He drank a whole bottle the day I left him. Very nearly became an alcoholic’ Charles had shut his eyes. Angela came and sat next to Derek. ‘There’s a happy ending, though. He’s living with his switchboard operator now and doesn’t touch a drop. They’re thinking of getting engaged.’ She nudged Derek. ‘Get it? Engaged … switch-board girl … No? Well, never mind.’ After a long silence Angela said, ‘I hope the boy was all right.’
‘He was sick,’ said Diana softly.
‘I’d better go and see him,’ murmured Derek.
‘He’s asleep now.’
Angela seemed to be having trouble stopping herself laughing.
‘I actually made him physically sick?’ she asked in amazement.
Diana nodded solemnly. A moment later Angela’s laughter filled the room. Diana rose with dignity and said that she was ready for bed.
‘And I must feed the cat,’ muttered Derek, following her out.
*
Diana hung up her dress carefully, took off her pants and got into bed. Derek climbed in beside her.
‘Was Giles badly sick?’ he asked.
Diana laughed maliciously. ‘He wasn’t sick at all. I said it to embarrass that ghastly girl.’
‘Giles knows what you said?’
‘Of course. He thought it was quite funny.’ Derek said nothing . ‘Don’t you think so?’
Derek thought for a moment. ‘No, I don’t really.’
‘You heard how rude she was to me,’ said Diana sharply.
‘Everyone was rude.’
‘Let’s forget it then,’ she replied, turning off the light.
After the usual dull roar of traffic that permeated even the rear rooms of Abercorn Mansions, Derek found it hard to get used to the unfamiliar stillness of the countryside. The distant barking of a dog or even the sudden notes of a blackbird on the lawn sounded unnaturally loud. Derek tried to sleep but thoughts about the following day prevented him. He had imagined a verydifferent first evening with Charles, the suave and unruffled host, effortlessly in command of everything and everybody. But after the chaos of the past hours, the arrival of his father, which Derek had envisaged as a severe blow to Charles’s perfectly planned holiday arrangements, would go virtually unnoticed and might very well prove more embarrassing to Derek himself than to anybody else. Already Derek could see that his trip to collect his father from Truro would leave Charles and Diana alone for the best part of the afternoon, and the last thing he had intended to allow them was uninterrupted time together.
Other worries also distressed him. He had imagined himself easily acting the perfect husband, but all the time the corrosive acid of his bitterness ate away his capacity for good humour and bonhomie. But more alarming than this was his suspicion that affability might not be the answer anyway. If he did manage to be pleasant and amiable every minute of each day, they might very well think him a more gullible idiot than they had previously assumed. Don’t worry, Charles, we can do it in the sitting-room in front of him; he’ll think we’re doing keep fit exercises or rehearsing a modern ballet.
As Derek lay in the darkness he began to doubt even his belief that his decision to come to Cornwall had been proof of his independence and newly found resolution. Why was he in Cornwall ? Because of Diana. Why was his father coming? Because of Diana. Why had he forced Giles to come too? Because of Diana. Derek saw his suitcase on a chair near the foot of the bed. Why not just pack and leave? Place a note on the dining-room table: ‘Have gone to Ujiji.’ He imagined the stunned silence when they read the note. They would feel that he had weighed them up and found them wanting. He was thinking what a long time it would probably take them to find out where Ujiji was, when he fell asleep.
Chapter 7
A thin channel of sunlight pierced the gap between the curtains and formed a neat square of light on the pale green fitted carpet to the right of Derek’s bed. He reached for his watch on the
‘He was sick,’ said Diana softly.
‘I’d better go and see him,’ murmured Derek.
‘He’s asleep now.’
Angela seemed to be having trouble stopping herself laughing.
‘I actually made him physically sick?’ she asked in amazement.
Diana nodded solemnly. A moment later Angela’s laughter filled the room. Diana rose with dignity and said that she was ready for bed.
‘And I must feed the cat,’ muttered Derek, following her out.
*
Diana hung up her dress carefully, took off her pants and got into bed. Derek climbed in beside her.
‘Was Giles badly sick?’ he asked.
Diana laughed maliciously. ‘He wasn’t sick at all. I said it to embarrass that ghastly girl.’
‘Giles knows what you said?’
‘Of course. He thought it was quite funny.’ Derek said nothing . ‘Don’t you think so?’
Derek thought for a moment. ‘No, I don’t really.’
‘You heard how rude she was to me,’ said Diana sharply.
‘Everyone was rude.’
‘Let’s forget it then,’ she replied, turning off the light.
After the usual dull roar of traffic that permeated even the rear rooms of Abercorn Mansions, Derek found it hard to get used to the unfamiliar stillness of the countryside. The distant barking of a dog or even the sudden notes of a blackbird on the lawn sounded unnaturally loud. Derek tried to sleep but thoughts about the following day prevented him. He had imagined a verydifferent first evening with Charles, the suave and unruffled host, effortlessly in command of everything and everybody. But after the chaos of the past hours, the arrival of his father, which Derek had envisaged as a severe blow to Charles’s perfectly planned holiday arrangements, would go virtually unnoticed and might very well prove more embarrassing to Derek himself than to anybody else. Already Derek could see that his trip to collect his father from Truro would leave Charles and Diana alone for the best part of the afternoon, and the last thing he had intended to allow them was uninterrupted time together.
Other worries also distressed him. He had imagined himself easily acting the perfect husband, but all the time the corrosive acid of his bitterness ate away his capacity for good humour and bonhomie. But more alarming than this was his suspicion that affability might not be the answer anyway. If he did manage to be pleasant and amiable every minute of each day, they might very well think him a more gullible idiot than they had previously assumed. Don’t worry, Charles, we can do it in the sitting-room in front of him; he’ll think we’re doing keep fit exercises or rehearsing a modern ballet.
As Derek lay in the darkness he began to doubt even his belief that his decision to come to Cornwall had been proof of his independence and newly found resolution. Why was he in Cornwall ? Because of Diana. Why was his father coming? Because of Diana. Why had he forced Giles to come too? Because of Diana. Derek saw his suitcase on a chair near the foot of the bed. Why not just pack and leave? Place a note on the dining-room table: ‘Have gone to Ujiji.’ He imagined the stunned silence when they read the note. They would feel that he had weighed them up and found them wanting. He was thinking what a long time it would probably take them to find out where Ujiji was, when he fell asleep.
Chapter 7
A thin channel of sunlight pierced the gap between the curtains and formed a neat square of light on the pale green fitted carpet to the right of Derek’s bed. He reached for his watch on the
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