girls, but I think you can only go if you have an adult to accompany you, and you stay at a hotel in a good part of London.”

“What about if we get Charlotte Walker and Eve Duncan to accompany us?”

“Well, I suppose they might be suitable, being that much older. But I do think you must give this a lot of thought before you rush off and reply to John.”

So the girls went back to the King household and told Mrs. King what Mrs. Stinton had suggested, and asked how she felt about them going if they got the older girls to chaperone them. 

“We will wait til your father gets home, and get his views,” said Mrs. King firmly.

So when dinner was finally over at seven thirty that evening, Muriel laid out the letter from John and the suggestions from Mrs. Stinton for her father’s approval.  He very much believed that Muriel should get as rounded an education as possible, and seeing London would certainly be something that would add to her education. So he proposed that the girls asked Miss Walker and Miss Duncan, but that instead of just going for a weekend, they went for several days and also took in the main sights in London. He knew that Charlotte’s father had written about his experiences in London and would be able to give them some advice about where to stay.

So permission given, the girls the next day went to see Charlotte to see if she was willing to go with them. 

“What a wonderful idea,” she said. “I will write today to Eveline to see if she could accompany us.  You say the middle of November?  Shall we pick the dates and then ask Mr. John Day to see if he can get theatre tickets to suit us, or shall we ask him to get the tickets first, and then make our firm plans?”

“Oh, since it was all John’s idea, I think we should let him get the tickets first. It needs to suit his schedule.  I will write back to him tomorrow.”

So she did just that, and it was not more than three days later when his reply came.

“My dear Muriel and May,

I have contacted the Royal Strand Theatre, and they have agreed to save me five tickets for Saturday the 9th of November.  So if you find yourself a hotel to stay in, I will make my way there as early as I can on that day, and we can take in some of the sights together and go out to dinner before we go to the theatre in the evening.  I will find a boarding house near by to stay in.  Several friends have done this and can advise me as to whom to contact.

Greatly looking forward to seeing you all again,

John”