Eva always used to joke with him. “Who is to be today, sir? Colonel Lawrence or Mr. Shaw?”
The hero of Arabia would laugh and say:
“Tell T.H. that T.E is here to see him.”
“The truth was Mister Hardy always cheered up when Mr. Shaw came to tea. Frankly, so did us domestics.”
As the interview went on, however, Eva chose not to tell of the following incident involving the other of his personalities.
One day, on her day off, she was out walking on her own when she was passed by a motorbike.
The motorbike pulled up ahead of her. “Eva,” he said, “what a nice surprise!”
“Who is it to be today, sir? Colonel Lawrence or Mr. Shaw?”
The hero of Arabia laughed and said:
“Today, I don’t feel like Mr. Shaw, so it must be Colonel Lawrence. Would you care for a lift on my steed?”
Eva laughed as she hitched up her skirts and climbed on the back.
As they swept through the rolling Dorset countryside, Eva closed her eyes. It seemed to her everything had shifted and she was riding through the desert.
Finally, they came to a halt at the oasis.
Stepping off the motorbike, Eva suddenly went red.
Colonel Lawrence looked at her unabashed.
“It always happened to me,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “when I rode camel back.”
Eva went up to her room to change her dress.
When she came back downstairs, Mr. Shaw was still in the drawing room discussing literature with Mr. Hardy.
*
“In my humble opinion, Lawrence of Arabia is one of the finest films ever made.”
“Lawrence who?”
“My dear boy, please tell me you didn’t just say that.”
“I’m serious. I have no idea what you are talking about.”
George sighed.
“T.E. Lawrence was a national hero of the first world war. Among other things, he organized an Arab uprising against the Turks.”
“We also have a great national war hero,” said Giorgio. “His name is Gabriele D’Annunzio.”
“As I understood, the so-called Prophet was more of a philanderer than a soldier.”
“Well, your Lawrence does not sound too well behaved.”
“Nonsense,” said George. “He’s the perfect gentleman. He offers empathy, not judgment. Besides, it was her indiscretion.”