"At three. You have not seen him?"
Beryl shook her head.
"They are taking him into the country. We shall never see him
again," she said simply. "He will not send for us. I am trying to
approach it all in the proper spirit of detachment. He is a little
difficult to live up to--don't you feel that?"
"If I say 'no' you will think I am eaten up with vanity," said
Christina with a quick smile. "I am rather exalted at the moment,
but the reaction will come perhaps, in which case I shall want to
hang on to your understanding."
At three o'clock the car arrived. Mrs. Colebrook saw her daughter go
without regret. Christina was unnatural. She had not shed a tear.
Mrs. Colebrook had heard her laughing and had gone up in a hurry to
deal with hysteria, only to find her reading Stephen Leacock. She
was appalled.
"I am surprised at you, Christina! Here is poor--Mr. Sault in
prison--" Words failed her, she could only make miserable noises.
"Mother has given me up," said Christina, when she was lying on a big
settee in Beryl's room, her thin hand outstretched to the blaze.
"Mother is a sort of female Hericletos--she finds her comfort in
weeping."
Beryl was toasting a muffin at the fire.
"I wish it were a weeping matter," she said, and went straight to the
subject uppermost in her mind. "Moropulos took a photograph of me
coming from Ronald Morelle's flat. I had spent the night there."
She looked at the muffin and turned it. "Moropulos was--nasty. He
must have told Ambrose that he knew."
Christina stirred on the sofa. "Did Ambrose know?"
"Yes: I told him. Not the name of the man, but he guessed, I
think--I know the photograph was in the safe. He went to Ronnie.
Perhaps to kill him. I imagine Ronnie lied for his life. The police
were looking for Ambrose. The--killing of Moropulos was discovered
by a man who heard the shot and the car had just passed through
Woking after the police had been warned. A detective saw the car
outside Ronnie's flat and followed it. I don't know all the details.
Father has seen the inspector in charge of the case. Do you like
sugar in your tea?"
"Two large pieces," said Christina, "I am rather a baby in my love of
sugar. Do you love Ronnie very much, Beryl--you don't mind?"
"No--please. Love him? I suppose so: in a way. I despise him, I
think he is loathsome, but there are times when I have a--wistful
feeling. It may be sheer ungovernable--you know. Yet--I would make
no sacrifice for Ronnie. I feel that. I have made no sacrifice.
Women are hypocrites when they talk of 'giving': they make a
martyrdom of their indulgence. Some women. And it pleases them to
accept the masculine view of their irresponsibility. They love
sympathy. For Ambrose I would sacrifice--everything. It is cheap to
say that I would give my life. I have given more than my life. So
have you."
Christina was silent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account