Dear Mary: how can I stop shrieking women from ruining my dinner?

Q. Two American clients, with whom I have bonded on a personal level, rang me to say they were coming over to London for a few days. They asked me to book ‘somewhere really special’ so they could treat me and thank me for a particular thing I had done for them. They liked my suggestion of a top Chinese in Mayfair and we ordered Peking Duck – (which needs three days’ notice). We were all looking forward to visiting this elegant and highly rated restaurant. Unfortunately, on the night there was a really noisy table adjacent to ours. Its mainly female occupants were overloud and bumptious and shrieking with laughter. There were six of them and three of us. I felt devastated that they were sabotaging the treat my very civilised clients had planned for us. The waiters were aware – but what could they do? There were no free tables to switch us to.