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Title
Three
Times
Table
Author
Sara
Maitland
Publication
Chatto
Windus
Ltd
London
B
Lorry
driver
D
those
skinny
men
H
Jim
J
Phoebe
K
Rachel
L
Lisa
M
Sue
Y
All
characters
in
the
house
X
the
women
Z
the
boys
His
eagerness
made
her
suddenly
want
to
be
intelligent
again
Under
his
dynamic
tutelage
she
started
reading
not
the
literature
of
her
childhood
but
hard
politics
sociology
philosophy
ideas
and
experimental
fiction
To
please
him
she
learned
to
talk
about
what
she
read
and
what
she
thought
He
was
and
she
forced
herself
to
remember
this
with
gratitude
one
of
the
best
talkers
she
had
ever
met
funny
and
fast
Passionate
and
unashamed
A
man
who
could
and
would
talk
the
hind
legs
back
on
to
an
injured
donkey
provided
it
had
decent
proletarian
credentials
They
had
all
learned
from
him
she
and
Lisa
still
spoke
stylistically
as
he
had
taught
them
to
He
had
set
his
mark
on
them
Where
was
he
now
Phoebe
lying
on
her
bed
in
her
mother's
house
in
north
London
asked
herself
with
a
sudden
rush
of
nostalgia
In
what
corner
of
what
foreign
field
did
he
still
keep
the
faith
further
the
revolution
wake
up
his
current
lover
at
three
in
the
morning
to
discuss
the
delicate
interweavings
of
class
and
race
She
could
not
bear
to
think
that
he
had
taken
all
that
pure
wrathful
zeal
into
marketing
or
insurance
broking
Occasionally
she
half
hoped
to
see
him
again
she
would
find
herself
watching
faces
rising
towards
her
on
the
escalator
of
the
Tube
and
wonder
what
she
would
feel
if
one
of
those
faces
were
suddenly
to
be
his
Where
had
they
all
gone
those
extraordinary
skinny
left-wing
men
who
had
bullied
their
girl-friends
into
the
Women's
Movement
and
been
surprised
when
the
hand
with
which
they
had
so
kindly
offered
freedom
had
been
bitten
so
damn
hard
Nearly
twenty
years
later
Phoebe
still
found
it
hard
to
suppress
a
little
vindictive
chuckle
at
the
looks
of
growing
shock
on
Jim's
face
Jim
and
Lisa's
Jonathan
and
Sue's
Alan
when
they
discovered
that
their
righteousness
was
not
enough
Their
women
far
from
being
grateful
turned
on
them
snarling
in
late
night
conversations
telling
them
to
shut
up
far
from
setting
them
free
to
work
for
the
Revolution
their
women
demanded
that
they
take
emotional
responsibility
and
also
clean
the
loos
And
finally
only
a
year
or
so
later
turned
them
out
of
house
and
home
put
them
on
the
street
as
women
who
failed
to
be
properly
grateful
to
the
fathers
had
been
put
for
centuries
But
even
as
she
chuckled
Phoebe
knew
now
that
this
was
not
fair
There
had
been
a
time
a
brief
time
a
glorious
dawn
when
despite
her
growing
awareness
of
her
own
sexual
failure
despite
her
anger
and
frustration
despite
her
own
laziness
and
lack
of
commitment
there
had
been
a
time
when
she
had
been
happy
and
hopeful
and
joyous
It
had
not
as
it
turned
out
been
Jim
that
had
made
the
happiness
for
her
but
the
house
itself
However
he
with
his
determined
hands
and
determined
nose
had
been
her
way
in
She
did
not
know
where
he
was
now
and
she
did
not
really
care
but
he
had
probably
been
the
most
influential
person
in
her
life
her
handsome
prince
and
Maggie's
father
He
had
given
her
that
household
a
little
society
warming
itself
in
its
own
glow
of
virtue
insulating
itself
from
the
big
bad
world
but
within
its
own
limits
it
had
been
open
and
supportive
She
had
during
that
year
woken
some
mornings
giddy
with
courage
and
boldness
excited
and
certain
Motivated
It
had
been
however
briefly
a
time
when
her
body
and
her
mind
had
fitted
together
so
tidily
and
wholely
that
waking
up
one
morning
and
deciding
that
it
was
time
to
go
back
to
Oxford
and
visit
her
mother
was
neither
traumatic
nor
casual
but
straightforward
She
had
discussed
it
with
her
family
hugged
Lisa
and
Sue
kissed
Jim
left
home
and
taken
the
tube
to
Acton
where
she
stuck
out
her
thumb
on
the
edge
of
the
A40
on
a
smiling
spring
day
and
gone
home
Had
that
she
wondered
now
been
a
mistake
A
kindly
lorry
driver
on
his
way
to
North
Wales
chatting
of
his
own
daughter
and
his
home
had
dropped
her
at
the
roundabout
at
the
top
of
the
Banbury
Road
at
about
lunch-time
She
had
walked
down
through
suburban
Summertown
taking
her
time
but
without
reluctance
watching
the
tidiness
of
the
shoppers
and
the
smartness
of
the
shops
with
something
akin
to
smugness
how
little
energy
and
vitality
they
had
compared
to
her
own
shopping
street
with
its
untidy
market
atmosphere
permeating
even
the
Safeways
and
Boots
which
had
tried
to
raise
their
modern
never-had-it-so-good
fa
ades
in
challenge
to
the
poverty
and
squalor
and
had
failed
Two
blocks
away
from
the
house
of
her
childhood
it
suddenly
occurred
to
her
that
her
mother
might
have
left
that
there
might
be
strangers
in
the
hallway
a
different
set
of
curtains
hanging
at
the
windows
her
father's
study
might
have
been
turned
into
a
playroom
for
a
new
generation
of
North
Oxford
children
so
different
from
herself
in
her
prim
Clark's
T-bar
sandals
that
she
would
not
be
able
to
recognise
her
own
infancy
in
theirs
It
would
be
too
humiliating
to
have
to
contact
her
mother
through
her
publishers
or
her
employers
How
could
one
ring
a
bell
on
a
house
door
in
respectable
places
like
this
and
say
Excuse
me
does
my
mother
live
here
That
was
the
stuff
of
melodrama
and
now
she
was
back
in
Oxford
she
knew
she
was
somewhere
somehow
still
too
middle-class
too
much
her
father's
daughter
to
want
that
This
was
leafy
north
Oxford
this
was
the
pace
of
security
This
was
the
corner
to
which
she
had
tottered
her
mother
holding
her
on
white
leather
reins
her
legs
encased
in
knitted
leggings
whose
scratchiness
she
could
still
remember
This
was
the
street
along
which
she
had
run
a
skinny
and
excited
ten-year-old
to
boast
to
her
father
that
she
was
the
only
girl
who
had
made
it
to
the
next
round
of
the
chess
competition
This
was
the
pavement
along
which
awkward
and
gawky
she
had
struggled
to
find
a
graceful
even
a
comfortable
way
of
carrying
her
cello
to
and
from
her
chamber
music
group
She
hesitated
at
the
corner
reluctant
almost
to
discover
that
she
was
now
as
of
this
moment
completely
lost
in
the
world
and
for
the
first
time
she
asked
herself
clearly
why
she
had
decided
to
come
here
This
was
not
home
Home
was
in
Peckham
in
the
shabby
house
whose
light
spilled
each
evening
out
onto
the
street
Family
was
Jim
and
the
others
family
was
her
women's
group
and
squabbling
at
two-thirty
in
the
morning
about
whether
women
could
be
said
to
constitute
a
separate
class
because
they
had
a
separate
relation
to
the
mode
of
production
while
still
making
each
other
coffee
and
giving
each
other
hugs
And
love
was
standing
outside
the
local
supermarket
collecting
signatures
for
the
campaign
to
keep
Family
Allowance
as
a
separate
benefit
She
had
forsaken
her
people
and
her
father's
house
and
had
like
every
other
well-brought-up
girl
established
her
own
household
and
she
should
cleave
only
unto
it
forsaking
all
others
so
long
as
she
should
live
She
did
not
know
why
she
had
come
Not
certainly
to
reassure
her
mother
but
to
boast
of
her
new
self!
To
show
off
And
then
the
moment
had
passed
and
tall
and
tanned
and
fit
in
the
sunshine
she
had
walked
down
the
green
street
with
the
gardens
either
side
of
her
and
had
known
by
an
instinctive
glance
that
her
mother
still
lived
there
that
nothing
had
changed
She
rang
the
doorbell
listened
to
the
silence
within
and
felt
a
moment
of
panic
Then
she
laughed
at
herself
with
an
edge
of
self-mocking
irony
All
her
self-righteousness
had
failed
to
inform
her
that
her
mother
a
hardy
professional
was
certainly
still
at
work
in
the
city
that
she
had
left
behind
her
They
had
probably
passed
each
other
on
the
road
She
went
back
to
the
corner
and
across
to
the
nearby
pub
where
she
sat
sipping
beer
munching
a
cheese
sandwich
and
waiting
She
had
waited
all
afternoon
later
sitting
in
the
garden
and
reading
When
the
sun
moved
round
she
too
had
moved
to
the
doorstep
her
sleeves
rolled
up
and
concentrating
half
on
the
book
and
half
on
the
remembered
scene
until
her
mother
had
arrived
walking
up
the
street
where
they
had
both
walked
so
many
times
before
That
had
been
the
moment
of
her
undoing
Her
mother
had
got
older
fatter
and
sadder
Phoebe
felt
an
enormous
and
unwelcome
surge
of
pity
of
compassion
and
caring
and
with
it
guilt
In
one
swoop
the
feeling
swallowed
her
up
and
she
had
never
got
rid
of
it
since
She
saw
in
Rachel's
face
three
years
of
loss
and
loneliness
she
saw
too
the
simpler
anger
that
Rachel
would
never
dare
to
express
And
to
cover
up
the
dreadfulness
of
the
moment
the
pain
of
the
knowledge
that
Rachel
had
become
old
alone
and
friendless
she
had
giggled
and
said
something
about
having
lost
her
key
She
felt
the
deep
need
in
Rachel's
hug
and
responded
to
it
but
it
was
Rachel's
need
not
her
own
She
was
furious
Her
fury
made
her
aggressive
and
she
attacked
She
was
mean
and
horrible
to
her
mother
snide
self-righteous
and
unkind
Only
in
her
anger
could
she
drown
out
the
dark
shadow
that
pity
and
guilt
had
cast
over
her
She
hated
herself
for
it
and
went
on
and
on
convinced
that
her
only
defence
was
to
make
Rachel
throw
her
out
again
and
Rachel
refused
to
be
provoked
Finally
Rachel
responded
and
Phoebe
had
forgotten
in
her
wanderings
just
how
bloody
clever
Rachel
was
How
well
she
could
keep
control
and
use
words
and
manipulate
their
meanings
and
score
points
It
was
this
ruthless
clarity
and
brightness
that
she
had
run
away
from
She
Phoebe
told
herself
did
not
play
those
stupid
games
any
more
she
was
direct
and
straightforward
But
her
mouth
motored
on
and
what
came
out
was
simply
and
childishly
rude
Phoebe
felt
foolish
Rachel
seemed
able
to
absorb
everything
that
Phoebe
tried
She
was
calm
and
sweet
and
later
insisted
on
taking
Phoebe
out
to
dinner
at
some
fancy
little
pseudo-Bohemian
bistro
Then
to
her
final
and
total
humiliation
Phoebe
found
that
she
was
actually
having
a
good
time
she
was
enjoying
her
mother
and
her
mother's
easy
authority
and
charm
Her
mother
she
thought
with
a
most
annoying
pride
who
was
one
of
the
few
genuinely
creative
women
scientists
around
and
in
whose
success
were
it
anyone
except
her
mother's
she
would
be
rejoicing
She
went
to
bed
in
her
own
room
still
full
of
pictures
and
possessions
that
had
belonged
to
a
previous
and
vanished
Phoebe
She
curled
up
in
the
position
she
had
slept
in
as
a
child
and
realised
with
a
sinking
heart
that
it
was
not
only
the
most
comfortable
way
of
being
in
bed
but
it
was
also
one
that
you
could
not
adopt
in
company
She
thought
that
she
never
wanted
to
sleep
with
Jim
again
that
the
bonds
of
love
were
snares
and
that
she
must
at
all
costs
leave
as
early
as
possible
the
next
morning
and
never
come
back
She
had
a
clear
and
frightening
premonition
that
she
would
not
be
able
to
manage
it
Perhaps
if
she
had
not
got
pregnant
perhaps
they
could
have
pulled
it
off
Perhaps
not
Now
she
no
longer
knew
She
found
it
hard
to
remember
with
any
precision
exactly
what
had
happened
next
She
remembered
a
little
of
the
acrimony
of
the
mounting
bitterness
within
the
house
of
their
winter
of
discontent
which
was
so
much
part
of
and
not
part
of
the
winter
outside
and
the
miners
strike
But
the
light
no
longer
poured
out
of
their
house
and
onto
the
street
the
power
cuts
although
they
supported
them
passionately
cut
off
their
power
somewhere
Jim
and
Jonathan
especially
were
never
there
and
the
arguments
about
washing
up
versus
serving
the
revolution
lost
their
gaiety
and
became
mean-mouthed
Alan
and
Sue
moved
out
went
north
to
do
something
else
Phoebe
had
not
seen
Alan
since
though
Sue
had
moved
back
again
briefly
later
that
winter
saddened
and
distressed
by
Alan's
disaffection
She
had
been
part
of
a
long
stream
of
women
who
had
come
and
gone
swiftly
lives
collapsing
in
one
area
as
they
gained
power
and
certainty
in
another
Suddenly
there
were
too
many
women
realising
that
their
happiness
had
to
be
taken
at
the
expense
of
their
men's
men
who
had
promised
so
much
and
could
not
now
deliver
the
goods
just
like
her
father
five
years
before
Lisa
and
Phoebe
shared
the
painful
knowledge
that
they
had
been
conning
themselves
as
well
as
their
men
How
had
a
Conservative
Government
happened
Where
were
the
golden
days
which
Paris
and
Chicago
and
Grosvenor
Square
had
promised
them
In
the
meantime
the
miners
represented
hope
for
all
of
them
but
within
the
giddy
cycle
of
excitements
they
were
all
edgy
with
new
fears
and
old
illusions
After
Sue
and
Alan
left
Lisa
and
Phoebe
had
invited
their
neighbour
Jo
and
her
lover
Sophie
to
come
and
share
the
house
with
them
Jim
and
Jonathan
had
been
away
picketing
and
pamphleteering
in
Reading
had
simply
been
not
available
and
Jo's
squat
had
been
suddenly
repossessed
and
it
did
not
occur
to
any
of
the
women
that
the
boys
would
mind
Sophie
moreover
actually
had
a
job
had
an
income
which
was
beginning
to
be
something
of
a
pressing
issue
inflation
and
the
changing
climate
began
to
bite
into
their
indifferent
superiority
to
the
outside
world
and
they
had
given
no
thought
as
to
how
to
fight
that
Then
the
boys
as
it
turned
out
minded
bitterly
having
Jo
and
Sophie
Since
on
principle
they
could
not
say
that
lesbianism
made
them
nervous
and
that
the
complex
new
demands
made
on
them
scared
them
they
found
more
underhand
and
aggressive
ways
of
expressing
their
resentments
The
women
outnumbered
them
and
plotted
together
Having
the
other
two
women
in
the
house
taught
Lisa
something
new
about
herself
she
and
Jonathan
stopped
sleeping
together
which
left
them
all
short
of
space
Phoebe
felt
betrayed
by
Lisa's
desertion
She
and
Jim
talked
together
secretly
about
leaving
the
house
and
going
off
to
somewhere
more
committed
but
Phoebe
could
not
bring
herself
to
give
up
the
only
home
she
knew
of
could
not
bring
herself
to
choose
absolutely
Jim's
commitments
over
the
women's
commitments
Title
The
Five
Gates
to
Hell
Author
Rupert
Thomsom
Publication
Bloomsbury
London
B
Sir
Charles
Dobson
C
Vasco
D
generic
you
E
Voice-over
F
door
J
Creed
K
Jed
L
Carol
M
Lady
Dobson
O
Dobson's
resignation
statement
Z
one
of
the
papers
Y
the
dinner
guests
There
are
times
when
your
life
seems
to
jump
tracks
Slow
train
to
fast
local
to
express
You
have
the
sense
that
from
now
on
you'll
be
travelling
on
a
different
line
you'll
be
seeing
different
views
through
the
window
It
was
November
and
Jed
had
just
turned
twenty-two
Creed
opened
the
glass
panel
one
morning
as
they
were
returning
from
the
airport
and
said
Where
do
you
live
Spaghetti
Mangrove
East
Creed
shook
his
head
I
need
you
closer
It
was
exactly
what
Jed
had
been
waiting
to
hear
but
he
kept
his
voice
level
Where've
you
got
in
mind
sir
The
Palace
Jed's
heart
lifted
in
his
ribs
The
Palace
was
where
Creed
lived
in
a
penthouse
suite
on
the
fourteenth
floor
so
the
idea
made
perfect
sense
But
the
Palace
was
also
the
most
exclusive
apartment
hotel
in
the
city
It
was
located
on
Ocean
Drive
between
C
and
D
it
took
up
the
entire
block
With
its
two
twin
towers
of
baroque
grey
stone
it
was
just
about
the
only
building
in
Moon
Beach
that
wasn't
either
white
or
pale-blue
Its
lobby
was
the
size
of
a
railway
station
all
peach
marble
and
glass
and
gilded
metal
The
central
chandelier
was
gold-plated
and
weighed
it
was
rumoured
something
in
the
region
of
half
a
ton
Everyone
had
stayed
at
the
Palace
Heads
of
state
movie-stars
tycoons
Just
to
be
able
to
give
it
as
your
address!
You'll
be
in
the
basement
Creed
said
but
it
should
be
adequate
He
allowed
himself
a
smile
It
can
hardly
fail
to
be
an
improvement
on
Mangrove
East
in
any
case
Jed
moved
that
same
week
To
reach
his
new
apartment
you
had
to
use
the
old
tradesmen's
entrance
past
the
service
elevator
down
four
flights
of
stairs
along
a
corridor
with
a
linoleum
floor
The
basement
of
the
Palace
was
a
lost
kingdom
of
storerooms
washrooms
and
boiler-rooms
Fat
grey
pipes
hugging
the
ceilings
dull
yellow
walls
The
air
smelt
of
lagging
paint
damp
And
also
ever
so
faintly
and
inexplicably
of
marzipan
In
the
end
you
came
to
a
door
that
said
and
this
was
equally
inexplicable
D
There
was
no
C
and
no
E
There
wasn't
even
a
A
D
was
unique
and
without
context
It
was
another
dimension
It
was
Jed's
new
home
There
were
two
rooms
both
painted
a
tired
pale-green
There
was
a
bed
a
TV
a
phone
There
was
air-conditioning
That
was
about
it
If
you
parted
the
net
curtains
and
peered
sideways
and
upwards
you
could
see
one
tiny
piece
of
bright
blue
sky
but
you
might
pull
a
muscle
doing
it
A
constant
clash
and
tinkle
came
from
the
kitchens
across
the
courtyard
like
the
percussion
section
of
an
orchestra
from
hell
At
night
the
boiler
took
over
roaring
and
trembling
until
dawn
During
his
first
week
in
the
Palace
he
hardly
slept
It
was
during
the
second
week
that
Carol
asked
him
to
dinner
at
her
parents
place
As
the
taxi
moved
down
off
the
harbour
bridge
and
into
the
suburb
of
Paradise
he
remembered
what
Vasco
had
said
and
turned
to
her
Your
father
he
said
is
he
really
the
chairman
Carol
looked
embarrassed
Yes
He
sat
back
Jesus
So
her
father
really
was
the
chairman
Her
father
was
Sir
Charles
Dobson
Why
Carol
said
Didn't
you
know
No
not
really
Vasco
said
something
about
it
but
I
didn't
believe
him
I
thought
everyone
knew
And
she
gave
him
a
smile
that
resembled
gratitude
It
was
as
if
in
not
knowing
he'd
paid
her
a
great
compliment
Sir
Charles
and
Lady
Dobson
lived
on
Pacific
Drive
a
road
that
wound
its
way
through
the
canyons
then
doubled
back
towards
the
ocean
to
link
eventually
with
the
South
Coast
Expressway
The
house
was
one
of
the
white
wedding-cake
mansions
in
the
block
high
wrought-iron
gates
and
video
security
and
just
the
hills
rising
in
silence
behind
Jed
paid
the
taxi
and
stood
still
You
needed
millions
to
breathe
this
air
This
air
exactly
right
here
Millions
And
suddenly
he
took
the
rumours
and
put
them
on
like
a
coat
Lifted
and
dropped
his
shoulders
a
few
times
he'd
seen
people
do
it
when
they
tried
on
clothes
in
stores
Not
a
bad
fit
Maybe
he
really
was
a
cunning
son
of
a
bitch
just
like
Vasco
said
he
was
Certainly
he
was
thinking
all
those
thoughts
Jed
Morgan
he
was
thinking
Chairman
Dinner
was
plate
after
plate
of
food
he'd
hardly
ever
set
eyes
on
let
alone
eaten
caviar
bortsch
salmon
duck
And
then
as
if
that
wasn't
indigestible
enough
the
conversation
turned
to
the
subject
of
advertising
The
new
Paradise
Corporation
commercial
had
just
aired
the
previous
night
Jed
had
seen
it
It
opened
with
a
black
screen
and
a
voice
that
said
This
is
probably
the
most
frightening
place
in
the
world
It
pulled
back
slowly
to
reveal
a
fringe
of
green
around
the
black
You
were
looking
into
an
open
grave
The
voice
went
on
to
say
that
when
you
were
faced
with
something
as
frightening
as
death
you
needed
the
right
people
around
you
and
the
right
people
were
the
Paradise
Corporation
etc
etc
One
of
the
papers
had
attacked
the
commercial
for
being
too
emotive
People
at
the
dinner
table
were
springing
to
the
commercial's
defence
using
words
like
honest
and
bold
Well
Jed
said
speaking
up
for
the
first
time
at
least
there
weren't
any
tolling
bells
in
it
All
the
talk
around
him
suddenly
subsided
he
felt
strangely
shipwrecked
in
the
silence
I
used
to
work
on
commercials
for
funeral
parlours
he
went
on
I
used
to
think
that
if
I
heard
one
more
tolling
bell
I'd
go
out
of
my
mind
After
the
laughter
had
died
away
he
told
a
story
about
one
particular
commercial
that
he'd
worked
on
It
was
a
testimonial
for
a
funeral
parlour
which
had
dealt
with
the
victims
of
a
forest
fire
He
needed
the
sound
of
a
forest
fire
running
under
the
voice-track
but
he
couldn't
find
the
effect
on
file
It
was
seven
at
night
and
the
commercial
had
to
be
presented
at
breakfast
the
next
day
In
the
end
he
had
no
choice
He
had
to
create
the
effect
himself
How
did
you
do
that
Lady
Dobson
asked
I'll
show
you
Jed
said
but
I
need
absolute
silence
Out
of
his
left
pocket
he
produced
a
handful
of
candy-wrappers
and
during
the
hush
that
followed
he
created
a
forest
fire
for
the
Dobsons
and
their
guests
in
the
Dobson's
very
own
dining-room
It
was
a
great
success
And
these
are
only
Liquorice
Whirls
he
said
In
those
days
I
was
eating
Almond
Toffee
Creams
and
they
came
in
much
cracklier
paper
Either
Sir
Charles
had
forgotten
what
Jed
did
or
else
nobody
had
bothered
to
tell
him
because
he
now
leaned
forwards
and
impressed
it
seemed
by
Jed's
ingenuity
and
verve
said
Perhaps
young
man
you
should
come
and
work
for
me
All
eyes
locked
on
Jed
He
waited
three
seconds
You
have
to
time
things
But
Sir
Charles
he
said
I
already
do
He
looked
round
People
were
weeping
with
laughter
He
caught
Carol's
eye
and
winked
His
skin
had
picked
up
a
glow
from
the
lilies
on
the
table
The
candlelight
had
taken
his
cheap
suit
and
made
it
over
in
some
priceless
fabric
The
vintage
wine
had
anointed
his
tongue
with
new
and
seductive
language
He
could
do
no
wrong
When
the
meal
was
over
Sir
Charles
escorted
him
into
the
library
He
watched
Sir
Charles
cut
the
tip
off
his
cigar
Being
old
had
done
something
to
Sir
Charles's
face
something
that
being
poor
sometimes
did
It
had
sucked
the
colour
out
Eyes
hair
skin
all
different
shades
of
grey
and
white
Distinguished
yes
But
colourless
And
cheeks
with
folds
in
them
like
old
wallets
He
wondered
how
much
Sir
Charles
was
worth
But
now
the
cigar
was
lit
and
turning
to
Jed
Sir
Charles
spoke
through
billowing
smoke
So
who
exactly
do
you
work
for
I
work
for
Mr
Creed
I'm
his
driver
Maybe
it
was
only
a
coincidence
but
as
soon
as
Jed
pronounced
the
name
of
his
employer
the
cigar
fell
from
Sir
Charles's
fingers
It
bounced
on
the
carpet
shedding
chunks
of
red-hot
ash
God-DAMN
Sir
Charles
spread
his
legs
and
stooped
He
flicked
the
ash
towards
the
fireplace
with
the
back
of
his
hand
Then
he
stuck
the
cigar
between
his
teeth
and
slowly
sucked
the
life
back
into
it
Let
me
ask
you
something
Jed
he
said
when
the
smoke
was
billowing
once
more
Have
you
ever
been
to
head
office
I
have
yes
What
did
you
think
of
it
The
head
office
of
the
Paradise
Corporation
as
Sir
Charles
knew
perfectly
well
was
just
about
the
most
famous
building
in
the
city
Built
entirely
of
black
glass
it
marked
the
beginning
of
what
was
known
as
Death
Row
a
stretch
of
downtown
First
Avenue
where
most
of
the
big
funeral
parlours
had
their
offices
All
night
long
lights
burned
in
the
central
elevator
shaft
and
in
the
windows
of
the
twenty-fifth
floor
The
result
was
a
white
cross
that
stood
out
among
the
familiar
neon
logos
of
airlines
and
oil
companies
The
cross
was
a
landmark
You
could
even
buy
postcards
of
it
Jed
had
only
been
inside
the
building
once
and
all
he
could
remember
was
the
angel
She
was
part
sculpture
part
fountain
Her
head
and
body
were
metal
and
her
wings
were
water
water
that
was
forced
through
holes
in
her
back
and
lit
from
beneath
so
it
looked
solid
like
glass
He
remembered
the
hiss
of
those
wings
the
lick
and
swish
of
revolving
doors
the
warble
of
phones
All
tricks
a
hypnotist
might
use
Forget
your
loss
Forget
your
grief
He
remembered
drifting
drifting
close
to
sleep
You
walk
into
that
building
Sir
Charles
said
and
you
know
you're
in
capable
hands
Clouds
of
smoke
trailed
over
his
shoulder
as
he
paced
You've
got
to
win
people's
trust
Trust
is
very
important
Without
trust
and
he
came
to
a
standstill
and
tipped
his
chin
into
the
air
the
thought
still
forming
Without
trust
Jed
said
we
wouldn't
be
standing
here
now
Sir
Charles
swung
round
Precisely
For
a
moment
he
was
rendered
motionless
by
surprise
a
kind
of
respect
But
only
for
a
moment
What
I'm
trying
to
say
to
you
is
this
is
a
hard
business
A
cut
throat
business
at
times
But
you
should
always
remember
one
thing
It's
people
that
you're
dealing
with
People
He
thrust
both
hands
in
his
pockets
and
rocked
back
on
his
heels
I'm
sixty-nine
and
I'm
still
working
Nobody
really
retires
from
this
business
It's
a
way
of
life
He
showed
Jed
to
the
door
of
the
library
Is
there
anything
I
can
do
for
you
my
boy
Not
that
I
can
think
of
Then
his
face
moved
close
to
Jed's
and
he
said
Are
you
interested
in
my
daughter
I'll
let
you
into
a
secret
Sir
Charles
Jed
said
I'm
not
interested
in
your
daughter
at
all
I'm
just
pretending
to
be
It's
your
money
I'm
really
after
Sir
Charles
stared
at
Jed
and
Jed
stared
back
he
wasn't
going
to
help
Dobson
out
with
this
one
At
last
a
smile
began
to
pull
at
the
folds
in
Sir
Charles's
face
as
if
his
cheeks
really
were
wallets
and
his
smile
was
going
through
them
looking
for
cash
then
the
smile
turned
to
laughter
it
pushed
between
his
teeth
it
was
dry
and
rhythmic
it
sounded
uncannily
like
someone
counting
a
stack
of
dollar
bills
Jed
saw
Carol
at
the
end
of
the
corridor
and
began
to
walk
towards
her
You
remember
what
I
said
Sir
Charles
called
after
him
The
next
day
Creed
asked
Jed
to
drive
him
out
to
the
Crumbles
The
Crumbles
lay
to
the
east
of
the
city
All
the
land
out
there
had
been
under
water
once
It
was
flat
for
miles
There
were
a
few
wooden
beach
huts
down
by
the
shoreline
Some
old
mine
buildings
in
the
distance
some
gravel
pits
Otherwise
just
shingle
grey
and
orange
and
a
soft
wind
tugging
at
the
heads
of
weeds
He
followed
Creed's
directions
leaving
the
road
for
an
unpaved
track
that
seemed
to
lead
towards
the
ocean
The
track
widened
and
then
vanished
Then
they
were
driving
over
rough
ground
loose
stones
popping
under
the
tyres
He
parked
close
to
where
the
land
sloped
downwards
to
a
narrow
pebble
beach
and
switched
the
engine
off
Creed
stared
out
of
the
window
his
chin
cushioned
on
one
hand
his
eyes
doubly
concealed
first
by
the
tinted
windows
of
the
car
then
by
his
sunglasses
Jed
thought
he
understood
It
was
like
Vasco
and
the
mudbanks
of
the
river
It
was
where
Creed
came
to
do
his
thinking
Where
was
Vasco
Jed
wondered
He'd
scarcely
set
eyes
on
him
since
the
night
they'd
had
dinner
together
at
the
house
in
Westwood
Nobody
had
mentioned
him
either
and
Jed
didn't
feel
he
should
ask
He
poured
himself
a
cup
of
coffee
from
his
private
flask
and
watched
the
white
gulls
lift
and
scatter
against
the
dull
grey
sky
The
glass
panel
slid
open
behind
him
I
heard
you
were
out
at
Dobson's
place
last
night
That's
right
sir
I
was
He'd
known
Creed
would
find
out
He'd
even
wanted
him
to
He
wanted
Creed
to
be
amused
impressed
even
A
chauffeur
at
the
chairman's
dinner
table!
Any
particular
reason
Carol
asked
me
Carol
His
daughter
The
receptionist
Creed
said
nothing
The
one
with
the
limp
Jed
said
I
know
the
one
Another
silence
Wind
pushed
at
the
car
Then
Creed
said
Dobson's
on
his
way
out
The
chairman
On
his
way
out
But
Creed
didn't
give
Jed
time
to
think
When
a
ship
sinks
he
said
that's
when
you
see
who
the
rats
are
What
interests
me
is
which
rats
leave
which
ship
The
glass
panel
slid
shut
One
week
later
Sir
Charles
Dobson
resigned
as
chairman
of
the
Paradise
Corporation
The
decision
had
been
taken
the
statement
said
for
personal
reasons
The
new
chairman
elected
unanimously
by
the
members
of
the
board
was
Mr
Neville
Creed
Jed
read
the
statement
three
times
while
he
was
eating
breakfast
that
morning
It
sounded
calm
and
measured
utterly
reasonable
But
he
couldn't
make
any
sense
of
it
He
saw
Dobson
standing
in
the
library
Nobody
really
retires
from
this
business
It's
a
way
of
life
He
couldn't
make
any
sense
of
it
at
all
And
then
he
saw
Creed
sitting
in
the
back
of
a
black
car
parked
on
the
Crumbles
Dobson's
on
his
way
out
Title
Archangel
Author
Gerald
Seymour
Publication
Fontana
London
C
People
back
in
London
D
the
foreign
minister
H
the
political
officer
J
Holly
K
prisoner
on
train
L
prisoner
on
train
M
consul
X
unknown
Z
the
warders
His
weapon
against
the
rusty
binding
of
the
bolt
was
a
fifty
kopeck
coin
For
more
than
an
hour
he
had
crouched
on
the
floor
bracing
himself
as
the
speed
changes
of
the
train
and
the
unevenness
of
the
track
destroyed
the
momentum
of
his
painstaking
work
With
the
milled
edge
of
the
coin
he
chipped
at
the
red-brown
crust
that
had
formed
between
the
lower
lip
of
the
cap
of
the
bolt
and
the
metal
sheet
plate
of
the
carriage
flooring
He
had
something
to
show
for
his
effort
A
tiny
pile
of
dust
debris
was
collected
beside
his
knee
and
some
had
stained
the
material
of
his
grey
trousers
Those
who
had
known
Michael
Holly
at
his
home
in
the
south-east
of
England
or
had
shared
office
and
canteen
space
with
him
at
the
factory
on
the
Kent
fringes
of
London
might
not
now
have
recognized
their
man
A
year
in
the
gaols
had
left
its
mark
The
full
flesh
of
his
cheeks
and
chin
had
been
scalped
back
to
the
bone
A
bright
confidence
at
his
eyes
had
been
replaced
by
something
harsher
Clothes
that
had
hung
well
now
fell
shapelessly
like
charity
hand-outs
A
ruddiness
in
his
face
had
given
way
to
a
pallor
that
was
unmistakably
the
work
of
the
cells
His
full
dark
hair
had
been
cropped
in
the
barber's
chair
of
the
holding
prison
to
a
brush
without
lustre
This
was
an
old
carriage
but
still
well
capable
of
performing
the
task
set
for
it
when
it
had
first
joined
the
rolling-stock
in
the
year
that
Holly
had
been
born
It
had
carried
many
on
this
journey
It
had
brought
them
in
their
hundreds
in
their
thousands
in
their
tens
of
thousands
along
this
track
It
was
a
carriage
of
the
prison
train
that
ran
twice
weekly
from
the
capital
city
to
the
interior
depths
of
the
Autonomous
Soviet
Socialist
Republic
of
Mordovia
On
the
floor
in
the
filth
and
the
watery
amber
half-light
he
scraped
at
the
bolt
that
had
felt
the
boots
and
slippers
and
sandals
of
the
prisoners
who
had
encompassed
his
life
time
Not
easy
to
prise
at
the
rim
of
the
bolt
because
this
was
a
purpose-built
carriage
No
ordinary
carriage
not
subject
to
any
hasty
conversion
to
ensure
its
usefulness
but
out
of
the
railway
factory
yards
of
Leningrad
and
designed
only
for
transporting
the
prisoners
A
walkway
for
the
guards
and
compartments
to
separate
the
convicts
into
manageable
groups
each
fitted
with
small
hatches
for
the
dropping
of
their
black
bread
rations
and
unmoveable
benches
and
shelves
for
a
few
to
sleep
on
The
carriages
had
their
name
The
Stolypin
carriage
carried
the
name
of
the
Tsarist
minister
struck
down
by
an
assassin
seventy
years
before
The
new
men
of
the
Kremlin
were
not
above
the
simplicity
of
taking
a
former
idea
and
adapting
it
to
their
needs
The
walls
the
bars
the
bolts
and
the
locks
remained
only
the
prisoners
of
the
regime
had
changed
They
had
brought
Holly
by
car
from
the
Lefortovo
gaol
to
the
train
while
Muscovites
still
slept
He
had
barely
slept
after
the
meeting
with
the
Consul
from
the
Embassy
and
the
escort
of
men
in
the
khaki
uniforms
of
the
Komitet
Gosudarstvennoi
Bezopasnosti
had
taken
him
still
drowsy
from
the
back
seat
to
the
train
at
a
far
platform
The
one
who
wore
on
his
blue
shoulder
flash
the
insignia
of
major's
rank
had
shaken
his
hand
and
grinned
a
supercilious
smile
Into
the
carriage
the
door
slammed
the
bolt
across
the
key
turned
Two
other
men
for
company
Perhaps
they
had
been
loaded
on
the
train
many
hours
before
Holly
because
they
seemed
to
him
to
be
sleeping
when
he
had
first
seen
them
in
the
darkened
carriage
He
had
not
spoken
then
they
had
not
spoken
since
A
barrier
existed
between
them
But
they
watched
him
All
through
the
morning
as
they
sat
on
the
makeshift
bunks
they
stared
without
comment
at
the
kneeling
figure
who
ground
away
at
the
rust
around
the
bolt
The
work
at
the
bolt
mindless
and
persistent
allowed
the
thoughts
of
Michael
Holly
to
flow
unfettered
The
week
before
had
stretched
the
distance
of
a
lifetime
And
the
lifetime
had
ended
in
a
death
and
death
was
the
carriage
that
rolled
shaking
and
relentless
towards
the
East
Where
to
go
back
to
where
to
find
the
birth
Months
weeks
days
how
far
to
go
back
The
coin
had
found
the
central
stem
of
the
bolt
the
rust
shell
was
dispersed
The
bolt
was
not
strong
arthritic
with
age
and
corrosion
How
far
to
go
back
Not
the
childhood
not
the
parentage
that
was
a
different
story
that
was
not
the
work
of
the
last
crowded
hours
Forget
the
origins
of
the
man
What
of
Millet
Complacent
plausible
Millet
But
neither
was
Millet
a
part
of
these
last
days
nor
was
the
journey
to
Moscow
nor
the
rendezvous
that
was
aborted
nor
the
arrest
and
the
trial
Millet
had
a
place
in
the
history
of
the
affair
but
that
place
was
not
in
its
present
not
in
its
future
Where
did
the
present
begin
Michael
Holly
now
on
his
knees
on
a
Stolypin
carriage
floor
and
unshaven
because
they
would
not
permit
him
a
razor
and
with
the
hunger
lapping
at
his
belly
had
been
a
model
prisoner
in
the
Vladimir
gaol/200
kilometres
east
of
the
capital
A
foreigner
and
housed
on
the
second
floor
of
the
hospital
block
in
the
cell
that
it
was
said
had
held
the
pilot
Gary
Powers
and
the
businessman
Greville
Wynne
Down
for
espionage
given
fifteen
years
by
the
courts
Everyone
from
the
governor
to
the
humblest
creeping
trustie
knew
that
Michael
Holly
would
serve
only
a
minimal
proportion
of
those
fifteen
years
There
was
a
man
in
England
there
would
be
an
exchange
So
they
gave
him
milk
they
gave
him
books
to
read
they
allowed
food
parcels
from
the
Embassy
They
waited
and
Michael
Holly
waited
for
the
arrangements
to
be
made
The
Political
Officer
at
Vladimir
said
that
it
would
not
be
too
long
and
the
interrogations
had
been
courteous
and
the
warders
had
been
correct
When
they
had
taken
him
from
the
hospital
block
with
his
possessions
and
spare
clothes
in
a
cloth
sack
he
had
smiled
and
shaken
hands
and
believed
that
the
flight
was
close
Berlin
he
had
thought
it
would
be
In
Lefortovo
holding
prison
he
had
learned
the
truth
across
a
bare
scrubbed
table
from
the
Consul
sent
by
the
Embassy
An
obsequious
little
man
the
Consul
had
been
crushed
by
the
message
that
he
brought
The
Consul
had
stumbled
through
his
speech
and
Holly
had
listened
It's
not
that
it's
anyone's
fault
Mr
Holly
you
mustn't
think
that
It's
just
terribly
bad
luck
it's
the
worst
luck
I've
heard
of
since
I've
been
here
that's
eight
years
It
was
all
set
up
well
you
know
that
People
had
worked
very
hard
on
this
matter
you
really
have
to
believe
that
Well
we
can't
deliver
That's
what
it's
all
about
now
A
swap
is
a
swap
one
man
to
be
exchanged
for
another
It
was
you
and
this
fellow
and
we
can't
deliver
I'm
dreadfully
sorry
Mr
Holly
it's
the
most
extraordinary
thing
but
the
chap's
dead
snuffed
it
He
had
the
best
medical
treatment
well
you'll
not
be
interested
in
that
The
bolt
shifted
Holly
strained
with
his
fingers
to
twist
the
coin
under
the
lip
of
the
bolt
The
bolt
had
moved
a
millimetre
perhaps
two
But
I
can
assure
you
that
people
back
in
London
were
really
most
upset
at
this
development
I'm
afraid
the
Soviets
are
going
to
take
rather
a
hard
line
with
you
now
Mr
Holly
There's
no
point
in
my
not
being
frank
The
Foreign
Ministry
informs
us
now
that
since
your
parents
were
both
born
Soviet
citizens
under
Soviet
law
you
are
a
Soviet
citizen
also
I
know
Mr
Holly
you
were
born
in
the
United
Kingdom
you
were
brought
up
there
you
were
in
possession
of
a
valid
British
passport
when
you
travelled
to
Moscow
The
Soviets
are
going
to
disregard
all
that
We've
had
a
hell
of
a
job
getting
this
degree
of
consular
access
I
want
you
to
know
that
We
said
they
couldn't
have
the
corpse
if
we
didn't
get
it
that's
by
the
by
but
it's
understood
by
both
sides
that
this
is
the
last
of
such
meetings
You're
being
transferred
to
the
Correctional
Labour
Colonies
but
you
won't
be
classified
as
a
foreigner
you
won't
be
in
the
foreigners
camp
They're
going
to
take
you
beyond
our
reach
Mr
Holly
you've
always
proclaimed
your
innocence
of
the
charges
and
accusations
made
against
you
From
our
side
the
Foreign
and
Commonwealth
Office
have
been
very
firm
too
You
are
innocent
as
far
as
Her
Majesty's
Government
is
concerned
We're
not
wavering
from
that
position
You
understand
that
Mr
Holly
We
deny
absolutely
that
you
were
involved
in
any
nonsensical
espionage
adventure
It's
very
important
that
we
continue
to
take
that
line
you
can
see
that
I'm
sure
Mr
Holly
the
British
government
knows
that
you
have
supported
your
parents
most
generously
during
their
retirement
Your
parents
will
not
be
abandoned
by
us
Mr
Holly
just
as
we
will
not
abandon
the
stance
that
you
were
completely
innocent
of
trumped-up
charges
You
do
understand
me
Mr
Holly
The
bolt
rose
a
centimetre
There
was
a
dribble
of
sweat
at
Holly's
forehead
Too
much
space
now
for
the
coin
to
be
useful
his
finger
could
slide
under
the
lip
The
rough
metal
edge
cut
into
his
finger
tip
An
eddy
of
chill
air
swirled
into
the
carriage
fastening
on
his
knuckles
He
heard
louder
than
before
the
dripping
clatter
of
the
wheels
on
the
rails
beneath
him
Look
Mr
Holly
I've
painted
the
picture
black
because
that's
the
only
honest
thing
to
do
We'll
keep
trying
of
course
that
goes
without
saying
but
in
the
present
climate
of
relations
there's
little
chance
of
your
situation
altering
dramatically
You'll
be
going
to
the
camps
and
you
have
to
come
to
terms
with
that
What
I'm
saying
is
well
you
have
to
learn
to
live
in
those
places
Mr
Holly
Try
and
survive
try
and
live
with
the
system
Don't
kick
it
don't
fight
it
You
can't
beat
them
I've
lived
here
long
enough
to
know
In
a
few
years
things
may
change
I
can't
promise
that
but
they
may
And
you
have
my
word
that
you
won't
be
forgotten
not
by
Whitehall
not
by
Foreign
and
Commonwealth
It's
going
to
boil
down
to
keeping
your
pecker
up
looking
on
the
best
side
of
things
You'll
do
that
won't
you
old
chap
There's
not
really
anything
more
for
me
to
say
Only
I
suppose
Good
Luck
That
was
what
the
present
had
on
offer
to
Michael
Holly
A
furtive
junior
diplomat
bowing
and
scraping
his
way
out
of
the
interview
section
of
the
Lefortovo
ogling
the
KGB
man
and
thanking
him
for
a
fifteen-minute
access
to
a
prisoner
for
whom
the
key
was
now
thrown
far
away
Forget
the
present
Holly
reckon
on
the
future
The
future
is
a
plate
of
steel
floor
covering
that
creaks
and
whistles
as
it
is
dragged
clear
of
the
supports
to
which
it
was
bolted
down
thirty
years
before
That's
the
future
Holly
A
steel
plate
above
the
stone
chippings
and
wood
sleepers
that
mark
the
track
from
Moscow
to
the
East
through
Kolomna
and
Ryazan
and
Spassk-Ryazanski
The
chippings
are
coated
in
fine
snow
and
the
cold
blusters
into
the
carriage
through
the
draught
gap
Behind
him
the
men
swore
softly
breaking
their
silence
The
train
was
not
running
fast
He
could
sense
the
strain
of
the
engine
far
to
the
front
There
was
a
dawdle
in
its
pace
and
there
had
been
times
when
it
had
halted
completely
other
times
when
it
had
slowed
to
a
crawl
The
daylight
was
fleeing
from
the
wilderness
that
he
could
not
see
but
whose
emptiness
beyond
the
shuttered
windows
he
understood
Barely
audible
above
the
new-found
noise
of
the
wheels
he
heard
the
sharp
step
of
feet
in
the
corridor
and
close
to
the
door
of
their
compartment
There
was
the
flap
of
the
food
hatch
swinging
on
its
hinge
one
door
away
from
his
Holly
pushed
the
steel
plate
down
eased
the
bolt
back
into
its
socket
with
his
toe
The
flap
of
the
door
flipped
jauntily
upward
A
sneering
face
gazed
at
the
caged
men
Three
brown
paper
bags
were
pushed
through
the
hatch
to
tumble
to
the
carriage
floor
The
flap
fell
back
The
two
men
moved
at
stoat's
speed
past
Holly
One
bag
into
the
hand
of
the
man
who
was
gross
and
white-skinned
a
second
for
the
man
with
the
beard
For
a
fleeting
moment
he
braced
himself
for
confrontation
suspecting
that
they
would
want
all
three
bags
but
they
left
him
his
They
darted
back
to
their
bunk
and
behind
him
was
the
sound
of
ripping
paper
Animals...poor
bastards
pitiful
creatures
But
then
at
Vladimir
Holly
had
been
segregated
from
the
mass
of
the
zeks
the
convicts
who
formed
the
greatest
part
of
the
prison
population
At
Vladimir
Holly
had
been
categorized
as
a
foreigner
he
had
been
on
the
second
floor
of
the
hospital
block
and
allowed
special
food
and
privileges
There
was
nothing
special
for
these
men
These
were
the
zeks
they
might
be
killers
or
thieves
or
rapists
or
parasites
or
hooligans
At
Vladimir
Holly
had
been
different
from
these
men
But
not
any
longer
The
stammered
words
of
the
Consul
flooded
back
to
him
He
was
to
be
classified
as
a
Soviet
citizen
he
was
being
sent
to
the
Correctional
Labour
Colonies
Try
and
live
with
the
system
don't
kick
it
and
don't
fight
it
you
can't
beat
them
You'll
hear
of
me
you
bastard
you'll
hear
of
Michael
Holly
Title
Jane's
Journey
Author
Jean
Bow
Publication
The
Book
Guild
Ltd
Sussex
B
Rubletsky
C
Erkki
G
headmistress
H
Hamish's
wife
J
Jane
K
Riborg
L
The
British
X
unknown
At
twelve
Jane
was
taken
to
England
to
be
educated
and
encountered
her
indelible
railway
wagon
The
school
was
large
and
famous
and
she
hated
the
institutionalised
life
but
what
to
do
If
she
ran
away
she
would
only
cause
worry
to
her
parents
and
anyway
where
could
she
run
to
on
this
island
She
was
brainy
except
for
maths
but
was
blessed
with
a
maths
mistress
of
infinite
patience
called
Miss
Walden
who
gave
her
extra
lessons
Jane
would
never
forget
her
unselfish
devotion
Jane
was
not
popular
in
order
to
be
popular
you
had
to
be
good
at
games
and
Jane
was
useless
at
all
of
them
and
they
played
everything
netball
rounders
tennis
lacrosse
hockey
even
cricket
every
afternoon
rain
or
shine
exams
or
no
exams
In
cricket
they
used
to
put
her
at
long
leg
where
the
ball
hardly
ever
penetrated
and
she
would
take
a
book
and
lie
down
to
read
in
the
long
grass
Then
on
the
rare
occasion
that
the
ball
did
come
of
course
she
missed
it
She
loved
the
country
surrounding
the
school
however
The
South
Downs
with
the
short
springy
turf
decorated
with
harebells
and
scabious
and
the
deceptively
gentle
slopes
the
horizon
constantly
moving
ahead
of
you
as
you
puffed
after
it
And
then
at
last
the
summit
with
the
cloud
shadows
scudding
across
the
huge
curved
expanse
and
a
band
of
sea
which
was
always
surprisingly
broad
and
above
the
sea
the
line
of
the
Downs
so
noble
and
so
bare
In
those
days
she
had
likened
the
climb
to
life
she
had
dared
to
hope
that
there
might
be
wonderful
things
over
the
horizon
Now
she
knew
that
there
was
probably
nothing
on
the
other
side
It
might
be
quite
bare
But
it
was
still
imperative
to
look
to
the
horizon
hopefully
or
quit
The
Sussex
coast
was
best
seen
at
a
distance
though
for
proximity
to
the
sea
causes
human
beings
to
create
great
ugliness
India
certainly
got
its
own
back
for
the
British
Raj
by
imposing
this
horrific
version
of
the
bungalow
upon
us
Still
as
Jane
belonged
nowhere
Sussex
became
the
nearest
thing
to
home
Then
suddenly
just
before
the
exams
she
became
popular
and
was
at
a
loss
to
know
why
A
kind
serene
girl
called
June
told
her
the
reason
June
was
one
of
those
characters
who
don't
develop
At
fourteen
or
forty
they
are
constant
dependable
consistently
dispensing
happiness
wherever
they
go
It's
because
you
and
Irene
are
the
cleverest
she
explained
And
they
want
you
to
come
top
But
why
asked
Jane
who
was
totally
non-competitive
Because
Irene's
Jewish
For
the
first
time
Jane
became
aware
of
anti-Semitism
and
it
horrified
her
She
remembered
her
father's
good-humoured
jokes
about
his
Jewish
friend
but
this
was
different
evil
It
made
her
want
to
escape
from
the
world
From
then
on
she
discovered
many
things
about
the
human
race
but
could
find
no
explanations
for
them
She
did
come
top
though
she
did
not
try
and
hoped
she
wouldn't
The
congratulations
sickened
her
The
headmistress
who
had
always
ridiculed
her
for
being
bad
at
games
now
referred
to
her
as
our
best
pupil
and
gave
her
a
set
of
Shakespeare
duly
inscribed
University
was
better
less
claustrophobic
more
cosmopolitan
There
were
undisciplined
Welsh
well-mannered
Iraquis
English
slobs
beautiful
Norwegians
One
of
the
Norwegian
girls
Riborg
was
the
daughter
of
a
ship
owner
but
had
attended
a
folk
high
school
along
with
children
whose
parents
were
cobblers
and
other
manual
labourers
How
much
more
civilised
Jane
thought
than
her
own
segregated
education
Riborg
approved
of
the
Iraquis
because
they
wore
clean
shirts
every
day
but
disapproved
of
the
Welsh
because
they
were
dirty
and
noisy
and
went
round
in
droves
They
have
no
dignity
and
no
manners
she
observed
severely
Once
at
school
the
girls
had
amused
themselves
by
putting
together
the
perfect
woman
and
Jane
had
been
surprised
when
they
chose
her
eyes
which
were
large
and
brown
She
had
always
hankered
to
be
tall
and
fair
like
Riborg
Riborg
showed
her
a
photograph
album
with
herself
by
a
fjord
in
a
miniscule
bikini
What
do
you
think
of
me
appearing
like
that
in
front
of
the
men
she
asked
in
her
slow
earnest
Germanic
accent
gazing
at
Jane
with
steady
blue
eyes
Then
answered
her
own
question
You
see
Norwegian
men
are
very
slow
They
need
to
drink
very
much
spirits
to
get
them
going!
Jane
had
a
fleeting
affair
with
a
tall
rangy
Scottish
lecturer
whose
main
pleasure
was
to
walk
for
miles
Sometimes
she
went
with
him
but
found
it
hard
to
keep
up
Later
she
met
his
wife
a
flirtatious
self-centred
Latvian
whom
she
was
sure
must
be
a
Gemini
She
told
Jane
laughing
Hamish
was
a
lecturer
at
Riga
University
and
we
were
all
determined
to
marry
him
to
get
out
of
Latvia
And
I
won!
It
was
because
I
sat
at
his
feet
with
my
blouse
undone
Jane
understood
then
why
Hamish
was
so
lonely
and
sad
Latvia's
loss
had
not
been
his
or
Britain's
gain
The
same
goes
for
certain
other
immigrants
such
as
newspaper
proprietors
Shortly
afterwards
Jane
went
to
a
friend's
house
in
Kensington
to
a
musical
party
where
a
famous
quartet
was
playing
and
sitting
on
the
stairs
talked
to
someone
whom
she
took
to
be
one
of
the
players
He
turned
out
to
be
a
friend
of
the
musicians
and
within
a
year
she
was
launched
on
her
disastrous
marriage
She
too
had
found
her
immigrant
In
the
difficult
job
of
getting
through
one's
life
happily
she
had
made
a
bad
start
Not
all
bad
though
It
brought
her
four
children
who
opened
up
the
world
for
her
and
unlocked
her
own
narrow
viewpoint
though
not
enough
as
events
were
to
show
And
it
introduced
her
to
Budapest
a
jewel
of
a
city
It
was
as
if
some
artistic
giant
at
the
making
of
the
world
had
arranged
it
with
the
perfect
placing
of
Buda
Hill
in
a
curve
of
the
Danube
on
an
otherwise
flat
landscape
The
spectacular
Danube!
Yet
Karl
Marx
probably
never
saw
it
He
had
picnics
on
Hampstead
Heath
And
despite
everything
the
citizens
of
Budapest
knew
how
to
live
Not
like
Londoners
rushing
home
to
their
dormitories
They
enjoyed
their
city
as
the
eighteenth-century
Londoners
must
have
done
before
the
delightful
town
houses
had
been
raped
and
turned
into
offices
In
Budapest
they
still
strolled
around
for
the
sheer
pleasure
of
it
They
played
chess
on
the
park
benches
and
on
Buda
Hill
there
was
a
mega-chessboard
with
the
men
almost
human
size
Their
humour
did
not
consist
of
mere
jokes
though
they
could
make
those
too
but
in
their
whole
attitude
to
life
as
the
violin
runs
through
the
Benedictus
of
the
Missa
Solemnis
like
a
golden
thread
from
which
all
else
rises
and
falls
an
unforced
humour
which
has
known
tragedy
and
learnt
to
surmount
it
Jane
saw
it
in
the
smallest
things
all
impossible
in
self-conscious
Britain
At
dinner
in
the
garden
one
evening
for
instance
two
perfectly
ordinary
businessmen
suddenly
burst
into
a
Verdi
duet
Her
host
Laszlo
an
ex-accountant
used
to
take
action
directe
by
tossing
down
the
remains
from
his
dinner
plate
of
fish
to
the
cats
waiting
beneath
the
balcony
Another
day
there
was
an
impromptu
competition
between
Laszlo
his
wife
and
mother
to
see
who
could
crack
most
eggs
between
their
knees
an
extraordinarily
difficult
feat
to
achieve
Laszlo
was
indominately
trying
to
learn
English
and
when
Jane
saw
him
again
ten
years
later
he
had
still
not
progressed
beyond
the
first
book
now
old
and
tattered
Then
there
was
Rubletsky
an
old
friend
of
the
family
a
true
Bohemian
of
the
old
school
and
still
at
eighty
with
as
sure
a
touch
in
his
sculpture
and
drawings
as
ever
Titian
had
He
was
the
complete
unashamed
opportunist
with
immense
charm
and
took
nothing
seriously
except
his
art
He
completely
changed
when
he
was
working
When
at
play
Jane
watched
him
with
delight
as
he
rolled
about
on
the
floor
with
mirth
at
the
English
W
Despite
an
indigestible
plethora
of
consonants
in
the
Hungarian
language
they
have
no
W
Zee
shop
how
you
call
eet
Woll
wort!
He
shrieked
with
uncontrollable
glee
He
was
a
spare
aquiline
man
who
had
once
been
court
sculptor
and
perhaps
unofficial
jester!
to
a
mythical-sounding
King
Zog
Nevertheless
the
Communist
government
had
awarded
him
a
life
pension
so
he
had
no
worries
In
the
summer
he
lived
in
a
little
house
surrounded
by
sunflowers
higher
than
it
was
beside
a
village
with
a
pale
blue
pump
in
the
centre
with
geese
marching
around
pigeons
gurgling
they
have
a
different
accent
on
the
Continent
and
people
sitting
on
walls
gossiping
in
the
evening
Coming
back
to
England
from
one
of
these
school-holiday
visits
to
Hungary
Jane
was
more
than
ever
struck
by
the
contrast
Was
this
the
land
of
Shakespeare
with
his
spontaneous
carnival
of
images
What
had
gone
wrong
and
when
With
all
their
virtues
and
even
perhaps
especially
when
they
were
trying
to
enjoy
themselves
they
were
stiff
awkward
and
apologetic
At
New
Year
compare
the
joyous
skating
in
Moscow
the
balletic
conducting
of
Carlos
Kleiber
in
Vienna
whose
grace
shone
through
his
shapeless
suit!
with
the
Trafalgar
Square
mob!
Britain
had
no
style
though
it
once
had
Who
had
killed
it
Had
it
been
Cromwell
Perhaps
The
Restoration
lacked
the
spontaneity
of
the
Elizabethan
age
But
no
she
was
sure
it
was
Queen
Victoria
personally
who
had
spread
this
grey
fog
over
Britain
from
which
we've
never
recovered
Great
Victorians
like
Trollope
and
the
Pre-Raphaelites
had
been
fully
aware
of
what
was
happening
Perhaps
Jane
mused
we
should
never
get
over
it
The
despair
in
the
air
was
particularly
dense
at
the
present
time
though
its
monetarist
perpetrators
were
now
fighting
a
rearguard
action
against
the
rest
of
Europe
But
hopelessness
like
the
class
system
had
now
become
so
ingrained
in
the
soul
she
feared
that
it
could
be
removed
neither
by
stimuli
nor
legislation
The
English
character
puzzled
her
so
must
totally
confuse
foreigners
You
never
know
what
the
English
are
thinking
because
they're
always
so
polite
Riborg
had
told
her
You
don't
say
no
but
I
will
if
I
can
But
tiny
Britain
uniquely
among
countries
is
many
nations
We
have
to
watch
television
to
see
how
the
others
live
And
the
weather
from
one
part
of
this
diminutive
island
to
another
is
as
varied
as
the
people
There
are
some
general
characteristics
however
We
are
docile
and
lethargic
and
much
easier
to
govern
than
the
French
We
let
off
steam
in
graffiti
vandalism
and
football
hooliganism
Again
unlike
the
French
we
are
guilt-ridden
That's
why
we
say
sorry
so
often
And
we
do
not
take
ourselves
seriously
like
the
French
we
can
demolish
everything
with
our
humour
We've
got
a
wider
lunatic
fringe
than
other
nations
We're
an
odd
mixture
of
tolerance
and
prejudice
of
the
apologetic
and
the
arrogant
Nobody
understands
us
we
don't
even
understand
ourselves
But
we
are
fascinated
by
ourselves
which
is
why
Jane's
thoughts
rabbited
on
so
long
about
her
country
After
the
glimpse
of
Scandinavia
through
Riborg
and
later
the
experience
of
Hungary
Jane
was
so
far
carried
away
by
her
enthusiasm
for
classless
freedom
the
beauty
of
northern
landscapes
plus
the
humorous
awareness
of
the
central
European
people
that
when
a
Finn
crossed
her
path
she
was
fair
game
A
Finn
represented
the
fusion
of
Scandinavia
and
Hungary
to
which
country
they
were
first
cousins
so
no
doubt
she
expected
too
much
of
Erkki
Anyway
he
looked
like
an
ageing
Nordic
god
He
invited
her
to
lunch
at
his
club
for
international
journalists
in
Carlton
House
Terrace
They
went
to
hear
the
Sibelius
Violin
Concerto
superlatively
played
by
Isaac
Stern
But
then
slowly
unwillingly
she
had
to
admit
that
he
was
cold
and
conventional
and
his
lovemaking
was
nasty
brutish
and
short
A
sheep
in
wolf's
clothing
A
timid
pathetic
creature
disguised
by
a
big
manly
body
Outers
can
be
so
misleading!
The
vistas
of
fir
forests
islands
and
lakes
disintegrated
into
an
outer
London
suburb
and
a
mundane
wife
called
Letitia
She
was
he
said
bad-tempered
a
snob
and
he
seemed
afraid
of
her
she
had
obviously
married
him!
Perhaps
because
of
fear
his
latest
book
a
life
of
Nelson
bore
the
placating
dedication
To
Letitia
in
gratitude
for
her
sweet
company
Sanctimonious
fool!
So
they
kissed
for
what
Jane
knew
would
be
the
last
time
in
Belgrave
Square
Goodbye
to
another
dream
that
had
died
She
felt
angry
with
herself
for
getting
carried
away
by
the
ideas
in
her
head
for
turning
her
back
on
reality
She
deserved
to
pay
the
price
All
the
same
she
could
not
bear
to
listen
to
the
Sibelius
concerto
for
some
time
afterwards
True
they
had
not
suited
each
other
but
supposing
the
chemistry
had
been
right
should
such
a
relationship
have
been
ruined
by
the
wretched
man-made
social
system
There
is
nothing
a
woman
wants
so
much
as
to
be
in
love
and
the
odds
are
very
much
against
two
right
people
ever
finding
each
other
The
whole
of
human
life
is
a
matter
of
chance
and
we
only
live
once!
Jane
knew
from
bitter
experience
that
love
is
a
rare
thing
so
she
felt
very
strongly
that
nothing
should
be
allowed
to
come
in
its
way
that
nobody
should
be
condemned
to
endure
the
rest
of
life
with
those
two
small
sad
words
if
only
Jane
had
played
her
cards
and
played
them
wrong
She
had
married
too
soon
and
was
married
too
long
She
was
resigned
never
to
meet
the
right
man
She
had
to
let
imagination
take
over
Her
namesake
Jane
Austen
she
supposed
had
found
the
same
so
she
invented
Darcy
and
Mr
Knightley
The
same
went
for
the
Bront
s
Charlotte's
late
marriage
being
irrelevant
so
in
a
perfect
world
we
should
certainly
have
been
deprived
of
these
characters
Five-year-old
Peach
could
remember
when
she
was
very
small
looking
up
to
Lais's
great
height
trying
to
catch
her
sister's
impatient
glance
and
sliding
her
small
hand
into
Lais's
cool
one
always
wanting
to
be
with
her
to
go
where
Lais
was
Now
that
she
was
older
she
was
allowed
to
sit
on
the
white
carpet
in
Lais's
room
waiting
while
her
sister
prepared
for
some
evening
out
She
would
hold
the
beautiful
earrings
for
her
or
slide
sparkling
rings
on
to
Lais's
white
fingers
touching
the
long
lacquered
nails
wonderingly
her
mouth
copying
Lais's
pout
as
she
applied
the
lovely
shiny
red
lipstick
Amelie
fell
and
broke
her
hip
just
two
days
before
they
were
due
to
sail
on
the
liner
for
France
Lais
was
furious
at
the
thought
of
forfeiting
the
trip
it
was
to
be
her
first
visit
to
Paris
since
she
had
been
brought
home
by
Leonie
five
years
ago
in
disgrace
Peach
had
heard
whispered
though
she
didn't
understand
why
But
it
was
not
Lais's
anger
that
caused
their
parents
to
relent
and
allow
them
to
go
alone
it
was
Leonie's
disappointment
Very
well
Gerard
said
sternly
to
Lais
while
Peach
hovered
anxiously
in
the
background
But
you
will
be
in
charge
of
your
little
sister
We
are
trusting
Peach
to
your
care
on
this
trip
Don't
worry
Gerard
Lais
called
dancing
her
way
from
the
room
Peach
will
be
just
fine
I'll
take
good
care
of
her
Peach
dashed
excitedly
along
to
the
nursery
flinging
aside
the
stuffed
animals
her
teddy
the
Raggedy
Ann
doll
and
the
friendly
little
dog
on
wheels
desperately
trying
to
find
it
At
last!
There
it
was
banished
to
the
back
of
the
toy
cupboard
by
Amelie
angry
with
Lais
for
buying
something
so
totally
unsuitable
It
was
still
in
its
elegant
burgundy
box
and
Peach
ran
an
admiring
finger
over
the
raised
gold
letters
Cartier
Lifting
the
lid
she
flung
aside
the
protective
layers
of
tissue-paper
It
was
a
beautiful
grown-up
dressing
case
fashioned
from
smooth
burgundy
leather
with
a
tiny
little
gold
lock
and
key
at
the
front
and
on
top
her
initials
M.I.L
de
C
and
then
beneath
that
in
gold
Peach
Smiling
she
turned
the
tiny
key
and
peered
inside
The
deep
claret
suede
felt
soft
to
her
small
exploring
fingers
There
were
little
compartments
meant
for
trinkets
and
jewels
crystal
jars
with
enamelled
lids
for
potions
and
powders
and
the
prettiest
gold
and
enamel
hairbrush
and
comb
It
was
Lais's
christening
gift
to
her
and
Peach
sat
back
on
her
heels
with
a
sigh
of
satisfaction
The
little
case
was
exactly
what
she
would
need
for
travelling
with
Lais
Papa
took
them
to
New
York
The
pier
was
abustle
with
voyagers
and
well-wishers
and
friends
A
band
played
merrily
and
to
Peach
the
waiting
liner
looked
as
big
as
their
hotel
in
Florida
Papa
carried
Peach
up
the
gangplank
and
Peach
carried
her
precious
case
Their
staterooms
were
filled
with
flowers
and
she
ran
around
excitedly
wondering
how
this
could
possibly
be
a
boat
when
it
looked
just
like
a
proper
room
while
Gerard
talked
quietly
with
Lais
looking
very
serious
And
then
there
was
a
flurry
of
kisses
and
goodbyes
and
they
were
waving
to
Papa
on
the
pier
and
throwing
coloured
streamers
while
the
band
played
far
too
loudly
and
quite
suddenly
she
wanted
to
cry
Oh
no
you
don't
Lais
said
firmly
no
crying
when
you're
with
me
So
Peach
swallowed
hard
and
licked
away
the
solitary
tear
that
had
crept
to
the
corner
of
her
mouth
The
first
night
at
sea
Lais
dressed
her
in
her
prettiest
dress
white
organdy
with
a
red
satin
sash
and
little
red
slippers
and
then
she
had
to
sit
still
so
as
not
to
get
creased
while
Lais
designed
her
face
for
the
evening
Lais's
dress
was
as
scarlet
as
Peach's
sash
a
slender
column
that
foamed
around
her
ankles
like
the
wake
left
by
the
liner
At
dinner
they
sat
at
a
table
with
other
people
and
a
big
man
with
a
lot
of
gold
braid
on
his
smart
jacket
who
smiled
at
Peach
a
lot
and
told
her
how
pretty
she
looked
Afterwards
they
went
dancing
and
Peach
sat
on
a
big
gilt
chair
clutching
Lais's
tiny
satin
purse
to
her
chest
so
that
it
wouldn't
get
lost
because
Lais
had
told
her
to
look
after
it
After
a
while
she
began
to
yawn
Her
eyelids
drooped
from
the
smoke
and
fatigue
It
was
so
noisy
and
she
couldn't
see
Lais
anywhere
Fatherly
men
patted
her
head
admiringly
and
older
ladies
frowned
at
the
sight
of
her
Surely
the
child
should
be
in
bed
they
murmured
Whoever
is
her
mother
She's
not
my
mother
Peach
replied
sleepily
she's
my
sister
Lais
Disgraceful
they
complained
keeping
a
child
up
like
that
Lais
returned
and
hauled
her
off
to
bed
angrily
Stupid
busy-bodies
she
muttered
as
she
dragged
Peach
along
endless
corridors
lurching
as
the
boat
swung
under
their
feet
you
didn't
want
to
go
to
bed
did
you
No
Oh
no
replied
Peach
trying
to
keep
up
with
Lais's
long
stride
All
she
wanted
was
to
be
with
Lais
Lais
unlocked
the
cabin
door
and
pushed
her
inside
Come
on
then
into
bed
with
you
She
pulled
off
Peach's
pretty
white
dress
hurriedly
Peach
sat
on
the
edge
of
her
bed
sliding
off
the
little
red
slippers
What
about
my
teeth
she
asked
thinking
of
her
mother
In
the
morning
called
Lais
already
at
the
door
But
Lais
Where
are
you
going
Peach
sat
up
in
bed
anxiously
She
still
wore
her
vest
and
knickers
and
her
socks
There
was
no
sign
of
her
nightie
or
a
drink
of
milk
or
anything
And
where
was
Teddy
Lais
hesitated
then
hurried
back
across
the
room
and
hauled
the
teddy
bear
from
beneath
a
pile
of
clothes
There
she
said
Now
go
to
sleep
Peach
relaxed
under
the
covers
Yes
she
murmured
yawning
But
Lais
Where
are
you
going
Dancing
said
Lais
closing
the
door
Lais
danced
her
way
across
the
Atlantic
Ocean
sleeping
during
the
day
Peach
was
placed
in
the
nursery
with
other
children
and
had
a
lot
of
fun
there
with
the
nannies
and
the
toys
and
games
But
she
was
lonely
and
she
missed
her
mother
and
Lais
Each
night
she
sat
and
watched
Lais
prepare
for
her
evening
but
now
she
had
early
supper
with
other
children
and
was
tucked
up
in
bed
before
Lais
left
for
dinner
The
rhythm
of
the
boat
was
soothing
a
sort
of
low
wallow
and
roll
that
lulled
her
to
sleep
like
a
rocking
chair
and
only
occasionally
did
she
wake
when
Lais
came
in
sometimes
thinking
she
heard
laughter
and
voices
from
the
next
room
In
Paris
they
went
straight
to
the
de
Courmont
town
house
on
the
Ile
St
Louis
Peach
felt
a
little
awed
by
its
grand
rooms
and
suspicious
of
those
fat
babies
that
Lais
called
cherubs
peeking
down
at
her
from
the
ceilings
She
was
allowed
into
the
kitchens
to
have
milk
and
a
chunk
of
bread
with
chocolate
pain
chocolat
something
Maman
would
never
have
permitted
had
she
been
there
One
night
she
awoke
with
a
pain
in
her
stomach
She
didn't
know
how
late
it
was
but
she
climbed
out
of
bed
and
went
in
search
of
Lais
She
hurried
along
the
corridor
relieved
to
see
that
there
was
a
chink
of
light
beneath
Lais's
door
Opening
it
she
gazed
puzzled
at
the
two
people
there
She
didn't
recognize
Lais
at
first
because
she
was
sort
of
buried
beneath
the
man
They
looked
so
cosy
she
thought
enviously
with
their
arms
around
each
other
but
she
still
wondered
why
didn't
they
have
their
night
clothes
on
My
God
Peach!
Lais
leapt
from
the
bed
wrapping
the
sheet
around
her
What
the
hell
are
you
doing
here
You
shouldn't
say
that
word
said
Peach
disapprovingly
The
man
started
to
laugh
and
Lais
glared
at
him
angrily
grabbing
Peach's
hand
and
marching
her
from
the
room
She
gave
Peach
a
glass
of
water
with
a
hand
that
shook
Promise
she
said
that
you'll
never
tell
anyone
Anyone
at
all
Especially
Maman
and
Gerard
Peach
promised
though
she
did
wonder
why
it
should
be
such
a
secret
The
very
next
day
they
travelled
down
to
St
Jean
Cap
Ferrat
and
it
was
wonderful
to
see
Grand-m
re
She
looked
so
much
like
Maman
and
that
was
comforting
because
she
did
miss
Maman
so
And
there
was
Jim
who
made
her
laugh
and
played
games
of
hide-and-seek
with
her
and
helped
her
with
her
swimming
and
took
her
fishing
And
Leonore
her
other
sister
who
looked
like
Lais
but
was
different
Of
course
she
loved
Leonore
too
but
not
quite
like
Lais
After
a
while
Peach
began
to
notice
strange
things
People
would
break
off
their
conversations
when
she
came
into
the
room
they'd
put
on
that
special
sort
of
bright
face
that
grown-ups
use
when
they
want
to
amuse
the
children
but
their
eyes
weren't
smiling
the
way
they
used
to
And
when
they
thought
she
wasn't
around
their
faces
were
long
and
serious
War
they
said
it's
war
after
all
Peach
stared
at
the
disbelief
mirrored
in
their
faces
sensing
the
fear
that
lay
behind
the
unknown
word
Suddenly
there
was
a
flurry
of
activity
their
bags
were
packed
hurriedly
and
they
were
to
leave
that
very
day
Jim
had
managed
to
get
them
berths
on
a
ship
One
of
the
last
Peach
heard
him
telling
Lais
there's
no
time
left
You
must
leave
now
Peach
rubbed
her
aching
head
tiredly
Please
can't
I
stay
she
begged
clinging
to
Jim's
hand
Don't
you
and
Grand-m
re
want
me
any
more
Jim
swung
her
up
in
his
arms
We
want
you
he
smiled
but
so
do
your
maman
and
papa
We'll
see
you
again
soon
little
Peach
and
anyway
I'm
driving
you
to
Marseilles
so
it's
not
quite
goodbye
yet
On
the
journey
Peach
slept
at
first
but
they
seemed
to
be
stopping
and
starting
all
the
time
and
the
car
was
stuffy
She
peered
out
of
the
windows
and
noticed
that
everyone
else
seemed
to
be
driving
the
same
way
west
towards
Spain
Please
she
begged
can't
we
go
back
My
eyes
hurt
and
my
head
Stretch
out
on
the
seat
and
try
to
sleep
darling
commanded
Lais
sitting
in
the
front
with
Jim
this
looks
like
being
a
long
drive
But
Lais
my
head
really
hurts
Peach
leaned
forward
threading
her
arms
around
her
sister's
neck
and
resting
her
aching
head
against
Lais's
cool
cheek
Lais
took
Peach's
hand
in
hers
Jim
she
said
in
a
small
voice
I
think
we're
in
trouble
Jim
tore
his
anxious
gaze
from
the
road
and
their
glances
met
She's
burning
with
fever
Lais
said
quietly
Lais
held
her
in
her
arms
all
the
way
back
to
the
villa
Leonie
hurried
to
greet
them
surprised
and
dismayed
by
their
return
She
swept
Peach
off
and
plunged
her
into
a
bath
of
cool
water
gradually
adding
ice
until
the
coolness
penetrated
Peach's
very
bones
Then
the
doctor
arrived
and
examined
her
gravely
Lais
laughed
when
he
said
it
was
measles
a
severe
case
I
always
thought
measles
were
simple
she
said
Trust
Peach
to
exaggerate
them
We'll
get
the
next
boat
Jim
said
wearily
Peach
grew
worse
Her
head
felt
as
though
it
would
burst
and
her
legs
hurt
Then
her
chest
began
to
feel
as
though
it
were
crushing
her
Papa
she
cried
twisting
her
head
from
side
to
side
to
try
to
rid
herself
of
the
pain
searching
in
vain
for
a
cool
spot
on
the
pillows
that
were
soon
soaked
with
her
sweat
Papa
It's
not
measles
its
poliomyelitis
said
Doctor
Marnaux
at
the
hospital
in
Nice
a
rare
disease
that
affects
mainly
children
and
young
people
She
will
be
put
on
a
respirator
to
help
her
breathe
but
Madame
and
Monsieur
his
large
brown
eyes
faced
them
sadly
I'm
afraid
I
cannot
offer
much
hope
Lais
hurled
herself
at
the
doctor
What
do
you
mean
she
cried
Are
you
saying
my
sister
is
going
to
die
Gripping
the
lapels
of
his
starched
white
coat
fiercely
she
looked
ready
to
kill
him
Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle
please
he
tried
futilely
to
remove
her
I
cannot
say
It
is
a
disease
of
which
we
have
little
knowledge
We
can
only
hope
Lais's
hands
dropped
limply
to
her
sides
and
the
doctor
smoothed
his
ruffled
coat
nervously
I
will
do
my
best
for
her
of
course
We
all
will
Doctor
Marnaux
said
Leonie
in
a
high
clear
voice
My
granddaughter
will
not
die
You
understand
Monsieur
She
will
not
die
Doctor
Marnaux
eyed
the
frantic
young
woman
and
the
quietly
desperate
older
one
nervously
Of
course
not
Madame
he
replied
soothingly
of
course
not
I
will
stay
with
her
said
Leonie
walking
to
the
severe
white
door
behind
which
her
granddaughter
lay
The
doctor
glanced
at
Jim
and
shrugged
helplessly
As
she
wishes
Monsieur
he
murmured
We
have
done
all
we
can
All
transatlantic
telephone
lines
were
occupied
and
calls
were
already
being
censored
or
curtailed
It
took
Jim
two
days
and
considerable
influence
to
reach
Gerard
in
Miami
I'm
leaving
right
away
said
Gerard
his
voice
tense
across
the
crackle
and
woosh
of
the
line
Things
are
already
difficult
here
warned
Jim
Remember
once
you
are
here
as
a
French
citizen
you
may
find
it
impossible
to
leave
Even
if
Peach
were
not
so
ill
replied
Gerard
I
would
return
to
do
what
I
can
for
my
country
Gerard
had
only
ever
taken
a
nominal
interest
in
the
de
Courmont
business
empire
built
by
his
father
preferring
to
leave
the
running
of
Monsieur's
vast
automobile
plants
and
their
peripheral
companies
the
monumental
iron
and
steel
works
the
rolling
mills
and
the
factories
at
Valenciennes
that
had
produced
guns
and
weapons
for
other
wars
to
the
capable
management
of
governing
boards
And
even
the
fact
that
the
empire
was
now
in
jeopardy
with
the
country
at
war
came
a
far
second
in
his
priorities
to
the
fact
that
his
beloved
little
Peach
was
desperately
ill
Title
The
Raven
on
the
Water
Author
Andrew
Taylor
Publication
Harper
Collins
London
J
Lucasta
K
John
L
Mr
Coleby
M
author
of
letter
O
the
doctor
Z
Hubert
Molland
She
knew
what
she
wanted
to
do
was
wrong
Not
really
wrong
Not
a
sin
Not
the
sort
of
thing
she
would
have
to
confess
to
Father
Molland
at
St
Clement's
on
Wednesday
afternoon
After
Mr
Coleby's
visit
she
needed
the
relief
it
would
give
her
John
had
asked
her
not
to
go
up
to
the
loft
But
he
hadn't
forbidden
her
Please
Lucasta
he'd
said
Just
for
me
I'm
not
an
invalid
Yes
I
know
dearest
But
it's
a
heavy
ladder
and
you'd
have
to
lug
it
all
the
way
upstairs
I'd
be
very
careful
You
might
slip
off
the
stepladder
Lifting
the
hatch
is
rather
tricky
even
for
me
He
ran
his
finger
down
the
nape
of
her
neck
And
then
you'd
have
to
haul
yourself
into
the
loft
Once
you
get
there
it's
a
minefield
It
hasn't
even
got
a
proper
floor
You
could
trap
a
foot
between
the
joists
or
something
But
it's
such
a
mess
she
said
I'd
like
to
sort
things
out
before
baby
arrives
He
knelt
down
beside
her
chair
His
face
was
only
inches
away
from
hers
His
concern
warmed
her
The
nesting
instinct
he
said
But
seriously
if
you
had
an
accident
when
I
was
at
school
you
might
lie
there
for
hours
It's
not
as
if
people
are
popping
in
and
out
of
the
house
all
day
No
this
was
their
home
they
didn't
want
strangers
to
disturb
them
at/29
Champney
Road
That
was
the
way
it
would
always
be
For
ever
and
ever
Amen
All
right
dear
John
didn't
like
her
going
up
to
the
loft
especially
when
he
was
out
of
the
house
She
would
never
disobey
him
she
had
promised
But
he
hadn't
actually
made
it
an
order
In
any
case
when
they
had
talked
about
it
the
circumstances
had
been
different
At
the
time
she
had
had
Peter
in
her
tummy
and
a
fall
could
have
had
serious
consequences
for
both
herself
and
the
unborn
baby
John
was
very
late
this
evening
It
had
been
dark
for
hours
In
termtime
he
worked
all
the
hours
God
gave
The
school
didn't
appreciate
his
dedication
She
wished
he
would
come
home
She
wished
he
had
been
here
when
that
unpleasant
Mr
Coleby
had
called
Dealing
with
people
like
Mr
Coleby
was
a
man's
job
John
would
have
known
exactly
what
to
say
to
him
Mr
Coleby
was
clever
He
always
came
when
John
was
at
school
She
had
been
expecting
Hubert
Molland
with
the
parish
magazine
which
was
why
she
had
answered
the
door
Mr
Coleby
was
standing
right
on
the
step
His
big
brown
car
was
parked
beneath
the
streetlamp
on
the
road
As
she
opened
the
door
he
leaned
forwards
She
stepped
back
Too
late
she
realized
her
mistake
He
was
in
the
house
Flecks
of
rain
sparkled
on
the
shoulders
of
his
navy-blue
overcoat
Mr
Coleby
had
a
loud
Fen
voice
with
broad
vowels
that
grated
on
her
ears
She
was
afraid
that
he
would
wake
Peter
if
she
talked
to
him
in
the
hall
She
retreated
to
the
sitting
room
He
followed
He
was
a
big
man
with
a
square
red
face
The
room
was
small
and
so
was
she
Mr
Coleby
was
out
of
scale
He
took
up
too
much
space
like
a
baby
cuckoo
in
someone
else's
nest
Well
Mrs
Redburn
he
said
I
wondered
if
you'd
reconsidered
your
position
She
shook
her
head
She
sat
down
to
conceal
the
fact
that
she
was
trembling
Mr
Coleby
sighed
It
would
be
nice
to
get
something
settled
by
Christmas
Lucasta
stared
at
the
pile
of
library
books
on
the
table
There's
nothing
to
settle
Now
be
reasonable
Your
reasons
she
said
Not
mine
You
won't
get
a
better
offer
Sorry
Not
interested
He
moved
to
the
bay
window
parted
the
curtains
and
looked
out
on
Champney
Road
It's
a
funny
area
isn't
it
he
said
I
reckon
you'd
be
happier
somewhere
like
Locksley
Gardens
or
Ivanhoe
Drive
I'm
quite
happy
here
thank
you
Lucasta
said
However
she
understood
what
he
meant
Hubert
Molland
had
said
as
much
the
other
day
Champney
Road
was
on
the
east
side
of
Plumford
Here
were
the
factories
the
council
estates
and
just
a
few
yards
beyond
the
Redburns
back
garden
the
railway
Most
of
John's
colleagues
lived
to
the
west
of
the
town
centre
in
a
suburb
where
the
professional
classes
clustered
in
a
grid
of
tree-lined
streets
with
names
taken
from
the
works
of
Sir
Walter
Scott
Not
much
of
a
house
either
Don't
you
find
it
dark
A
bit
depressing
Needs
a
lot
of
work
done
to
it
Anyone
can
see
that
She
shrugged
Money
was
tight
especially
since
Peter's
arrival
She
didn't
think
the
house
was
dark
True
it
faced
north
but
you
got
used
to
that
Number
was
their
home
You're
quite
isolated
too
Not
even
a
telephone
Mr
Coleby
peered
into
the
darkness
on
either
side
of
the
streetlamp
Big
hedge
in
front
needs
a
trim
that
does
A
blank
wall
the
height
of
a
house
on
your
right
Can't
say
I'd
like
to
live
next
to
a
bakery
And
on
the
other
side
you've
got
all
those
trees
on
the
strip
of
wasteland
My
wasteland
now
You
must
find
it
quite
worrying
He
turned
slowly
and
stared
at
her
Seeing
as
you're
on
your
own
for
so
much
of
the
time
The
little
room
filled
with
menace
It
hung
like
a
haze
and
obscured
the
outlines
of
the
furniture
Mr
Coleby
was
a
huge
shadow
His
face
dissolved
Only
his
eyes
were
as
crisply
defined
as
before
cold
clear
and
blue
If
only
John
were
here
Lucasta
touched
her
breast
It
was
full
of
milk
The
knowledge
steadied
her
Peter
was
still
feeding
from
her
and
would
continue
to
do
so
for
months
She
had
to
be
strong
The
haze
cleared
I'm
afraid
you're
wasting
your
time
Mr
Coleby
Am
I
He
raised
his
eyebrows
Why
don't
you
have
another
little
think
about
it
It's
a
big
decision
I
know
that
You've
got
to
look
at
all
the
angles
The
decision's
already
Like
for
example
what
happens
if
you
have
an
accident
when
you're
alone
in
the
house
Or
if
there's
a
fire
in
the
night
Or
if
some
of
the
local
yobbos
come
round
in
search
of
beer
money
or
a
bit
of
fun
Deliver
me
from
evil
she
thought
For
Thine
is
the
kingdom
the
power
and
the
glory
You're
threatening
me
Me
He
chuckled
That's
a
good
one
Just
trying
to
help
Mrs
Redburn
that's
all
You
know
me
Anyway
I
mustn't
keep
you
Don't
bother
I
can
find
my
own
way
out
I'll
be
in
touch
Mr
Coleby's
footsteps
echoed
in
the
uncarpeted
hall
She
hoped
that
they
wouldn't
wake
Peter
She
heard
him
open
and
close
the
front
door
The
latch
on
the
front
gate
clicked
She
went
to
the
window
A
moment
later
the
big
brown
car
pulled
away
from
the
kerb
Lucasta
went
into
the
hall
She
was
tempted
to
bolt
the
door
But
if
she
did
that
John
wouldn't
be
able
to
let
himself
in
with
his
key
She
never
used
the
bolts
when
John
was
out
Hurry
home
John
She
listened
at
the
bottom
of
the
stairs
All
was
quiet
which
was
a
blessing
Peter
had
only
just
begun
to
go
through
the
night
without
demanding
a
feed
Unbroken
nights
were
such
a
luxury
In
the
evenings
she
and
John
had
time
to
be
together
Gradually
the
trembling
stopped
She
tiptoed
upstairs
and
listened
outside
the
door
of
Peter's
room
She
didn't
dare
go
in
he
was
such
a
light
sleeper
and
he
seemed
to
know
by
instinct
when
his
mother
was
in
the
same
room
She
glanced
upwards
at
the
hatch
that
led
to
the
loft
The
temptation
was
so
strong
it
made
her
feel
breathless
John
wouldn't
mind
if
she
went
into
the
loft
He
would
understand
She
would
tell
him
about
Mr
Coleby's
visit
and
her
going
to
the
loft
as
soon
as
he
came
in
She
crept
downstairs
through
the
kitchen
and
out
into
the
little
back
garden
It
was
much
darker
on
this
side
of
the
house
Behind
the
garden
were
several
acres
of
rough
pasture
which
Mr
Coleby
had
bought
at
the
same
time
as
he
bought
the
strip
of
wasteland
that
linked
the
pasture
to
Champney
Road
The
railway
ran
in
a
cutting
along
the
far
boundary
of
the
fields
You
couldn't
see
the
trains
but
you
could
hear
them
The
stepladder
was
strapped
to
the
outside
wall
beneath
the
kitchen
window
John
had
built
a
little
shelter
for
it
he
was
so
clever
with
his
hands
She
undid
the
straps
and
carried
the
ladder
into
the
house
Mindful
of
what
John
had
said
she
stopped
to
rest
once
in
the
hall
twice
on
the
stairs
and
once
on
the
landing
She
set
up
the
ladder
beneath
the
hatch
Practice
had
made
perfect
she
hardly
made
a
sound
Peter
slept
on
Rung
by
rung
she
crept
up
the
ladder
Two-thirds
of
the
way
up
she
paused
to
get
her
breath
back
before
lifting
the
heavy
hatch
and
sliding
it
away
from
the
opening
A
shower
of
gritty
dust
pattered
on
her
face
Try
as
she
might
it
was
impossible
to
keep
the
loft
as
clean
as
she
would
have
liked
She
climbed
higher
and
at
last
managed
the
difficult
transition
from
the
top
of
the
ladder
to
the
edge
of
the
hatch
frame
She
glanced
down
at
the
landing
and
the
dizziness
swept
up
to
meet
her
Serves
you
right
my
girl
she
whispered
You
know
you've
got
no
head
for
heights
Lucasta
reached
through
the
darkness
for
the
light
switch
The
loft
sprang
to
life
She
sighed
with
relief
The
loft
ran
the
length
of
the
house
from
front
to
back
and
it
was
lit
by
two
unshaded
forty-watt
bulbs
Down
the
centre
was
a
narrow
gangway
she
had
placed
boards
across
the
joists
to
make
movement
easier
On
either
side
of
the
gangway
were
neat
piles
of
trunks
cases
cardboard
boxes
and
tea
chests
even
a
bed
propped
on
its
side
and
wrapped
in
polythene
Everything
was
as
she
had
left
it
Everything
was
in
apple-pie
order
For
a
moment
she
stood
listening
Peter
was
still
asleep
She
walked
slowly
down
the
gangway
her
eyes
lingering
on
the
treasures
she
passed
She
paused
twice
First
she
lifted
the
lid
of
a
trunk
plastered
with
the
labels
of
railway
companies
The
smell
of
mothballs
rose
to
greet
her
She
stroked
the
lapel
of
one
of
John's
old
suits
a
Prince
of
Wales
check
that
he
had
bought
before
they
even
met
She
shut
the
trunk
and
moved
on
to
a
large
cardboard
box
She
eased
off
the
lid
Inside
buried
in
acid-free
tissue
paper
was
her
wedding
dress
She
closed
her
eyes
and
let
her
fingers
burrow
through
the
tissue
paper
until
she
felt
the
lace
of
the
collar
One
day
God
willing
she
and
John
might
have
a
daughter
one
day
their
daughter
would
want
to
get
married
Carefully
she
replaced
the
tissue
paper
and
the
lid
of
the
box
Her
excitement
grew
steadily
higher
On
the
left
near
the
end
of
the
gangway
was
a
blue
suitcase
resting
on
top
of
a
tea
chest
John
kept
the
photographs
here
Before
their
marriage
he
had
made
quite
a
hobby
of
photography
Some
photographs
were
in
albums
others
in
envelopes
and
folders
and
everything
was
neatly
labelled
John
was
a
scientist
by
training
and
inclination
he
had
a
passion
for
order
It
was
one
of
the
many
characteristics
they
shared
She
stared
at
the
contents
Spoiled
for
choice
she
thought
like
a
kid
in
a
sweetshop
She
glanced
at
the
framed
print
of
John
at
the
Salpertons
wedding
which
was
lying
on
top
John
had
been
best
man
he
looked
so
beautiful
in
morning
dress
far
more
handsome
than
the
groom
Tonight
because
of
Mr
Coleby's
visit
and
because
John
was
so
late
she
deserved
a
treat
She
would
compare
the
snaps
they'd
taken
of
Peter
on
the
lawn
in
the
summer
with
the
photographs
of
John
as
a
baby
She
delighted
in
finding
resemblances
between
father
and
son
My
two
men
she
crooned
She
lifted
out
the
Salperton
photograph
Underneath
was
a
team
photograph
a
schoolboy
cricket
eleven
with
John
the
second
from
the
right
in
the
back
row
As
she
lifted
it
out
she
realized
that
the
backing
was
beginning
to
come
away
from
the
heavy
cream
cardboard
of
the
mount
Perhaps
the
loft
was
too
damp
to
store
photographs
She
would
have
to
mention
it
to
John
She
examined
the
edge
of
the
mount
All
it
needed
was
a
little
glue
She
would
do
it
this
evening
John
would
be
pleased
The
edge
of
a
sheet
of
paper
between
the
mount
and
the
backing
caught
her
eye
She
widened
the
gap
and
tried
to
see
what
it
was
Not
the
print
itself
that
was
further
inside
the
mount
She
gripped
the
edge
of
the
paper
between
thumb
and
forefinger
and
gently
pulled
it
out
It
was
a
letter
written
in
blue
ink
The
handwriting
was
small
and
upright
Lucasta
knew
instinctively
that
it
belonged
to
a
woman
There
was
neither
date
nor
address
Johnny
The
doctor
agrees
so
there's
no
doubt
any
longer
She
read
to
the
end
A
mistake
it
must
be
a
mistake
or
a
forgery
Pain
stabbed
at
her
chest
twisting
like
a
barbed
snake
Lucasta
screamed
The
pain
retreated
The
snake
was
biding
its
time
She
stumbled
down
the
gangway
to
the
hatch
Sobbing
for
breath
she
lowered
herself
on
to
the
ladder
For
once
in
her
life
she
left
the
loft
with
the
lights
on
and
the
hatch
open
The
letter
slipped
from
her
hand
and
fluttered
to
the
landing
floor
John
how
could
you
Lucasta
pushed
open
the
door
of
Peter's
room
and
went
in
She
wanted
more
than
anything
she
had
ever
wanted
in
her
life
to
pick
up
her
baby
and
cuddle
him
to
feel
his
warmth
to
feel
his
need
for
her
Peter
wake
up
It's
Mummy
But
the
cot
had
gone
In
its
place
was
a
narrow
bed
stripped
to
its
horsehair
mattress
Title
Santorini
Author
Alistair
MacLean
Publication
Collins
London
E
Harrison
G
McCafferty
H
Denholm
J
O'Rourke
K
Talbot
L
Van
Gelder
M
Myers
O
Captain
of
American
destroyer
P
Captain
of
Russian
sub
R
Delors
radio
operator
X
unknown
Z
unknown
radio
operator
An
overhead
broadcaster
on
the
bridge
of
the
frigate
Ariadne
crackled
into
life
a
bell
rang
twice
and
then
O'Rourke's
voice
came
through
calm
modulated
precise
and
unmistakably
Irish
O'Rourke
was
commonly
referred
to
as
the
weatherman
which
he
wasn't
at
all
Just
picked
up
an
odd-looking
customer
Forty
miles
out
bearing
Talbot
pressed
the
reply
button
The
skies
above
us
Chief
are
hotching
with
odd-looking
customers
At
least
six
airlines
criss-cross
this
patch
of
the
Aegean
NATO
planes
as
you
know
better
than
all
of
us
are
all
around
us
And
those
pesky
fighter-bombers
and
fighters
from
the
pesky
Sixth
Fleet
bloweth
where
the
wind
listeth
Me
I
think
they're
lost
half
the
time
Ah!
But
this
is
a
very
odd
odd-looking
lad
O'Rourke's
voice
was
unruffled
as
ever
unmoved
by
the
less
than
flattering
reference
to
the
Sixth
Fleet
from
which
he
was
on
temporary
loan
No
trans-Aegean
airline
uses
the
flight
path
this
plane
is
on
There
are
no
NATO
planes
in
this
particular
sector
on
my
display
screen
And
the
Americans
would
have
let
us
know
A
very
courteous
lot
Captain
The
Sixth
Fleet
I
mean
True
true
The
Sixth
Fleet
Talbot
was
aware
would
have
informed
him
of
the
presence
of
any
of
their
aircraft
in
his
vicinity
not
from
courtesy
but
because
regulations
demanded
it
a
fact
of
which
O'Rourke
was
as
well
aware
as
he
was
O'Rourke
was
a
doughty
defender
of
his
home
fleet
That
all
you
have
on
this
lad
No
Two
things
This
plane
is
on
a
due
south-west
to
north-east
course
I
have
no
record
no
information
of
any
plane
that
could
be
following
this
course
Secondly
I'm
pretty
sure
it's
a
big
plane
We
should
see
in
about
four
minutes
his
course
is
on
a
direct
intersection
with
ours
The
size
is
important
Chief
Lots
of
big
planes
around
Not
at
feet
sir
which
is
what
this
one
is
Only
a
Concorde
does
that
and
we
know
there
are
no
Concordes
about
Military
job
I
would
guess
Of
unknown
origin
A
bandit
Could
be
Keep
an
eye
on
him
Talbot
looked
around
and
caught
the
eye
of
his
second-in-command
Lieutenant-Commander
Van
Gelder
Van
Gelder
was
short
very
broad
deeply
tanned
flaxen-haired
and
seemed
to
find
life
a
source
of
constant
amusement
He
was
smiling
now
as
he
approached
the
captain
Consider
it
done
sir
The
spy-glass
and
a
photo
for
your
family
album
That's
it
Thank
you
The
Ariadne
carried
an
immense
and
to
the
uninitiated
quite
bewildering
variety
of
looking
and
listening
instruments
that
may
well
have
been
unmatched
by
any
naval
ship
afloat
Among
those
instruments
were
what
Van
Gelder
had
referred
to
as
the
spy-glass
This
was
a
combined
telescope
and
camera
invented
and
built
by
the
French
of
the
type
used
by
spy
satellites
in
orbit
and
which
was
capable
under
ideal
atmospheric
circumstances
of
locating
and
photographing
a
white
plate
from
an
altitude
of
miles
The
focal
length
of
the
telescope
was
almost
infinitely
adjustable
in
this
case
Van
Gelder
would
probably
use
a
one
in
a
hundred
resolution
which
would
have
the
optical
effect
of
bringing
the
intruder
if
intruder
it
was
to
an
apparent
altitude
of
four
hundred
feet
In
the
cloudless
July
skies
of
the
Cyclades
this
presented
no
problem
at
all
Van
Gelder
had
just
left
the
bridge
when
another
loudspeaker
came
to
life
the
repeated
double
buzzer
identifying
it
as
the
radio-room
The
helmsman
Leading
Seaman
Harrison
leaned
forward
and
made
the
appropriate
switch
I
have
an
SOS
I
think
repeat
think
vessel's
position
is
just
south
of
Thera
All
I
have
Very
garbled
certainly
not
a
trained
operator
Just
keeps
repeating
Mayday
Mayday
Mayday
Myers
the
radio
operator
on
duty
sounded
annoyed
every
radio
operator
the
tone
of
his
voice
said
should
be
as
expert
and
efficient
as
he
was
Wait
a
minute
though
There
was
a
pause
then
Myers
came
on
again
Sinking
he
says
Four
times
he
said
he
was
sinking
Talbot
said
That
all
That's
all
sir
He's
gone
off
the
air
Well
just
keep
listening
on
the
distress
frequency
Harrison
or
near
enough
Can't
be
more
than
ten
twelve
miles
away
He
reached
for
the
engine
control
and
turned
it
up
to
full
power.The
Ariadne
in
the
modern
fashion
had
dual
engine-room
and
bridge
controls
The
engine-room
had
customarily
only
one
rating
a
leading
stoker
on
watch
and
this
only
because
custom
dictated
it
not
because
necessity
demanded
it
The
lone
watchman
might
just
possibly
be
wandering
around
with
an
oil-can
in
hand
but
more
probably
was
immersed
in
one
of
the
lurid
magazines
with
which
what
was
called
the
engine-room
library
was
so
liberally
stocked
The
Ariadne's
chief
engineer
Lieutenant
McCafferty
rarely
ventured
near
his
own
domain
A
first-class
engineer
McCafferty
claimed
he
was
allergic
to
diesel
fumes
and
treated
with
a
knowing
disdain
the
frequently
repeated
observation
that
because
of
the
engine-room's
highly
efficient
extractor
fans
it
was
virtually
impossible
for
anyone
to
detect
the
smell
of
diesel
He
was
to
be
found
that
afternoon
as
he
was
most
afternoons
seated
in
a
deckchair
aft
and
immersed
in
his
favourite
form
of
relaxation
the
reading
of
detective
novels
heavily
laced
with
romance
of
the
more
dubious
kind
The
distant
sound
of
the
diesels
deepened
the
Ariadne
was
capable
of
a
very
respectable
knots
and
the
bridge
began
to
vibrate
quite
noticeably
Talbot
reached
for
a
phone
and
got
through
to
Van
Gelder
We've
picked
up
a
distress
signal
Ten
twelve
miles
away
Let
me
know
when
you
locate
this
bandit
and
I'll
cut
the
engines
The
spy-glass
though
splendidly
gimballed
to
deal
with
the
worst
vagaries
of
pitching
and
rolling
was
quite
incapable
of
coping
with
even
the
mildest
vibration
which
more
often
than
not
produced
a
very
fuzzy
photograph
indeed
Talbot
moved
out
on
to
the
port
wing
to
join
the
lieutenant
who
stood
there
a
tall
thin
young
man
with
fair
hair
thick
pebbled
glasses
and
a
permanently
lugubrious
expression
Well
Jimmy
how
do
you
fancy
this
A
maybe
bandit
and
a
sinking
vessel
at
the
same
time
Should
relieve
the
tedium
of
a
long
hot
summer's
afternoon
don't
you
think
The
lieutenant
looked
at
him
without
enthusiasm
Lieutenant
the
Lord
James
Denholm
Talbot
called
him
Jimmy
for
brevity's
sake
seldom
waxed
enthusiastic
about
anything
I
don't
fancy
it
at
all
Captain
Denholm
waved
a
languid
hand
Disturbs
the
even
tenor
of
my
ways
Talbot
smiled
Denholm
was
surrounded
by
an
almost
palpable
aura
of
aristocratic
exhaustion
that
had
disturbed
and
irritated
Talbot
in
the
early
stage
of
their
acquaintanceship
a
feeling
that
had
lasted
for
no
more
than
half
an
hour
Denholm
was
totally
unfitted
to
be
a
naval
officer
of
any
kind
and
his
highly
defective
eyesight
should
have
led
to
his
automatic
disbarment
from
any
navy
in
the
world
But
Denholm
was
aboard
the
Ariadne
not
because
of
his
many
connections
with
the
highest
echelons
of
society
heir
to
an
earldom
his
blood
was
indisputably
the
bluest
of
the
blue
but
because
without
question
he
was
the
right
man
in
the
right
place
The
holder
of
three
scientific
degrees
from
Oxford
UCLA
and
MIT
all
summa
cum
laude
in
electrical
engineering
and
electronics
Denholm
was
as
close
to
being
an
electronics
wizard
as
any
man
could
ever
hope
to
be
Not
that
Denholm
would
have
claimed
to
be
anything
of
what
he
would
have
said
to
be
the
ridiculous
kind
Despite
his
lineage
and
academic
qualifications
Denholm
was
modest
and
retiring
to
a
fault
This
reticence
extended
even
to
the
making
of
protests
which
was
why
despite
his
feeble
objections
he
had
been
under
no
compulsion
to
go
he
had
been
dragooned
into
the
Navy
in
the
first
place
He
said
to
Talbot
This
bandit
Captain
if
it
is
a
bandit
what
do
you
intend
to
do
about
it
I
don't
intend
to
do
anything
about
it
But
if
he
is
a
bandit
well
then
he's
spying
isn't
he
Of
course
Well
then
What
do
you
expect
me
to
do
Jimmy
Bring
him
down
Or
are
you
itching
to
try
out
this
experimental
laser
gun
you
have
with
you
Heaven
forfend
Denholm
was
genuinely
horrified
I've
never
fired
a
gun
in
anger
in
my
life
Correction
I've
never
even
fired
a
gun
If
I
wanted
to
bring
him
down
a
teeny-weeny
heat-seeking
missile
would
do
the
job
very
effectively
But
we
don't
do
things
like
that
We're
civilized
Besides
we
don't
provoke
international
incidents
An
unwritten
law
Sounds
a
very
funny
law
to
me
Not
at
all
When
the
United
States
or
NATO
play
war
games
as
we
are
doing
now
the
Soviets
track
us
very
closely
indeed
whether
on
land
sea
or
air
We
don't
complain
We
can't
When
they're
playing
their
game
we
do
exactly
the
same
to
them
Can
admittedly
have
its
awkward
moments
Not
so
long
ago
when
the
US
Navy
were
carrying
out
exercises
in
the
Sea
of
Japan
an
American
destroyer
banged
into
and
quite
severely
damaged
a
Russian
submarine
which
was
monitoring
things
a
little
too
closely
And
that
didn't
cause
what
you've
just
called
an
international
incident
Certainly
not
Nobody's
fault
Mutual
apologies
between
the
two
captains
and
the
Russian
was
towed
to
a
safe
port
by
another
Russian
warship
Vladivostok
I
believe
it
was
Talbot
turned
his
head
Excuse
me
That's
the
radio-room
call-up
Myers
again
the
speaker
said
Delos
Name
of
the
sinking
vessel
Very
brief
message
explosion
on
fire
sinking
fast
Keep
listening
Talbot
said
He
looked
at
the
helmsman
who
already
had
a
pair
of
binoculars
to
his
eyes
You
have
it
Harrison
Yes
sir
Harrison
handed
over
the
binoculars
and
twitched
the
wheel
to
port
Fire
off
the
port
bow
Talbot
picked
it
up
immediately
a
thin
black
column
of
smoke
rising
vertically
unwaveringly
into
the
blue
and
windless
sky
He
was
just
lowering
his
glasses
when
the
bell
rang
twice
again
It
was
O'Rourke
the
weatherman
or
more
officially
the
senior
long-range
radar
operator
Lost
him
I'm
afraid
The
bandit
I
mean
I
was
looking
at
the
vectors
on
either
side
of
him
to
see
if
he
had
any
friends
and
when
I
came
back
he
was
gone
Any
ideas
Chief
Well
O'Rourke
sounded
doubtful
He
could
have
exploded
but
I
doubt
it
So
do
I
We've
had
the
spy-glass
trained
on
his
approach
bearing
and
they'd
have
picked
up
an
explosion
for
sure
Then
he
must
have
gone
into
a
steep
dive
A
very
steep
dive
God
knows
why
I'll
find
him
The
speaker
clicked
off
Almost
at
once
a
telephone
rang
again
It
was
Van
Gelder
sir
Smoke
Plane
Could
be
the
bandit
Almost
certainly
is
The
weatherman's
just
lost
it
off
the
long-range
radar
screen
Probably
a
waste
of
time
but
try
to
get
that
photograph
anyway
He
moved
out
on
to
the
starboard
wing
and
trained
his
glasses
over
the
starboard
quarter
He
picked
it
up
immediately
a
heavy
dark
plume
of
smoke
with
he
thought
a
glow
of
red
at
its
centre
It
was
still
quite
high
at
an
altitude
of
four
or
five
thousand
feet
He
didn't
pause
to
check
how
deeply
the
plane
was
diving
or
whether
or
not
it
actually
was
on
fire
He
moved
quickly
back
into
the
bridge
and
picked
up
a
phone
Sub-Lieutenant
Cousteau
Quickly
A
brief
pause
Henri
Captain
Emergency
Have
the
launch
and
the
lifeboat
slung
outboard
Crews
to
stand
by
to
lower
Then
report
to
the
bridge
He
rang
down
to
the
engine-room
for
Slow
Ahead
then
said
to
Harrison
Hard
a-port
Steer
north
Denholm
who
had
moved
out
on
to
the
starboard
wing
returned
lowering
his
binoculars
Well
even
I
can
see
that
plane
Not
a
plane
rather
a
huge
streamer
of
smoke
Could
that
have
been
the
bandit
sir
if
it
was
a
bandit
Must
have
been
Denholm
said
tentatively
I
don't
care
much
for
his
line
of
approach
sir
I
don't
care
much
for
it
myself
Lieutenant
especially
if
it's
a
military
plane
and
even
more
especially
if
it's
carrying
bombs
of
any
sort
If
you
look
you'll
see
that
we're
getting
out
of
its
way
Ah
Evasive
action
Denholm
hesitated
then
said
doubtfully
Well
as
long
as
he
doesn't
alter
course
Dead
men
don't
alter
courses
That
they
don't
Van
Gelder
had
just
returned
to
the
bridge
And
the
man
or
the
men
behind
the
controls
of
that
plane
are
surely
dead
No
point
in
my
staying
there
sir
Gibson's
better
with
the
spy-glass
camera
than
I
am
and
he's
very
busy
with
it
We'll
have
plenty
of
photographs
to
show
you
but
I
doubt
whether
we'll
be
able
to
learn
very
much
from
them
As
bad
as
that
You
weren't
able
to
establish
anything
Very
little
I'm
afraid
I
did
see
the
outer
engine
on
the
port
wing
So
it's
a
four-engined
jet
Civil
or
military
I've
no
idea
A
moment
please
Talbot
moved
out
on
the
port
wing
looked
aft
saw
that
the
blazing
plane
there
was
no
mistaking
the
flames
now
was
due
astern
at
less
than
half
the
height
and
distance
than
when
he
had
first
seen
it
returned
to
the
bridge
told
Harrison
to
steer
due
north
then
turned
again
to
Van
Gelder
That
was
all
you
could
establish
About
Except
that
the
fire
is
definitely
located
in
the
nose
cone
which
would
rule
out
any
engine
explosion
It
couldn't
have
been
hit
by
a
missile
because
we
know
there
are
no
missile-carrying
planes
around
even
if
there
were
a
heat-seeking
missile
the
only
type
that
could
nail
it
at
that
altitude
would
have
gone
for
the
engines
not
the
nose
cone
It
could
only
have
been
an
up-front
internal
explosion
Talbot
nodded
reached
for
a
phone
asked
the
exchange
for
the
sick
bay
and
was
through
immediately
Doctor
Would
you
detail
an
SBA
with
first-aid
kit
to
stand
by
the
lifeboat
He
paused
for
a
moment
Sorry
no
time
to
explain
Come
on
up
to
the
bridge
He
looked
aft
through
the
starboard
wing
doorway
turned
and
took
the
wheel
from
the
helmsman
Take
a
look
Harrison
A
good
look
Harrison
moved
out
on
the
starboard
wing
had
his
good
look
it
took
him
only
a
few
seconds
returned
and
took
the
wheel
again
Awful
He
shook
his
head
They're
finished
sir
aren't
they
So
I
would
have
thought
They're
going
to
miss
us
by
at
least
a
quarter
mile
Maybe
a
half
Harrison
took
another
quick
look
through
the
doorway
Title
A
Woman
of
Style
Author
Colin
McDowell
Publication
Random
Century
Group
London
J
Constance
K
Louise
L
Nora
M
Doctor
William
Simpson
Are
bitches
born
or
bred
Constance
asked
on
the
night
of
her
mother's
funeral
She
and
her
Aunt
Louise
were
sitting
in
her
mother's
living
room
drinking
sherry
and
feeling
close
as
old
friends
and
allies
do
Listening
to
the
autumn
wind
moaning
across
this
corner
of
the
sparse
Northumberland
coastline
a
few
miles
south
of
Berwick-upon-Tweed
where
Nora
Simpson
had
lived
for
all
of
her
married
life
their
memories
of
her
were
vivid
Constance
wasn't
thinking
only
of
her
mother
She
was
looking
back
over
her
own
life
Bathed
in
the
bright
sun
of
Italy
and
glittering
with
social
and
commercial
success
it
seemed
to
her
that
it
had
always
been
menaced
by
dark
shadows
many
of
which
Constance
sometimes
thought
had
sprung
up
almost
to
punish
her
for
leaving
this
remote
area
so
early
in
her
adult
life
They
were
shadows
that
she
could
never
have
imagined
when
as
a
young
girl
she
had
run
along
the
cold
sands
of
Northumberland
and
watched
the
east
wind
flatten
and
fold
the
dunes
as
she
dreamed
of
a
bigger
more
exciting
world
beyond
and
away
from
her
mother's
influence
She
was
brought
back
to
the
moment
by
Louise
Oh
darling
I
think
that's
a
little
harsh
Her
aunt
frowned
slightly
Nora
was
very
strong-willed
I
know
but
I
don't
think
she
was
a
bitch
She
had
a
lot
to
contend
with
No
don't
misunderstand
me
Constance
went
on
I
was
thinking
more
of
myself
than
her
I
know
I'm
a
bitch
and
I
do
think
Nora
had
a
lot
to
do
with
it
but
I've
often
thought
that
it
was
you
know
in
the
genes
Well
Louise
laughed
you
certainly
couldn't
be
mistaken
for
anything
other
than
Nora
Simpson's
daughter
there's
no
doubt
about
that
but
to
be
fair
my
sweet
you've
both
had
a
lot
to
contend
with
You've
not
had
it
easy
but
bitch
is
far
too
unkind
You've
had
to
be
strong
to
survive
just
as
poor
Nora
had
to
be
when
your
father
died
and
she
was
left
on
her
own
Constance
looked
at
her
aunt
was
she
blaming
her
for
Nora's
lonely
last
years
Louise
Carter
was
a
woman
in
her
early
eighties
White-haired
and
with
make-up
applied
in
the
haphazard
way
that
suggests
no
great
interest
in
the
face
rather
than
a
weakening
of
the
critical
faculties
Louise
was
still
very
much
in
charge
of
herself
her
appearance
thought
and
manner
Constance
looked
at
her
fondly
Louise
who
had
been
her
comfort
buffer
and
rescuer
so
many
times
in
the
past
Louise
who
had
in
so
many
ways
been
more
of
a
mother
to
her
than
Nora
Louise
who
even
now
had
lost
none
of
her
vigour
and
strength
of
personality
You'd
think
that
she
was
still
in
her
sixties
Constance
thought
approvingly
as
Louise
took
out
a
cigarette
and
crossing
her
legs
decisively
made
herself
comfortable
on
the
sofa
You
were
closer
to
her
than
anyone
Constance
continued
Even
before
I
went
to
Italy
and
married
Ludo
I
never
really
knew
her
Actually
she
influenced
every
decision
I
ever
made
but
I
always
felt
she
put
a
barrier
between
us
But
I
honestly
don't
know
if
it
was
deliberate
or
just
our
chemistry
I've
never
understood
it
probably
because
I've
never
really
understood
her
Constance
slipped
off
her
shoes
and
curled
her
feet
under
her
She
was
sitting
on
the
opposite
side
of
the
grate
and
Louise
Carter
thought
fleetingly
how
proud
Nora
had
always
been
of
her
daughter
even
when
they
had
been
dramatically
at
loggerheads
and
how
pleased
she
would
be
if
she
could
see
her
now
in
her
elegant
black
dress
and
silver
jewellery
Yes
my
dear
she
mused
affectionately
Signora
Villanuova
you
may
well
now
be
and
head
of
a
fashion
empire
but
every
attitude
you've
ever
had
came
from
Nora
She
made
you
strong
and
she
was
no
more
a
bitch
than
you
are
Sensing
that
her
aunt
needed
to
talk
Constance
poured
more
sherry
I
understood
her
perfectly
Louise
said
as
she
searched
in
her
bag
for
her
lighter
We
were
very
close
you
know
Much
more
than
just
cousins
I
remember
when
she
came
from
India
after
your
grandmother
died
She
looked
so
strange
Tall
dark
and
gawky
She
was
very
strong-willed
Couldn't
be
told
anything
My
father
used
to
get
so
angry
at
her
stubbornness
not
at
all
like
me
used
to
doing
what
I
was
told
There
was
a
pause
as
she
lit
her
cigarette
I
got
a
shock
yesterday
when
I
went
to
the
mortuary
Constance
said
I
didn't
realise
that
she'd
let
her
hair
grow
out
She
was
quite
white
I
couldn't
believe
my
eyes
And
the
nails
on
her
right
hand
were
filthy
I
had
to
clean
them
Darling
how
ghastly
for
you
Louise
commiserated
remembering
how
punctilious
over
her
appearance
her
cousin
Nora
had
always
been
Her
sophisticated
turnout
and
stylish
overdressing
had
made
her
a
minor
legend
in
this
remote
northern
district
It
was
horrible
Constance
said
I
had
to
lift
her
hand
It
was
so
hard
and
stiff
that
I
was
frightened
I
would
break
the
wrist
I
don't
know
how
I
managed
it
I
had
to
bend
over
parallel
to
the
body
to
get
the
nail
file
under
the
nails
I
was
frightened
in
case
anyone
came
in
It
would
have
looked
so
odd
But
I
had
to
do
it
She
was
always
so
obsessed
with
her
appearance
I
couldn't
let
her
go
to
her
grave
in
that
state
Her
hand
was
so
cold
She
shuddered
at
the
recollection
and
continued
Then
I
combed
her
hair
back
How
wispy
and
thin
it
was
Louise
was
silent
then
said
Poor
Nora
That's
why
I
was
the
only
one
she
would
allow
to
see
her
in
hospital
You
know
how
particular
she
was
about
dyeing
her
hair
She
wouldn't
allow
anyone
else
to
do
it
and
of
course
with
her
broken
arm
after
the
fall
she
couldn't
She
kept
saying
Oh
the
nurses
don't
matter
and
the
doctors
are
afraid
of
me
I'll
do
it
before
I
come
out
Actually
I
preferred
her
with
white
hair
Oh
I
agree
After
all
she
was
seventy-five
It
was
about
time
But
it
was
still
a
shock
to
see
her
like
that
looking
so
old
and
spent
Constance
hadn't
seen
her
mother
since
her
last
visit
to
England
over
a
year
ago
She
had
been
so
busy
with
her
dress
house
in
Rome
coping
with
her
designer
planning
for
the
future
and
ensuring
that
everyone
in
the
business
was
kept
happy
each
of
which
seemed
a
full-time
job
in
itself
that
she
had
hardly
had
time
to
spare
for
her
three
children
let
alone
her
mother
Thinking
now
of
the
battles
she
had
fought
with
her
own
children
especially
her
daughter
Margharita
she
felt
a
pang
of
remorse
over
the
woman
she
had
buried
a
few
hours
earlier
Constance
had
also
fought
her
mother
all
the
way
when
she
was
young
and
her
personality
was
still
forming
and
then
had
somehow
abandoned
her
in
later
life
when
the
need
to
fight
had
gone
She
felt
guilty
but
she
could
say
with
a
clear
conscience
that
her
business
was
so
demanding
that
she
hardly
had
time
to
think
of
Northumberland
although
in
truth
as
her
successes
and
problems
in
Italy
had
increased
there
seemed
less
and
less
reason
to
return
to
Nora
Her
trips
to
see
her
mother
had
of
necessity
been
brief
After
two
days
even
the
smallest
decision
could
become
an
exhausting
battle
of
wills
The
less
they
saw
of
each
other
Constance
had
reluctantly
accepted
over
the
years
the
better
friends
she
and
her
mother
were
She
wasn't
an
easy
character
to
love
you
know
she
went
on
Nora
was
admirable
in
many
ways
but
no
one
could
call
her
lovable
Louise
frowned
impatiently
as
Constance
said
I
suppose
she
lacked
the
maternal
instinct
Rather
like
me
really
She
paused
In
fact
she
murmured
she
wasn't
easy
at
all
any
more
than
I
am
You
never
really
knew
her
Louise
replied
You're
right
Constance
agreed
It's
terribly
sad
but
I
don't
think
I
ever
really
loved
her
either
She
wouldn't
let
me
somehow
I
needed
to
when
I
was
a
teenager
I
had
to
face
all
my
problems
alone
She'd
let
me
get
half-way
close
and
then
she
would
push
me
away
I
always
felt
that
she
cut
me
off
just
as
we
were
becoming
closer
and
always
when
I
most
needed
her
Louise
smiled
That's
exactly
what
she
used
to
say
about
you
She
always
felt
that
Miss
Hatherby
meant
more
to
you
than
she
did
Miss
Hatherby
certainly
influenced
me
but
not
as
a
mother
would
She
was
all
intellect
I
needed
emotional
support
No
Louise
no
matter
what
you
say
Nora
kept
me
at
arm's
length
As
Constance
poured
another
glass
of
sherry
for
her
aunt
Louise
continued
in
a
softer
voice
I
was
the
only
one
who
really
knew
Nora
I
could
always
tell
what
she
was
thinking
When
she
was
first
married
I
was
the
only
person
she
could
turn
to
Your
father
was
such
a
disappointment
to
her
in
so
many
ways
He
had
no
imagination
Poor
Will
he
was
the
archetypal
country
doctor
So
dull
Dull
as
his
name
He
never
had
an
original
idea
in
his
life
You
can't
blame
him
that's
why
he
was
a
country
doctor
They're
meant
to
be
dull
It
isn't
in
the
nature
of
doctors
to
be
original
or
witty
or
anything
They
have
to
be
reliable
reliably
boring
He
was
certainly
that
Why
they
ever
married
I
shall
never
know
I
suppose
she
saw
him
as
an
escape
Louise
lit
another
cigarette
Nora
hated
work
She
had
no
money
when
she
came
from
India
except
for
a
little
in
bonds
or
something
but
not
enough
to
live
on
My
father
had
managed
to
get
her
a
job
in
a
friend's
office
just
off
Hatton
Garden
Not
much
money
but
things
were
different
in
the
twenties
We
didn't
seem
to
need
so
much
in
those
days
Of
course
Nora
felt
being
a
typist
was
below
her
and
she
couldn't
bear
the
people
she
worked
with
She
was
determined
to
get
married
and
get
out
In
those
days
married
women
didn't
work
so
for
her
it
was
the
ideal
solution
She
wouldn't
have
to
be
dependent
on
my
father
any
more
and
she
would
be
free
to
live
her
own
life
Work
bored
her
it
was
too
predictable
Your
mother
had
an
amazing
imagination
that's
where
yours
comes
from
she
could
have
done
so
much
better
with
her
life
Anyhow
the
problem
was
that
we
hardly
ever
saw
any
young
men
so
how
on
earth
could
she
start
courting
Of
course
being
the
determined
woman
she
was
Nora
decided
to
take
the
bull
by
the
horns
and
organise
things
for
herself
We
used
to
sit
in
the
garden
for
hours
going
over
her
various
plans
to
get
married
She
had
a
new
one
virtually
every
day
I
just
listened
there
was
absolutely
no
possibility
of
influencing
her
I
remember
thinking
how
typical
it
was
of
her
that
she
never
thought
of
being
wooed
She
was
like
a
huntress
in
pursuit
in
charge
She
always
was
Constance
murmured
to
herself
She
got
the
idea
from
a
magazine
story
of
all
things
Louise
continued
warming
to
the
tale
She
decided
to
go
to
a
hotel
a
grand
one
and
meet
a
man
You
can't
imagine
how
bold
that
was
in
those
days
She
decided
against
seaside
hotels
like
the
Metropole
at
Folkestone
or
the
Imperial
at
Torquay
She
was
shrewd
and
quite
calculating
even
then
She
felt
there
would
be
too
many
families
at
the
seaside
and
not
enough
single
men
She
wanted
a
masculine
sort
of
hotel
So
she
chose
Gleneagles
in
Scotland
which
was
very
new
then
but
already
famous
for
golf
Nora
calculated
that
there
must
be
lots
of
single
men
up
there
so
she
decided
it
was
ideal
for
the
manhunt
as
we
called
it
even
though
the
train
fare
was
a
serious
consideration
I
remember
we
went
up
to
Euston
together
one
Saturday
morning
very
excited
to
buy
the
ticket
in
advance
It
was
a
secret
if
my
parents
had
known
she
was
going
away
alone
they
would
have
soon
put
the
kybosh
on
it
No
she
was
supposed
to
be
going
to
stay
with
a
girlfriend
from
the
India
days
who
lived
in
Perthshire
Your
mother
was
always
good
with
money
that's
who
you
get
it
from
Will
hadn't
a
clue
he
couldn't
have
cared
less!
She
worked
the
whole
trip
out
to
the
last
farthing
I
remember
it
vividly
A
room
without
a
bath
was
forty
shillings
a
night
Gleneagles
was
ridiculously
expensive
in
those
days
still
is
probably
I
remember
Nora's
first
postcard
which
she
sent
in
an
envelope
secretly
to
my
office
She
was
so
indignant
Breakfast
cost
five
shillings
and
dinner
I
think
about
nine
but
she
knew
that
before
she
went
What
infuriated
her
was
that
they
charged
three
shillings
for
afternoon
tea
so
she
decided
to
forgo
it
because
she
knew
the
men
would
still
be
out
on
the
links
Louise
chuckled
at
the
recollection
We
had
a
terrible
check
at
Euston
We
had
to
decide
on
travelling
third
or
first
class
I'd
have
just
gone
third
but
Nora
looked
ahead
She
was
worried
about
coming
back
Going
up
to
Scotland
no
one
would
know
her
so
she
could
travel
third
but
coming
back
if
the
young
man
travelled
with
her
it
never
even
entered
her
head
that
she
wouldn't
meet
one
it
could
be
embarrassing
It
took
us
two
turns
through
the
arch
before
she
decided
First-class
return
it
would
be
I
remember
her
saying
slightly
on
the
defensive
It's
an
investment
and
I
thought
It's
made
her
even
more
determined
to
succeed
Money
always
did
that
with
your
mother
Your
father
had
only
qualified
from
Edinburgh
a
couple
of
years
before
He
was
the
assistant
doctor
for
the
hotel
although
a
lot
of
guests
brought
their
own
in
those
days
Well
you've
heard
the
story
of
how
your
mother
got
soaked
on
the
third
tee
in
a
downpour
Of
course
she
wouldn't
abandon
the
round
You
know
why
It
was
Saturday
so
they
had
put
up
the
green
fee
from
four
and
sixpence
to
seven
and
six
and
she
couldn't
bear
to
waste
the
money
She'd
rather
have
caught
pneumonia
and
died
As
it
was
she
went
down
so
badly
with
flu
that
she
had
to
be
confined
to
her
room
for
the
duration
She
was
furious
No
wonder
she
was
running
a
temperature!
I'm
sure
most
of
it
was
caused
by
temper
That's
when
your
father
came
in
Louise
chuckled
I
remember
her
card
I
am
being
very
attentively
cared
for
by
the
hotel
doctor
William
Simpson
When
he
proposed
to
her
on
the
last
night
I
think
she
took
him
because
having
been
in
her
room
for
seven
days
she'd
met
nobody
else
and
couldn't
bear
to
see
her
investment
wasted
Title
Hamilton
Author
Catherine
Cookson
Publication
Book
Club
Associates
C
Howard
G
Katie
J
Gran
K
Maisie
first
person
narrator
L
Katie's
father
M
Father
Mackin
O
Katie's
mother
X
unknown
Aw
lass
What
have
y'been
and
gone
and
done
Promised
to
marry
that
fellow!
The
look
on
her
face
made
me
squirm
and
I
turned
my
head
away
and
walked
to
the
fire
and
held
out
my
hands
towards
it
And
then
she
said
not
intending
to
cause
me
any
pain
but
nevertheless
doing
so
Lass
if
he's
proposed
to
you
he's
after
something
and
it
isn't
far
to
look
It's
your
house
and
all
the
fine
bits
that's
in
it
and
your
nest-egg
I'm
sorry
to
say
this
but
he's
the
type
that
man
and
his
sister
an
all
who
don't
do
things
without
a
motive
like
Aw
don't
be
upset
lass
I
mean
it
kindly
I
I
think
too
much
of
you
You're
like
me
own
and
I
don't
want
to
see
you
makin
a
mistake
I
turned
to
her
blinking
the
tears
from
my
eyes
as
I
said
I
won't
get
the
chance
to
make
many
mistakes
Gran
not
me
All
right
it
might
be
a
mistake
but
I've
got
to
take
it
I
watched
her
sit
down
on
the
couch
with
a
plop
then
bend
forward
and
start
picking
at
it
as
if
she
were
pulling
at
the
threads
and
as
she
did
so
she
muttered
Eeh!
I
wish
our
Georgie
was
here
He'd
know
what
to
do
Gran
I
sat
down
beside
her
and
took
her
hand
I'm
going
to
marry
Howard
I
know
you
won't
be
the
only
one
who'll
think
he
had
ulterior
motives
in
asking
me
but
over
the
past
months
I've
got
to
know
him
and
I
think
he'll
make
a
good
companion
Oh
to
hell
with
that
lass!
She
threw
my
hands
off
her
Bugger
companions!
That's
not
what
you
want
out
of
marriage
at
your
time
of
life
That's
all
right
for
the
old
uns
Even
me
you
wouldn't
get
me
at
this
stage
taking
anybody
just
for
a
companion
Don't
you
know
what
it's
all
about
Yes
I
said
I
know
what
it's
all
about
Well
then
all
I
can
say
is
if
you
do
you're
a
bloody
fool
to
go
on
with
it
Companionship!
she
snorted
then
rose
from
the
couch
and
went
into
the
kitchen
I'd
said
I
knew
what
it
was
all
about
But
what
did
I
know
all
about
Quite
candidly
I
knew
nothing
about
marriage
except
what
I'd
read
in
the
romantic
books
There
had
been
no
whispered
conversations
in
corners
with
other
girls
for
me
there
had
been
no
innuendoes
no
hints
that
I
could
pick
up
and
dissect
Katie
hadn't
been
like
that
And
she
was
married
and
she
would
know
all
about
it
now
But
she
must
have
been
unhappy
for
she
had
left
her
husband
If
we
had
still
been
friends
we
might
have
talked
I
hadn't
understood
Katie's
changed
attitude
towards
me
nor
her
mother's
not
at
that
time
anyway
It
was
her
father
who
explained
it
to
me
I
met
him
in
the
street
one
day
when
he
was
very
drunk
He
had
doted
on
Katie
and
so
he
was
very
bitter
about
this
and
he
said
to
me
Life's
funny
Maisie
Aye
it's
funny
The
wife
was
against
you
and
my
lass
being
pally
because
she
thought
it
would
spoil
Katie's
chances
you
being
as
you
were
then
She
thought
Katie
wouldn't
be
able
to
meet
any
suitable
fellow
if
you
were
along
and
who
did
she
meet
That
rotter
I
never
liked
him
not
from
the
word
go
But
here's
you
now
comfortably
settled
in
your
own
house
And
you've
filled
out
a
lot
you've
changed
And
what
is
our
Katie's
life
Two
bairns
and
separated
from
her
husband
Life's
a
puzzle
Maisie
life's
a
puzzle
I
remember
at
that
time
I
too
thought
it
was
a
puzzle
and
how
wrong
he
had
been
in
thinking
I
was
changed
But
here
I
was
at
Gran's
and
she
was
dead
set
against
my
marrying
Howard
Yet
I
knew
firmly
in
my
own
mind
that
I
would
go
through
with
it
Katie
and
her
unsuccessful
marriage
were
far
removed
from
my
mind
Perhaps
it
was
she
who
sent
Father
Mackin
to
the
house
thinking
that
if
I
was
set
on
going
through
with
it
then
it
should
be
done
properly
Anyway
there
he
was
one
day
when
I
answered
the
door
bell
cheery
and
chatty
but
both
these
facets
of
his
character
hiding
a
deep
purpose
As
he
once
said
to
me
there
were
different
ways
of
driving
a
cuddy
into
the
Catholic
Church
And
he
might
have
succeeded
if
it
hadn't
been
for
Howard
Now
this
is
a
nice
house
Father
Mackin
said
Oh
dear
me
what
a
surprise
And
he
looked
around
the
hall
and
through
the
open
door
into
the
kitchen
The
ceiling
had
imitation
rafters
and
the
units
were
all
scrubbed
oak
My
mother
had
had
them
specially
fitted
Then
laying
his
hat
down
on
the
hallstand
and
rubbing
his
hands
together
he
said
Tis
nippy
outside
It
is
that
very
nippy
Would
you
like
a
cup
of
tea
Father
Now
whoever
said
no
to
a
question
like
that
Yes
I
would
indeed
I
would
love
a
cup
of
tea
What
is
your
first
name
again
Maisie
Oh...Maisie
It's
a
very
friendly
name
that
Maisie
Yes
Maisie
I
would
love
a
cup
of
tea
May
I
go
and
sit
down
he
said
already
walking
towards
the
sitting-room
door
This
was
half
open
and
I
pushed
it
wide
and
he
entered
exclaiming
loudly
Well
whoever
did
this
had
taste
grey
walls
and
a
blue
carpet
and
those
dull
pink
curtains
Now
who
would
ever
think
about
those
colours
combining
into
such
harmony
Tis
a
lovely
house
Have
you
been
here
long
I
was
born
here
and
my
mother
too
My
grandparents
came
into
it
when
it
was
first
built
but
since
then
there's
been
a
lot
of
alteration
done
Well
now
he
sank
on
to
the
couch
if
I
lived
in
a
place
like
this
the
church
would
get
the
go-by
I'd
promise
you
that
I
went
out
laughing
and
hurriedly
made
a
tray
of
tea
And
when
I
returned
to
the
room
he
was
examining
some
pieces
of
china
in
the
cabinet
that
stood
between
the
windows
You
don't
mind
me
being
nosey
do
you
No
Father
not
at
all
These
are
nice
pieces
I
know
something
about
porcelain
and
I
can
say
these
are
nice
pieces
I
understand
my
grandfather
brought
them
from
abroad
Yes
he
would
do
he
would
do
He
sat
down
on
the
couch
once
more
and
I
poured
out
the
tea
and
handed
him
a
plate
on
which
there
were
some
scones
and
after
biting
into
one
he
exclaimed
loudly
on
its
merits
But
I
had
to
tell
him
that
I
hadn't
baked
them
that
a
friend
of
mine
along
the
terrace
was
a
very
good
cook
she
had
done
them
Now
then
if
she
can
bake
scones
like
this
I
bet
she's
not
single
There
you're
wrong
Father
she
is
And
she
is
soon
to
be
my
sister-in-law
Oh
yes
Yes--
he
put
his
cup
down
on
the
side
table
wiped
his
mouth
with
a
coloured
handkerchief
then
said
I
heard
that
you're
to
be
married
And
really
to
tell
the
truth
because
I
must
do
that
sometime
mustn't
I
he
grinned
at
me
that's
partly
why
I've
come
to
see
what
arrangements
you
are
going
to
make
for
the
wedding
Oh
Father
I
made
to
rise
from
the
couch
but
his
hand
stopped
me
and
he
said
Now
it's
all
right
It's
all
right
Don't
take
off
in
a
balloon
I
know
that
you're
not
in
the
church
yet
but
I've
got
a
strong
feeling
that
you
would
like
to
be
I
understand
you
used
to
come
to
mass
with
your
stepfather
at
one
time
so
as
I
see
it
just
a
little
push
and
you'd
be
over
the
step
I'm
sorry
Father
but
my
fianc
is
not
that
way
inclined
at
all
What
do
you
mean
He's
an
atheist
he
doesn't
believe
in
either
God
or
man
No
Well
I
think
if
he's
anything
he's
Church
of
England
But
at
present
he's
nothing
I'm
not
really
sure
We
haven't
discussed
it
Well
then
if
you
haven't
discussed
it
perhaps
he
and
I
can
get
down
to
a
little
natter
eh
No
Father
please
He
has
already
suggested
we
get
married
in
the
registry
office
Oh
now
now
The
smile
went
from
his
face
Registry
office
For
a
moment
I
thought
he
was
going
to
spit
Then
someone
did
spit
Sitting
behind
him
just
to
the
right
there
was
Hamilton
I
gasped
because
I
hadn't
seen
him
for
some
long
time
now
His
head
was
turned
and
he
was
looking
towards
the
floor
and
then
he
brought
his
big
lips
into
a
pout
and
he
spat
And
then
I
heard
myself
say
Oh
dear
me
Now
now
there's
no
need
for
you
to
get
worried
But
I
maintain
that
a
registry
office
marriage
is
no
marriage
not
in
the
eyes
of
the
Headmaster
The
Headmaster
Father
Mackin
now
turned
his
eyes
upward
until
little
but
the
whites
of
them
could
be
seen
and
his
voice
lowered
he
added
Aye
the
Headmaster
the
Headmaster
of
men
He
was
referring
to
God
as
the
Headmaster
of
men
and
I
heard
myself
saying
almost
skittishly
now
And
what
about
women
Father
Oh
he
put
his
head
back
and
laughed
that's
good
that
is
that's
good
Well
it's
a
mixed
school
A...ha!
He
was
leaning
towards
me
now
his
head
bobbing
and
he
repeated
A
mixed
school
And
there's
coloureds
in
it
too
yes
coloureds
blacks
and
browns
and
yellows
and
a
few
Red
Indians
if
I'm
not
mistaken
We
were
both
laughing
now
and
I
wasn't
looking
at
him
I
was
looking
towards
Hamilton
and
he
was
mimicking
me
His
big
mouth
wide
open
his
lips
baring
his
teeth
he
was
doing
a
horse
ha!ha!ha!
bit
I
could
see
that
he
didn't
dislike
the
priest
but
that
at
the
same
time
he
had
taken
his
measure
the
iron
hand
in
the
velvet
glove
so
to
speak
with
a
dusting
of
laughing
gas
inside
it
I
don't
know
what
made
me
think
of
that
bit
except
that
up
in
the
attic
I
had
come
across
a
glove
tree
It
was
in
its
own
box
with
a
canister
of
dusting
powder
it
must
have
been
used
by
my
grandparents
at
some
stage
He
had
three
cups
of
tea
and
four
scones
and
when
he
took
his
leave
he
put
his
hand
on
my
shoulder
and
his
face
and
voice
devoid
of
all
laughter
now
he
said
Think
seriously
on
this
Maisie
It's
a
big
step
and
it's
for
life
Never
take
marriage
lightly
It's
for
life
How
often
I
was
to
think
of
those
words
in
the
years
to
come
it's
for
life
Title
The
Eye
of
the
Tiger
Author
Wilbur
Smith
Publication
Heinemann
London
B
Harry
first
person
narrator
C
Inspector
daly
E
Chubby
H
Angelo
J
the
manager
K
Fred
Coker
L
Ma
Eddy
M
Mrs
Chubby
O
the
island
girls
X
unknown
I
put
Chuck
on
the
plane
at
nine
the
next
morning
and
I
sang
the
whole
way
down
from
the
plateau
honking
the
horn
of
my
battered
old
Ford
pick-up
at
the
island
girls
working
in
the
pineapple
fields
They
straightened
up
with
big
flashing
smiles
under
the
brims
of
the
wide
straw
hats
and
waved
At
Coker's
Travel
Agency
I
changed
Chuck's
American
Express
traveller's
cheques
haggling
the
rate
of
exchange
with
Fred
Coker
He
was
in
full
fig
tailcoat
and
black
tie
He
had
a
funeral
at
noon
The
camera
and
tripod
laid
up
for
the
present
photographer
became
undertaker
Coker's
Funeral
Parlour
was
in
the
back
of
the
Travel
Agency
opening
into
the
alley
and
Fred
used
the
hearse
to
pick
up
tourists
at
the
airport
first
discreetly
changing
his
advertising
board
on
the
vehicle
and
putting
the
seats
in
over
the
rail
for
the
coffins
I
booked
all
my
charters
through
him
and
he
clouted
his
ten
percent
off
my
traveller's
cheques
He
had
the
insurance
agency
as
well
and
he
deducted
the
annual
premium
for
Dancer
before
carefully
counting
out
the
balance
I
recounted
just
as
carefully
for
although
Fred
looks
like
a
schoolmaster
tall
and
thin
and
prim
with
just
enough
island
blood
to
give
him
a
healthy
all-over
tan
he
knows
every
trick
in
the
book
and
a
few
which
have
not
been
written
down
yet
He
waited
patiently
while
I
checked
taking
no
offence
and
when
I
stuffed
the
roll
into
my
back
pocket
his
gold
pince-nez
sparkled
and
he
told
me
like
a
loving
father
Don't
forget
you
have
a
charter
party
coming
in
tomorrow
Mister
Harry
That's
all
right
Mr
Coker
don't
you
worry
my
crew
will
be
just
fine
They
are
down
at
the
Lord
Nelson
already
he
told
me
delicately
Fred
keeps
his
finger
firmly
on
the
island's
pulse
Mr
Coker
I'm
running
a
charter
boat
not
a
temperance
society
Don't
worry
I
repeated
and
stood
up
Nobody
ever
died
of
a
hangover
I
crossed
Drake
Street
to
Edward's
Store
and
a
hero's
welcome
Ma
Eddy
herself
came
out
from
behind
the
counter
and
folded
me
into
her
warm
pneumatic
bosom
Mister
Harry
she
cooed
and
bussed
me
I
went
down
to
the
wharf
to
see
the
fish
you
hung
yesterday
Then
she
turned
still
holding
me
and
shouted
at
one
of
her
counter
girls
Shirley
you
get
Mister
Harry
a
nice
cold
beer
now
hear
I
hauled
out
my
roll
The
pretty
little
island
girls
chittered
like
sparrows
when
they
saw
it
and
Ma
Eddy
rolled
her
eyes
and
hugged
me
closer
What
do
I
owe
you
Missus
Eddy
From
June
to
November
is
a
long
off-season
when
the
fish
do
not
run
and
Ma
Eddy
carries
me
through
that
lean
time
I
propped
myself
against
the
counter
with
a
can
of
beer
in
my
hand
picking
the
goods
I
needed
from
the
shelves
and
watching
their
legs
as
the
girls
in
their
mini-skirts
clambered
up
the
ladders
to
fetch
them
down
old
Harry
feeling
pretty
good
and
cocky
with
that
hard
lump
of
green
stuff
in
his
back
pocket
Then
I
went
down
to
the
Shell
Company
basin
and
the
manager
met
me
at
the
door
of
his
office
between
the
big
silver
fuel
storage
tanks
God
Harry
I've
been
waiting
for
you
all
morning
Head
Office
has
been
screaming
at
me
about
your
bill
Your
waiting
is
over
brother
I
told
him
But
Wave
Dancer
like
most
beautiful
women
is
an
expensive
mistress
and
when
I
climbed
back
into
the
pick-up
the
lump
in
my
pocket
was
severely
depleted
They
were
waiting
for
me
in
the
beer
garden
of
the
Lord
Nelson
The
island
is
very
proud
of
its
associations
with
the
Royal
Navy
despite
the
fact
that
it
is
no
longer
a
British
possession
but
revels
in
an
independence
of
six
years
standing
yet
for
two
hundred
years
previously
it
had
been
a
station
of
the
British
fleet
Old
prints
by
long-dead
artists
decorated
the
public
bar
depicting
the
great
ships
beating
up
the
channel
of
lying
in
grand
harbour
alongside
Admiralty
Wharf
men-of-war
and
merchantmen
of
John
Company
victualled
and
refitted
here
before
the
long
run
south
to
the
Cape
of
Good
Hope
and
the
Atlantic
St
Mary's
has
never
forgotten
her
place
in
history
nor
the
admirals
and
mighty
ships
that
made
their
landfall
here
The
Lord
Nelson
is
a
parody
of
its
former
grandeur
but
I
enjoy
its
decayed
and
seedy
elegance
and
its
associations
with
the
past
more
than
the
tower
of
glass
and
concrete
that
Hilton
has
erected
on
the
headland
above
the
harbour
Chubby
and
his
wife
sat
side
by
side
on
the
bench
against
the
far
wall
both
of
them
in
their
Sunday
clothes
This
was
the
easiest
way
to
tell
them
apart
the
fact
that
Chubby
wore
the
three-piece
suit
which
he
had
bought
for
his
wedding
the
buttons
straining
and
gaping
and
the
deep-sea
cap
stained
with
salt
crystals
and
fish
blood
on
his
head
while
his
wife
wore
a
full-length
black
dress
of
heavy
wool
faded
greenish
with
age
and
black
button-up
boots
beneath
Otherwise
their
dark
mahogany
faces
were
almost
identical
though
Chubby
was
freshly
shaven
and
she
did
have
a
light
moustache
Hello
Missus
Chubby
how
are
you
I
asked
Thank
you
Mister
Harry
Will
you
take
a
little
something
then
Perhaps
just
a
little
orange
gin
Mister
Harry
with
a
small
bitter
to
chase
it
down
While
she
sipped
the
sweet
liquor
I
counted
Chubby's
wages
into
her
hand
and
her
lips
moved
as
she
counted
silently
in
chorus
Chubby
watched
anxiously
and
I
wondered
once
again
how
he
had
managed
all
these
years
to
fool
her
on
the
billfish
bonus
Missus
Chubby
drained
the
beer
and
the
froth
emphasized
her
moustache
I'll
be
off
then
Mister
Harry
She
rose
majestically
and
sailed
from
the
courtyard
I
waited
until
she
turned
into
Frobisher
Street
before
I
slipped
Chubby
the
little
sheath
of
notes
under
the
table
and
we
went
into
the
private
bar
together
Angelo
had
a
girl
on
each
side
of
him
and
one
on
his
lap
His
black
silk
shirt
was
open
to
the
belt
buckle
exposing
gleaming
chest
muscles
His
denim
pants
fitted
skin-tight
leaving
no
doubt
as
to
his
gender
and
his
boots
were
hand-tooled
and
polished
westerns
He
had
greased
his
hair
and
sleeked
it
back
in
the
style
of
the
young
Presley
He
flashed
his
grin
like
a
stage
lamp
across
the
rook
and
when
I
paid
him
he
tucked
a
banknote
into
the
front
of
each
girl's
blouse
Hey
Eleanor
you
go
sit
on
Harry's
lap
but
careful
now
Harry's
a
virgin
you
treat
him
right
hear
He
roared
with
delighted
laughter
and
turned
to
Chubby
Hey
Chubby
you
quit
giggling
like
that
all
the
time
man!
That's
stupid
all
that
giggling
and
grinning
Chubby's
frown
deepened
his
whole
face
crumpling
into
folds
and
wrinkles
like
that
of
a
bulldog
Hey
Mister
barman
you
give
old
Chubby
a
drink
now
Perhaps
that
will
stop
him
cutting
up
stupid
giggling
like
that
At
four
that
afternoon
Angelo
had
driven
his
girls
off
and
he
sat
with
his
glass
on
the
table
top
before
him
Beside
it
lay
his
bait
knife
honed
to
a
razor
edge
and
glinting
evilly
in
the
overhead
lights
He
muttered
darkly
to
himself
deep
in
alcoholic
melancholy
Every
few
minutes
he
would
test
the
edge
of
the
knife
with
his
thumb
and
scowl
around
the
room
Nobody
took
any
notice
of
him
Chubby
sat
on
the
other
side
of
me
grinning
like
a
great
brown
toad
exposing
a
set
of
huge
startlingly
white
teeth
with
pink
plastic
gums
Harry
he
told
me
expansively
one
thick
muscled
arm
around
my
neck
You
are
a
good
boy
Harry
You
know
what
Harry
I'm
going
to
tell
you
now
what
I
never
told
you
before
He
nodded
wisely
as
he
gathered
himself
for
the
declaration
he
made
every
pay
day
Harry
I
love
you
man
I
love
you
better
than
my
own
brother
I
lifted
the
stained
cap
and
lightly
caressed
the
bald
brown
dome
of
his
head
And
you
are
my
favourite
eggshell
blond
I
told
him
He
held
me
at
arm's
length
for
a
moment
studying
my
face
then
burst
into
a
lion's
roar
of
laughter
It
was
completely
infectious
and
we
were
both
still
laughing
when
Fred
Coker
walked
in
and
sat
down
at
the
table
He
adjusted
his
pince-nez
and
said
primly
Mister
Harry
I
have
just
received
a
special
delivery
from
London
Your
charter
cancelled
I
stopped
laughing
What
the
hell!
I
said
Two
weeks
without
a
charter
in
the
middle
of
high
season
and
only
a
lousy
two-hundred-dollar
reservation
fee
Mr
Coker
you
have
got
to
get
me
a
party
I
had
three
hundred
dollars
left
in
my
pocket
from
Chuck's
Charter
You
got
to
get
me
a
party
I
repeated
and
Angelo
picked
up
his
knife
and
with
a
crash
drove
the
point
deeply
into
the
table
top
Nobody
took
any
notice
of
him
and
he
scowled
angrily
around
the
room
I'll
try
said
Fred
Coker
but
it's
a
bit
late
now
Cable
the
parties
we
had
to
turn
down
Who
will
pay
for
the
cables
Fred
asked
delicately
The
hell
with
it
I'll
pay
And
he
nodded
and
went
out
I
heard
the
hearse
start
up
outside
Don't
worry
Harry
said
Chubby
I
still
love
you
man
Suddenly
beside
me
Angelo
went
to
sleep
He
fell
forward
and
his
forehead
hit
the
table
top
with
a
resounding
crack
I
rolled
his
head
so
that
he
would
not
drown
in
the
puddle
of
spilled
liquor
returned
the
knife
to
its
sheath
and
took
charge
of
his
bank
roll
to
protect
him
from
the
girls
who
were
hovering
close
Chubby
ordered
another
round
and
began
to
sing
a
rambling
mumbling
shanty
in
island
patois
while
I
sat
and
worried
Once
again
I
was
stretched
out
neatly
on
the
financial
rack
God
How
I
hate
money
or
rather
the
lack
of
it
Those
two
weeks
would
make
all
the
difference
as
to
whether
or
not
Dancer
and
I
could
survive
the
off-season
and
still
keep
our
good
resolutions
I
knew
we
couldn't
I
knew
we
would
have
to
go
on
the
night
run
again
The
hell
with
it
if
we
had
to
do
it
we
might
as
well
do
it
now
I
would
pass
the
word
that
Harry
was
ready
to
do
a
deal
Having
made
the
decision
I
felt
again
that
pleasurable
tightening
of
the
nerves
the
gut
thing
that
goes
with
danger
The
two
weeks
of
cancelled
time
might
not
be
wasted
after
all
I
joined
Chubby
in
song
not
entirely
certain
that
we
were
singing
the
same
number
for
I
seemed
to
reach
the
end
of
each
chorus
a
long
time
before
Chubby
It
was
probably
his
musical
feast
that
called
up
the
law
On
St
Mary's
this
takes
the
form
of
an
Inspector
and
four
troopers
which
is
more
than
adequate
for
the
island
Apart
from
a
good
deal
of
carnal
knowledge
under
the
age
of
consent
and
a
little
wife-beating
there
is
no
crime
worthy
of
the
name
Inspector
Peter
Daly
was
a
young
man
with
a
blond
moustache
a
high
English
colour
on
smooth
cheeks
and
pale
blue
eyes
set
close
together
like
those
of
a
sewer
rat
He
wore
the
uniform
of
the
British
colonial
police
the
cap
with
the
silver
badge
and
shiny
patent
leather
peak
the
khaki
drill
starched
and
ironed
until
it
crackled
softly
as
he
walked
the
polished
leather
belt
and
Sam
Browne
cross-straps
He
carried
a
malacca
cane
swagger
stick
which
was
also
covered
with
polished
leather
Except
for
the
green
and
yellow
St
Mary's
shoulder
flashes
he
looked
like
the
Empire's
pride
but
like
the
Empire
the
men
who
wore
the
uniform
had
also
crumbled
Mr
Fletcher
he
said
standing
over
our
table
and
slapping
the
swagger
stick
lightly
against
his
palm
I
hope
we
are
not
going
to
have
any
trouble
tonight
Filename
Scapeg
Date
Title
Wycliffe
and
the
Scapegoat
Author
W.J
Burley
B
Charles
Wycliffe
C
Mrs
Wycliffe
E
the
town
guide
book
G
the
townspeople
H
girl
in
ceremony
J
master
of
ceremonies
Jordan
K
groups
of
boys
L
groups
of
girls
M
older
couples
O
Tony
U
Helen
V
the
vicar
W
the
women
of
older
couples
X
unknown
Y
announcer
Z
Zelah
Chapter
Two
THE
HEADLAND
SLOPED
in
a
hollow
curve
to
the
sea
and
at
its
very
crest
raised
on
an
inclined
plane
like
the
launching
ramp
of
a
ship
was
the
Wheel
It
stood
within
a
ring
of
hissing
pressure
lamps
which
kept
the
darkness
at
bay
An
elaborate
framework
of
twisted
osiers
the
Wheel
was
nine
feet
in
diameter
with
the
proportions
of
a
water-wheel
but
lit
by
the
lamps
and
raised
aloft
as
it
was
it
looked
gigantic
The
osiers
were
almost
hidden
by
plaited
straw
and
by
interlacing
branches
of
yew
and
laurel
coloured
streamers
attached
to
the
rim
hung
limply
on
the
still
air
and
within
the
Wheel
in
a
bower
of
straw
and
foliage
was
a
life-size
figure
wearing
a
grotesque
mask
and
enveloped
in
a
black
cloak
Here
was
the
embodiment
of
evil
the
Scapegoat
and
with
his
imminent
destruction
wickedness
would
be
symbolically
cast
out
and
the
townspeople
would
be
once
more
on
the
side
of
the
angels
They
were
out
in
strength
a
milling
crowd
grouping
and
regrouping
like
ants
disturbed
Children
who
bravely
ventured
into
the
darkness
soon
came
scampering
back
It
was
October
st
All-Hallows
Eve
and
only
credit
balances
in
several
hundred
bank
accounts
recalled
summer
visitors
who
had
swarmed
over
the
streets
and
beaches
and
cliffs
between
June
and
September
The
town
had
settled
to
being
itself
again
sleepy
clannish
introverted
In
a
little
while
the
Wheel
would
be
set
alight
released
from
its
cradle
and
allowed
to
trundle
down
the
slope
gathering
momentum
Thunder
flashes
Roman
candles
and
other
pyrotechnics
would
enliven
its
passage
until
a
spinning
hoop
of
flame
it
launched
itself
over
the
cliff
described
a
brief
trajectory
and
plunged
into
the
sea
never
to
be
seen
again
At
least
that
was
the
theory
Most
years
it
was
washed
up
again
on
the
next
or
a
later
tide
but
this
was
of
no
consequence
so
long
as
the
Scapegoat
had
gone
More
seriously
on
one
or
two
occasions
the
Wheel
had
not
reached
the
sea
but
had
left
its
appointed
path
to
run
amok
in
the
gorse
and
heather
starting
fires
Such
mishaps
were
bad
omens
and
though
the
townspeople
maintained
that
they
did
not
take
the
Wheel
seriously
they
were
happier
when
all
went
according
to
plan
For
days
before
Hallowe'en
several
men
devoted
their
spare
time
to
preparing
the
track
the
grass
was
trimmed
weeds
and
stones
removed
hollows
and
gullies
washed
out
by
the
rain
were
filled
and
the
whole
course
was
meticulously
surveyed
for
snags
and
bumps
The
custodianship
of
the
path
had
become
the
prerogative
of
a
few
specialists
with
a
fund
of
empirical
knowledge
which
they
gravely
applied
to
securing
the
smooth
passage
of
the
Wheel
Now
for
safety
the
path
was
roped
off
on
either
side
Detective
Chief
Superintendent
Wycliffe
and
his
wife
Helen
were
to
see
the
spectacle
for
the
first
time
they
were
spending
a
long
weekend
with
the
Ballards
who
lived
on
the
moor
above
the
town
Tony
Ballard
was
a
painter
and
his
wife
Zelah
wrote
historical
novels
Tony
shy
and
introverted
lived
for
his
painting
while
Zelah
seemed
to
live
as
she
wrote
with
an
engaging
panache
It
was
a
mild
night
with
clouds
drifting
across
the
sky
and
occasionally
obscuring
the
new
moon
Out
to
sea
the
beam
of
the
lighthouse
swept
a
great
arc
every
fifteen
seconds
on
one
side
of
the
headland
were
the
lights
of
the
town
and
harbour
on
the
other
it
was
just
possible
to
make
out
a
line
of
cliffs
receding
into
the
darkness
Wycliffe
was
content
with
his
hands
thrust
deep
into
the
pockets
of
his
mackintosh
he
watched
the
crowd
an
occupation
of
which
he
never
tired
People
are
so
much
more
varied
and
interesting
than
birds
or
badgers
or
any
of
the
other
creatures
naturalists
watch
with
such
exemplary
patience
But
Wycliffe's
interest
was
far
from
scientific
he
reached
no
profound
sociological
conclusions
he
did
not
even
attempt
to
be
objective
On
the
contrary
he
was
satisfied
to
feel
that
he
was
sharing
in
other
people's
lives
Teenaged
boys
paraded
in
groups
of
three
or
four
jostling
each
other
laughing
and
shouting
groups
of
girls
on
the
whole
less
brash
and
aggressive
giggled
and
chattered
calling
to
the
boys
whenever
they
were
in
range
Young
couples
strolled
with
their
arms
round
each
other
pausing
now
and
then
to
kiss
older
couples
stopped
to
greet
friends
and
while
the
women
talked
their
husbands
stood
by
looking
foolishly
amiable
A
disembodied
voice
came
over
the
amplifiers
instructing
people
to
move
outside
the
ropes
Let's
find
a
good
place
Tony
where
we
can
see
Opinion
was
divided
over
the
best
place
to
stand
for
if
they
watched
the
launching
they
missed
a
close-up
view
of
the
final
plunge
into
the
sea
Zelah
favoured
the
launching
site
so
that
was
where
they
stood
We
can
take
a
good
look
at
the
Wheel
she
explained
with
embarrassing
stridency
Of
course
originally
it
was
no
effigy
tied
up
in
there
but
a
live
man
a
human
scapegoat
Later
when
people
got
squeamish
about
that
sort
of
thing
they
substituted
cats
a
dozen
or
so
live
cats
tied
up
in
a
sack
Not
that
they
had
anything
against
cats
as
cats
but
witches
were
believed
to
take
the
form
of
cats
so
it
was
all
quite
reasonable
really
Zelah
seemed
to
know
everybody
and
the
Wycliffes
were
introduced
to
a
bewildering
variety
of
people
whom
they
never
expected
to
see
again
An
eerie
blast
on
a
horn
signalled
the
start
of
the
ceremony
and
the
crowd
became
silent
The
master
of
ceremonies
in
a
white
druidical
robe
mounted
the
platform
by
the
launching
ramp
and
stood
peering
inland
along
another
path
marked
off
by
ropes
which
disappeared
into
the
darkness
After
a
while
a
flickering
light
appeared
in
the
distance
and
drew
steadily
nearer
a
torch-bearer
came
into
view
a
girl
wearing
a
long
white
gown
which
left
her
arms
bare
she
carried
aloft
a
burning
torch
which
gave
off
a
great
deal
of
tarry
smoke
She's
supposed
to
be
a
virgin
Zelah
explained
in
a
stage
whisper
but
I
wouldn't
like
to
bet
on
that
one
The
girl
mounted
the
steps
to
stand
beside
the
master
of
ceremonies
and
they
carried
on
a
conversation
which
though
audible
was
unintelligible
They're
speaking
in
Cornish
Zelah
said
He's
asking
her
if
she
has
brought
the
need-fire
and
she
tells
him
that
she
has
He
says
Was
this
flame
kindled
at
the
altar
of
the
Lord
and
she
answers
This
flame
was
kindled
at
the
holy
fire
Actually
she
lights
her
torch
at
one
of
the
candles
in
the
church
and
somebody
runs
her
up
here
in
a
car
while
she
holds
the
torch
out
of
the
window
Of
course
that's
not
how
it's
supposed
to
be
done
The
white-robed
man
took
the
torch
from
the
girl
and
held
it
up
to
the
people
He
said
a
few
words
which
Zelah
translated
as
This
is
the
holy
flame
which
shall
consume
our
wickedness
and
purge
our
people
of
evil
for
the
year
to
come
A
few
people
shouted
the
proper
response
which
sounded
like
Sans!
Sans!
Zelah
said
that
it
meant
Holy!
Holy!
After
that
the
torch
was
applied
to
a
point
on
the
Wheel
and
at
the
same
moment
the
chocks
were
knocked
away
The
Wheel
seemed
to
hesitate
then
it
began
to
roll
very
slowly
Flames
licked
over
the
straw
which
crackled
and
flared
and
the
Wheel
was
clear
of
the
ramp
and
bowling
gently
down
the
cleared
path
The
first
fireworks
exploded
and
the
Wheel
was
almost
enveloped
in
flame
while
the
air
was
filled
with
a
mixture
of
smells
paraffin
sooty
smoke
from
the
straw
and
cordite
from
the
fireworks
The
Scapegoat
appeared
unharmed
and
was
clearly
visible
through
the
curtain
of
fire
turning
over
and
over
as
the
Wheel
rolled
It
began
to
pick
up
speed
and
as
it
did
so
larger
fireworks
were
detonated
so
that
showers
of
sparks
and
clouds
of
coloured
smoke
trailed
behind
like
a
peacock's
tail
green
and
red
and
blue
Faster
and
faster
the
Wheel
trundled
a
whirling
fiery
hoop
until
it
reached
an
artificial
mound
at
the
cliff
edge
and
was
deflected
up
into
the
air
It
sailed
in
a
great
arc
hung
poised
for
a
fraction
of
a
second
then
plunged
out
of
sight
to
the
sea
Even
from
where
the
Wycliffes
stood
the
effect
was
spectacular
Within
seconds
of
the
Wheel
disappearing
from
sight
the
red
glow
was
extinguished
A
spontaneous
cry
arose
from
the
crowd
followed
by
a
moment
of
silence
then
people
began
to
talk
again
A
good
show
this
year
not
a
hitch
After
the
ceremony
of
the
Wheel
there
was
a
firework
display
and
people
bought
chips
and
hot-dogs
from
traders
with
vans
who
were
cashing
in
on
the
occasion
The
sky
which
had
been
clear
and
filled
with
stars
was
clouding
over
and
a
moist
wind
blew
in
from
the
sea
This
smells
like
rain
Zelah
said
We
don't
want
to
be
caught
up
in
the
rush
when
it
comes
She
rounded
up
her
charges
before
the
others
began
to
move
and
willed
them
along
the
path
to
the
car
park
Wycliffe
and
Tony
would
have
preferred
to
linger
to
digest
the
experience
but
they
had
no
choice
They
found
the
Ballards
car
Will
you
drive
Tony
or
shall
l
You
drive
dear
Wycliffe
and
Tony
got
into
the
back
Helen
was
in
front
with
Zelah
In
no
time
at
all
they
were
coasting
down
the
slope
out
of
the
car
park
What
did
you
think
of
it
Very
impressive
Oh
it
was
really
worth
seeing
Good!
You
must
come
again
next
year
and
see
it
from
the
cliff
edge
Zelah
really
meant
what
she
said
she
was
perfectly
sincere
in
making
an
arrangement
for
twelve
months
ahead
never
considering
the
possibilities
of
change
They
reached
the
town
and
drove
through
its
narrow
deserted
streets
then
they
began
the
long
steady
climb
to
the
moor
Tony
did
some
sketches
last
year
and
he
was
going
to
work
them
up
into
a
picture
why
haven't
you
Tony
The
Ballard
house
was
built
into
the
side
of
a
hill
a
long
low
granite
building
which
had
once
been
something
to
do
with
a
mine
Huge
boulders
littered
their
garden
and
gorse
and
heather
encroached
wherever
they
were
permitted
to
survive
The
house
was
reached
by
a
stony
drive
more
than
half-a-mile
long
furrowed
and
rutted
by
the
drainage
from
the
hill
but
they
had
electricity
oil-fired
central
heating
and
no
neighbours
The
living-room
was
long
and
low
with
roof-beams
which
still
bore
marks
of
the
adze
the
fireplace
built
of
rough-hewn
stone
was
phoney
but
acceptable
and
the
walls
were
white
Tony's
Cornish
landscapes
in
frames
of
plain
gilt
looked
well
their
rich
browns
yellows
and
orange
tones
warmed
the
room
and
more
than
balanced
the
white
walls
There
were
bookcases
of
dark
oak
and
a
solitary
shelf
for
Zelah's
own
books
nine
titles
in
different
editions
with
a
sprinkling
of
foreign
imprints
There
was
an
expanse
of
untenanted
shelf
presumably
to
allow
for
future
production
Whisky
Charles
Tony
poured
drinks
The
two
men
were
about
the
same
age
nearing
fifty
both
were
of
the
lean
kind
with
strong
features
and
over-thin
lips
both
were
taciturn
and
found
it
difficult
to
put
ideas
into
words
Of
all
the
friends
with
whom
Helen
had
involved
him
Wycliffe
felt
most
at
ease
with
Tony
Zelah
was
a
cross
to
be
borne
more
or
less
cheerfully
and
Helen
could
handle
her
when
necessary
by
being
devastatingly
blunt
On
such
occasions
Zelah
would
shrug
and
say
Oh
well
if
that's
how
you
want
it
my
child!
At
heart
she
was
a
kindly
woman
Zelah
was
older
than
her
husband
she
had
straight
short
grey
hair
and
a
small
thin
face
which
was
never
in
repose
She
did
everything
with
quick
darting
movements
in
which
violence
was
barely
restrained
When
she
used
her
typewriter
she
seemed
intent
on
hammering
holes
in
the
paper
Wycliffe
was
never
at
ease
in
other
people's
houses
and
not
only
because
he
was
usually
bored
He
had
never
discovered
when
it
was
proper
to
follow
his
host
about
and
when
it
was
politic
to
be
elsewhere
Now
he
sat
by
the
fire
with
his
whisky
a
drink
he
did
not
care
for
making
conversation
with
Tony
and
hoping
that
it
would
soon
be
time
for
bed
Zelah
was
telling
Helen
the
plot
of
her
next
novel
How
long
have
these
fire
festivals
been
going
on
Tony
took
his
time
his
responses
were
always
sluggish
According
to
the
town
guide
they
date
back
to
Celtic
times
I
expect
you
know
that
November
st
is
supposed
to
have
been
the
start
of
the
Celtic
year
They
were
allowed
to
lapse
in
the
late
nineteenth
century
and
were
not
revived
until
after
the
last
war
The
chap
you
saw
in
the
druid
outfit
got
them
going
again
and
he's
still
the
king-pin
Tony
sipped
his
whisky
and
stirred
the
fire
before
going
on
He's
a
strange
chap
he
runs
a
small-holding
on
the
moor
not
far
from
here
His
name
is
Jordan
He
says
that
his
ancestors
came
over
here
from
Brittany
in
the
seventeenth
century
fleeing
from
Catholic
persecution
Tony
smoothed
his
hand
over
his
thinning
hair
I
think
he's
probably
a
bit
mixed
up
in
matters
of
doctrine
but
he
claims
to
be
a
true
protestant
not
as
he
says
a
Lutheran
protestant
His
protest
apparently
goes
back
a
lot
further
to
the
Synod
of
Whitby
when
according
to
him
the
Celtic
Christian
Church
was
sold
down
the
river
to
Rome
Wycliffe
knocked
out
his
pipe
in
the
grate
But
surely
that
show
tonight
can't
have
much
to
do
with
Christianity
Celtic
or
otherwise
Tony
smiled
The
vicar
would
certainly
agree
with
you
but
you
should
talk
to
Jordan
though
not
unless
you
have
half
a
day
to
spare
His
daughter
Cissie
has
just
had
an
illegitimate
baby
Zelah
chimed
in
However
deeply
involved
she
might
be
in
her
own
conversation
she
rarely
missed
anything
that
was
said
by
those
around
her
I
listen
with
my
writer's
ear
she
would
say
It's
our
great
local
mystery
at
the
moment
nobody
knows
who
the
father
is
except
perhaps
Cissie
and
if
she
knows
she's
not
telling
Title
Dirty
Tricks
Author
Michael
Dibdin
B
first
person
narrator
C
Karen
G
Clive
Phillips
J
Dennis
X
unknown
II
Love's
dart
being
barbed
to
quote
a
couplet
familiar
to
every
schoolchild
here
cannot
retract
only
plunge
more
deeply
i
the
panting
breast
Or
as
they
put
it
in
the
locker-room
once
you're
in
you're
in
What
happened
that
afternoon
was
the
product
of
countless
details
all
of
which
had
to
be
just
right
If
it
hadn't
been
so
hot
if
there
had
been
no
row
the
night
before
if
Dennis
hadn't
passed
out
if
I'd
fallen
asleep
if
any
of
the
others
had
been
there
if
Karen
had
come
back
later
if
she'd
gone
straight
to
the
pool
rather
than
taken
a
shower
if
any
or
all
of
these
had
been
the
case
then
intercourse
would
not
have
occurred
Once
it
had
though
it
was
relatively
simple
to
convince
Karen
that
the
whole
thing
had
been
inevitable
No
one
likes
to
be
made
to
look
like
a
mere
creature
of
chance
It
was
simply
too
demeaning
to
believe
that
the
experience
we
had
shared
had
been
dependent
on
such
things
as
the
amount
of
booze
Dennis
put
away
that
lunchtime
We
had
to
repossess
what
fate
had
handed
us
on
a
plate
and
the
only
way
to
do
this
was
to
claim
that
we
had
willed
it
all
along
When
I
broke
the
matter
to
Karen
on
the
deck
of
the
ferry
going
home
however
I
sugared
the
locker-room
logic
in
language
more
akin
to
the
elegant
formulas
of
your
illustrious
bard
We
can't
put
the
clock
back
Karen
What's
happened
has
happened
Now
we
know
how
it
feels
to
be
together
fully
how
can
we
be
content
with
anything
less
Thick
Britannic
cloud
massed
overhead
The
Channel
swill
chopped
and
slapped
all
around
Dennis
and
the
others
were
propping
up
the
bar
Karen
was
supposedly
selecting
duty-free
perfume
No
one
cared
what
I
was
doing
I
know
she
sighed
Karen
Parsons
never
ceased
to
astonish
me
I'd
been
expecting
her
to
put
up
a
stiff
rearguard
action
protesting
that
holidays
were
one
thing
and
everyday
life
another
that
she
had
only
surrendered
to
me
in
a
moment
of
weakness
which
she
would
regret
for
the
rest
of
her
life
and
so
on
and
so
forth
I
was
confident
I
could
wear
her
down
eventually
but
I
certainly
never
expected
her
to
come
across
at
the
first
time
of
asking
But
instead
of
prevaricating
and
procrastinating
she
came
over
all
gooey
stroking
my
hand
and
squeezing
my
arm
and
saying
she
didn't
want
to
lose
me
but
she
was
frightened
frightened
and
confused
she
didn't
know
what
to
do
This
was
a
Karen
I
hadn't
seen
before
and
one
I
didn't
have
much
time
for
to
be
frank
After
my
belated
conversion
from
the
outworn
pieties
of
my
youth
what
I
wanted
from
Karen
was
a
crash
course
in
greed
voracity
cheap
thrills
and
superficial
emotion
What
attracted
me
to
her
was
her
animality
The
last
thing
I
needed
was
her
going
all
human
on
me
Karen
was
a
magnificent
bitch
but
when
she
tried
to
be
human
she
turned
into
a
Disney
puppy
trashy
vulgar
and
sentimental
When
I
kissed
her
she
twisted
against
me
urgently
and
then
I
understood
Actions
not
words
were
the
way
to
Karen's
heart
On
the
level
of
language
she
was
frightened
confused
and
unsure
what
to
do
but
her
body
spoke
loud
and
clear
I
looked
round
There
was
no
one
about
apart
from
a
couple
of
youths
stoning
the
seagulls
with
empty
beer
bottles
I
led
Karen
up
a
narrow
companion-way
marked
Crew
Only
to
a
constricted
quarterdeck
partially
screened
by
the
lifeboats
hanging
from
their
cradles
We
did
it
on
the
sloping
lid
of
a
locker
our
jeans
and
knickers
round
our
ankles
It
was
what
you
might
call
a
duty
fuck
A
pallid
sun
appeared
like
a
nosy
neighbour
spying
from
behind
lace
curtains
The
wind
ricocheted
about
the
deck
raising
goose-bumps
on
our
bare
flesh
A
seagull
on
one
of
the
lifeboats
regarded
us
with
a
voyeur's
eye
It
wasn't
much
fun
but
we
did
it
and
that
was
the
main
thing
Until
we
had
made
love
again
that
first
occasion
at
the
villa
was
in
danger
of
becoming
the
exception
which
proved
the
rule
As
a
unique
event
Karen
could
file
it
away
in
her
snapshot
album
as
one
of
the
interesting
things
that
had
happened
during
her
holiday
in
France
But
as
soon
as
it
was
repeated
its
individuality
merged
into
a
series
extending
indefinitely
into
the
future
By
the
time
we
returned
to
the
bar
Karen's
extramarital
virginity
had
been
lost
beyond
recall
Back
in
Oxford
I
discovered
I
was
not
only
broke
but
unemployed
Clive
Phillips
the
council
estate
dodger
who
had
got
on
his
bike
and
into
the
fast
lane
had
fired
me
Well
he
didn't
need
to
fire
me
Like
all
the
teachers
I
had
a
one-year
contract
renewable
at
Clive's
discretion
which
in
my
case
he
found
himself
unable
to
exercise
I
don't
think
I
can
do
it
is
how
he
put
it
when
I
phoned
him
I
just
don't
think
it's
on
quite
frankly
at
this
particular
point
in
time
The
technical
term
for
the
speech-like
noise
that
babies
produce
before
they
learn
to
talk
is
jargoning
That's
what
I
did
now
The
fact
of
the
matter
is
several
of
the
teachers
on
the
course
you
missed
because
of
skiving
off
on
holiday
a
number
of
them
have
asked
me
if
they
can
stay
on
for
the
autumn
term
Comparisons
are
insidious
I
know
but
I
have
to
say
they're
good
Sharp
hungry
keen
as
mustard
Thatcher's
kids
Make
me
feel
my
age
tell
you
the
truth!
Anyway
what
with
you
not
being
around
and
that
I
felt
constricted
to
give
them
a
crack
of
the
whip
Only
fair
really
You
knew
this
was
going
to
happen
didn't
you
Watch
out!
you
yelled
as
I
set
off
on
holiday
Look
behind
you!
You
saw
it
coming
a
mile
off
I
didn't
I
really
didn't
When
I
put
that
phone
down
I
was
in
tears
I
couldn't
believe
the
universe
could
do
this
to
me
Deep
down
inside
you
see
I
still
believed
that
life
was
basically
benevolent
I
wasn't
naive
enough
to
expect
the
goodies
to
win
every
time
but
over
the
long-haul
and
certainly
in
the
last
reel
I
sort
of
weakly
vaguely
wetly
assumed
that
things
would
come
right
I
should
have
realized
that
Clive
would
dump
me
at
the
first
opportunity
that
he
had
in
fact
been
looking
for
an
excuse
to
do
so
Clive
didn't
want
quality
or
experience
in
his
teachers
Quality
expects
rewards
experience
makes
comparisons
What
Clive
wanted
was
callow
youth
At
such
moments
of
crisis
some
people
resort
to
drink
I
couldn't
afford
drink
so
I
resorted
to
Karen
instead
The
only
advantage
of
being
dumped
by
Clive
was
that
it
made
this
a
lot
simpler
Dennis's
mornings
were
fully
taken
up
meeting
clients
delegating
responsibilities
processing
figures
and
accessing
data
His
afternoons
were
much
less
predictable
and
that
was
also
when
the
bulk
of
Karen's
contact
hours
were
timetabled
So
if
I'd
still
been
giving
Clive
the
best
part
of
my
days
occasions
for
dalliance
would
have
been
rare
and
risky
As
a
gentleman
of
leisure
it
was
a
breeze
Dennis
Parsons
was
blessed
with
behavioural
patterns
which
were
etched
into
his
brain
like
circuits
in
a
microchip
When
it
comes
to
the
detail
of
everyday
life
most
of
us
just
muddle
through
somehow
but
Dennis
was
a
Platonist
When
he
went
to
the
toilet
for
example
his
aim
wasn't
just
any
old
crap
but
the
closest
possible
approximation
in
this
imperfect
world
to
the
Eternal
Idea
of
Dennis-Going-to-the-Toilet
This
had
been
of
something
more
than
philosophical
interest
to
Karen
and
I
in
our
pre-coital
phase
since
it
meant
that
we
could
count
on
at
least
a
minute
thirty
seconds
before
he
reappeared
or
as
much
as
three
minutes
forty-five
seconds
if
we
heard
the
seat
go
down
for
a
big
jobby
Now
we
had
moved
on
to
bigger
and
better
things
this
predictability
still
stood
us
in
good
stead
At
every
weekday
Dennis
went
out
to
fetch
the
BMW
from
the
garage
Exactly
one
minute
later
he
backed
it
out
on
to
the
drive
and
turned
round
Leaving
the
engine
running
he
then
returned
to
the
house
to
collect
his
executive
briefcase
and
other
relevant
impedimenta
At
o'clock
precisely
just
as
the
pips
ended
and
the
news
began
he
got
back
into
the
car
and
drove
off
I
observed
this
routine
the
day
after
I
learned
that
my
services
were
no
longer
required
at
the
Oxford
International
Language
College
and
I
knew
that
barring
an
Act
of
God
I
could
set
my
watch
by
it
thereafter
As
soon
as
Dennis
had
roared
off
towards
the
offices
of
Osiris
Management
Services
I
strolled
down
Ramillies
Drive
to
the
Parsonage
and
rang
the
bell
Karen
came
to
the
door
in
her
dressing-gown
I
pushed
past
her
into
the
hall
and
closed
the
door
behind
us
What
are
you
doing
I
untied
the
belt
of
her
dressing-gown
and
got
my
hands
inside
Don't!
To
my
surprise
she
was
wearing
panties
underneath
her
nightdress
Stop
it!
Don't!
I
can't!
You
already
have
No
I
mean
I
really
can't
I
stared
at
her
I've
got
my
period
she
said
So
what
She
frowned
Don't
you
mind
Not
if
you
don't
To
prove
it
I
gave
her
head
The
effect
was
electric
Overwhelmed
by
this
proof
of
my
devotion
Karen
abandoned
herself
as
never
before
The
fact
that
we
were
making
love
in
the
Parsons
matrimonial
bed
the
sheets
still
warm
and
smelly
from
their
previous
occupant
may
have
had
something
to
do
with
it
as
well
Unavoidably
detained
in
a
traffic
snarl-up
in
Park
End
Street
Dennis
couldn't
be
with
us
in
person
but
he
was
present
in
spirit
and
the
result
was
quite
literally
indescribable
That
morning
set
the
pattern
for
our
love-making
Outwardly
my
habits
hardly
changed
at
all
I
still
left
Winston
Street
every
morning
for
the
long
cycle
ride
through
town
and
up
the
Banbury
Road
At
about
ten
to
nine
I
tethered
the
bike
to
a
lamp-post
and
proceeded
at
a
leisurely
pace
on
foot
to
the
Parsons
I
had
to
wait
at
most
a
couple
of
minutes
before
Dennis
opened
the
back
door
walked
across
to
the
garage
unlocked
it
swung
the
door
up
and
stepped
inside
While
he
was
out
of
sight
of
the
gate
I
walked
up
the
drive
opened
the
front
door
with
the
key
Karen
had
given
me
and
ran
upstairs
After
that
it
was
a
race
I
reduced
the
odds
by
wearing
a
pullover
slip-off
shoes
and
no
underwear
but
it
was
still
touch
and
go
The
idea
was
to
be
in
Karen's
bed
in
Karen's
arms
and
ideally
in
Karen
by
the
time
Dennis
paused
to
call
Goodbye
darling
from
the
foot
of
the
stairs
Dennis's
unwitting
participation
in
our
mating
was
so
exciting
that
we
soon
overcame
any
lingering
doubts
about
the
risks
involved
So
far
from
abandoning
our
folly
we
started
pushing
it
as
far
as
it
would
go
This
was
made
perfectly
clear
by
our
spontaneous
reaction
one
morning
when
it
seemed
that
the
game
was
finally
up
Dennis
had
shouted
goodbye
and
gone
out
as
usual
closing
the
front
door
loudly
behind
him
In
the
bedroom
upstairs
his
wife
and
I
were
making
love
slowly
But
instead
of
the
genteel
growl
as
the
BMW
drove
off
Dennis's
footsteps
crunched
back
across
the
gravel
to
the
house
and
the
front
door
opened
Kay!
He
started
to
climb
the
stairs
Karen
thrust
her
pelvis
against
me
and
raked
my
buttocks
with
her
fingernails
Did
you
call
Roger
about
Saturday
Forgot
Oh
for
God's
sake
Karen
Have
you
got
any
idea
of
the
number
of
things
I
have
to
keep
track
of
every
day
Calls
to
make
people
to
see
papers
to
consign
All
I
ask
of
you
is
to
make
one
phone
call
to
firm
up
a
social
event
and
you
can't
even
get
that
together!
While
Dennis
maundered
on
Karen
filled
her
mouth
with
my
shoulder
and
neck
then
broke
away
to
shout
her
brief
replies
in
as
normal
a
voice
as
possible
I
was
working
her
hard
by
now
trying
to
make
her
lose
control
With
Dennis
just
a
few
feet
away
on
the
stairs
it
was
the
sexual
equivalent
of
Russian
roulette
Sorry
It's
no
use
being
bloody
sorry
just
get
it
done
Today
all
right
This
morning
Phone
him
at
work
Have
you
got
the
number
Nah!
Well
it's
in
the
book
Acme
Media
Consultants
Just
don't
forget
again
understand
Wanna!
What
There
was
a
pause
Dennis
squeaked
up
another
couple
of
steps
Are
you
all
right
Flubbadub
You
sound
a
bit
funny
Gawn
Karen
squawked
Slate!
This
was
an
appeal
Dennis
couldn't
ignore
After
a
moment
we
heard
his
footsteps
descending
the
stairs
again
Just
don't
forget
to
make
that
call!
he
shouted
from
the
hallway
By
now
Karen's
neck
was
a
tree
trunk
of
muscles
that
branched
out
across
her
face
slitting
her
eyes
tauting
her
lips
draw-stringing
her
throat
As
the
BMW
finally
drove
away
they
all
let
go
at
once
releasing
an
answering
roar
that
seemed
to
come
all
the
way
from
her
sex
and
anus
rippling
up
her
spine
and
out
of
her
gaping
mouth
That
was
the
best
ever
she
gasped
as
we
lay
side
by
side
our
arms
and
hips
touching
lightly
Whatever
would
we
do
without
him
I
had
my
ideas
about
that
Date
Not
given
Title
GET
CARTER
Author
Ted
Lewis
B
Carter
first
person
narrator
C
Landlady
G
Con
J
Peter
K
Gerald
L
Les
M
telephone
operator
Saturday
I
woke
up
I
was
alone
It
was
daylight
and
it
was
raining
The
bed
was
warm
I
only
had
my
shirt
on
It
was
undone
and
rived
up
round
my
armpits
The
door
opened
My
landlady
backed
into
the
room
She
was
carrying
a
tray
with
breakfast
stuff
on
it
I
looked
at
my
watch
It
said
twenty
to
nine
My
landlady
came
and
sat
on
the
bed
I
sat
up
She
put
the
tray
across
my
legs
On
it
there
was
boiled
eggs
and
things
All
I
was
interested
in
was
the
tea
pot
What's
this
in
aid
of
I
said
Would
you
like
me
to
throw
it
at
you
I
didn't
say
anything
She
poured
the
tea
out
I
drank
a
cup
and
poured
myself
a
refill
Well
she
said
aren't
you
going
to
eat
it
I
don't
eat
breakfast
I
said
You're
a
real
little
charmer
aren't
you
she
said
I
picked
up
my
cup
and
she
moved
the
tray
to
the
part
of
the
bed
I
wasn't
in
I
could
tell
from
her
face
she
wanted
more
I
didn't
want
to
give
her
any
but
if
she
insisted
I
thought
I'd
better
For
the
same
reason
I
had
done
last
night
the
sweeter
she
was
the
less
danger
there
was
of
her
phoning
the
Cop
Shop
if
she
ever
saw
a
newspaper
item
she
might
associate
with
me
You
never
could
tell
She
got
into
bed
and
we
got
down
to
it
We
were
going
strong
when
the
bedroom
door
opened
I
rolled
off
her
very
quickly
The
breakfast
things
went
all
over
the
place
I
took
most
of
the
bedclothes
with
me
My
landlady
screamed
and
tried
to
snatch
the
bedclothes
back
but
she
couldn't
quite
manage
it
so
she
carried
on
screaming
Now
I
was
on
my
back
I
could
see
who
had
opened
the
bedroom
door
Two
men
were
standing
there
looking
at
us
One
was
fairly
tall
with
the
sort
of
unhandsome
good
looks
you
get
on
blokes
in
the
after-shave
ads
He
also
dressed
the
part
He
had
on
a
white
shirt
with
a
broad
hairline
red
and
green
check
pattern
to
it
a
red
knitted
tie
a
bottle
green
V-neck
twill
trousers
and
Oxford
boots
Across
his
shoulders
was
draped
a
fur
collared
waterproof
and
on
his
hands
were
those
tiny
stringy
driving
gloves
The
only
items
not
entirely
for
show
were
the
Oxford
boots
He
was
smiling
The
other
man
was
not
so
tall
and
not
nearly
so
good
looking
He
had
on
a
leather
trilby
and
a
single
breasted
leather
coat
with
a
tie
belt
Underneath
the
coat
was
a
mohair
suit
the
same
colour
as
mine
Not
surprising
as
we
both
used
the
same
tailor
Black
hair
curled
from
under
the
trilby
and
hung
over
his
coat
collar
His
hands
were
in
his
coat
pockets
He
was
smiling
The
good
looking
man
in
the
English
clothes
was
called
Peter
the
Dutchman
The
not
so
good
looking
man
was
called
Con
McCarty
It
wasn't
a
big
step
from
there
to
Mack
the
Knife
They
both
worked
for
Gerald
and
Les
Fletcher
Hello
Jack
said
Con
still
smiling
Don't
let
us
interrupt
you
You
just
carry
on
with
what
you
were
doing
said
Peter
He
was
still
smiling
too
My
landlady
had
stopped
screaming
by
now
because
she'd
managed
to
cover
herself
up
I
sat
up
and
looked
at
Peter
and
Con
Don't
tell
me
I
said
Let
me
guess
Con
rubbed
his
nose
with
his
forefinger
Sorry
about
this
he
said
But
there
you
are
Orders
is
orders
as
they
say
And
what
orders
would
they
be
Con
Gerald
called
us
at
half-past
three
this
morning
Just
after
somebody
had
called
him
Somebody
told
him
you'd
been
making
a
nuisance
of
yourself
I
said
nothing
So
Gerald
asked
us
if
we'd
drive
up
and
ask
you
if
you
wouldn't
mind
coming
back
to
London
with
us
said
Peter
He
said
it'd
be
doing
him
a
big
favour
if
you
would
said
Con
I
said
nothing
I
mean
we
appreciate
why
you're
all
steamed
up
said
Con
and
so
do
Gerald
and
Les
they
really
do
But
they
have
to
be
diplomatic
said
Peter
They
have
to
take
the
broader
view
Both
of
them
were
still
smiling
Gerald
and
Les
sent
you
to
fetch
me
back
I
said
They
just
went
on
smiling
One
way
or
the
other
I
said
They
didn't
say
anything
And
you
think
you're
going
to
do
it
I
said
Nothing
but
smiles
I
leapt
out
of
the
bed
and
picked
up
the
shotgun
and
pointed
it
at
them
Right
I
said
Right
So
take
me
back
to
London
Now
Jack
said
Con
you
know
it'd
be
best
if
you
just
got
dressed
and
came
with
us
I
mean
we
don't
want
to
get
all
involved
do
we
said
Peter
I
advanced
on
them
They
stepped
back
a
little
bit
They
were
still
smiling
Put
it
away
Jack
said
Con
You
know
you
won't
use
it
The
gun
he
means
said
Peter
Out
I
said
Out
out
out!
They
bundled
through
the
door
Con
laughed
If
Audrey
could
see
you
now
he
said
Out
I
said
They
started
down
the
stairs
stumbling
against
one
another
in
their
mirth
I
followed
In
the
hall
Peter
stopped
and
said
We'll
have
to
take
you
back
Jack
whether
we
do
it
now
or
later
Con
opened
the
front
door
Come
on
Jack
he
said
Be
reasonable
Out
I
said
They
went
through
the
front
door
still
smiling
I
followed
them
The
street
was
slick
with
greasy
rain
Peter's
red
Jag
was
parked
by
the
kerb
across
the
street
from
the
boarding
house
He
loved
his
shiny
red
motor
He
kept
it
looking
very
nice
Con
and
Peter
went
down
the
steps
and
stood
on
the
path
and
looked
up
at
me
Well
I
suppose
we'll
be
seeing
you
later
said
Con
Out
I
said
We
are
out
said
Peter
I
began
to
go
down
the
steps
Mind
you
don't
catch
cold
said
Con
They
both
laughed
I
hope
she's
got
understanding
neighbours
said
Peter
They
went
down
the
path
and
got
into
the
Jag
See
you
when
you've
got
your
trousers
on
said
Con
I
went
into
the
hall
and
closed
the
door
behind
me
There
was
a
pay
phone
on
the
wall
next
to
the
hall
stand
I
went
over
to
the
phone
and
picked
up
the
receiver
I
dialled
O
After
a
while
the
operator
came
on
I
asked
for
a
London
number
Transfer
charge
I
waited
A
Mr
Carter
is
calling
from
Will
you
pay
for
the
call
Yes
thank
you
said
Gerald's
voice
Go
ahead
please
caller
said
the
operator
Gerald
I
said
Hello
Jack
I've
just
seen
Peter
the
Dutchman
and
Con
McCarty
Oh
yes
How
are
they
Very
well
I
said
Providing
they
keep
out
of
my
way
Now
look
Jack
No
You
look
You
look
I
shouted
Get
off
my
fucking
back
Gerald
or
there'll
be
trouble
I'm
telling
you
You're
telling
me
Jack
That's
right
Oh
I
must
have
got
it
wrong
I
thought
I
was
the
boss
and
that
you
worked
for
me
I
heard
Les's
voice
in
the
background
saying
Let
me
talk
to
the
cunt
There
was
a
rattle
at
the
other
end
of
the
line
Les
came
on
Now
listen
here
cunt
he
said
You
work
for
us
You
do
as
you're
told
That's
what
you're
paid
to
do
Either
you
come
back
today
or
you're
dead
I
mean
that
Oh
yes
I
said
That's
very
interesting
Gerald
came
back
on
the
line
Les
didn't
mean
that
Jack
he
said
He's
very
angry
just
at
the
moment
I
heard
Les's
voice
in
the
background
saying
yes
he
fucking
well
did
mean
it
Then
what
did
he
mean
Look
Jack
why
don't
you
come
home
and
save
everybody
a
lot
of
trouble
I
am
home
And
who's
everybody
You
for
a
start
And
Us
Why
Never
mind
You
know
something
don't
you
No
I
don't
Jack
Just
come
home
with
Con
and
Peter
and
let's
forget
it
eh
I'm
not
coming
back
Gerald
Not
until
I've
found
who
killed
Frank
You
know
we've
asked
Con
and
Peter
to
bring
you
back
even
if
you
don't
particularly
want
to
come
I
did
gather
that
I
said
Have
they
got
shooters
Jack
Because
they'll
bloody
well
need
them
I
said
and
slammed
the
phone
down
I
went
up
the
stairs
My
landlady
was
standing
at
the
top
I
walked
past
her
into
my
room
and
went
over
to
the
window
I
looked
out
Peter
the
Dutchman
was
sitting
on
the
bonnet
of
the
car
smoking
looking
up
at
the
window
He
waved
when
he
saw
me
I
couldn't
see
any
sign
of
Con
He
was
probably
round
the
back
I
turned
away
and
began
to
get
dressed
My
landlady
came
into
the
room
I
want
you
to
do
something
for
me
I
said
tying
my
tie
What
and
get
myself
beaten
up
again
There's
no
chance
of
that
I
said
Not
much
They're
friends
of
mine
That'll
make
me
feel
better
will
it
I
ignored
her
and
packed
my
hold-all
and
picked
up
the
shotgun
I
went
out
of
the
room
She
followed
me
downstairs
and
into
the
kitchen
I
looked
over
the
top
of
the
lace
curtains
that
covered
the
glass
panel
in
the
back
door
I
couldn't
see
anything
of
Con
There
were
just
dustbins
and
damp
grey
grass
and
beyond
the
thin
rain
more
houses
We're
going
into
the
garage
by
the
door
at
the
side
I
said
I'm
going
to
get
in
the
car
and
the
minute
I
start
it
up
I
want
you
to
open
the
garage
door
Sharpish
What
are
you
going
to
do
Sit
in
the
car
and
whistle
Rule
Britannia
I
opened
the
door
and
stepped
outside
My
landlady
folded
her
arms
and
stayed
where
she
was
I
leant
back
and