don’t think he’d have married the first time if Mummy hadn’t had money. He didn’t really want any competition, you know.’
‘With whom?’
‘With anyone. If he was married people would always say, “Oh, and how is your wife?” Divided attention, you see.’
‘Yes, I see.’
‘He had Buster to take care of him, and Buster was better than a wife. He didn’t have to remember Buster’s birthday or buy him flowers.’
‘He does seem very devoted.’
‘Oh, he is. Poor old thing. He’ll be so lost without Daddy.’ It was the first time, Slider noticed, that she had said ‘Daddy’instead of ‘my father’. ‘He’s like a faithful old dog. A bit creepy almost, I sometimes used to think, the way he dedicated himself to him. But now they’ve grown old together they’re a bit more on equal terms. They fight like cat and dog, you know. It’s quite funny sometimes, as long as you’re out of range. They sling plates at each other like a married couple.’
Slider inched in a delicate question. ‘The relationship between them – was it ever – was Buster more than—?’
She cut him off, looking genuinely shocked, and even a little annoyed. ‘Good God no! Oh, I know nowadays it’s the first thing anyone thinks, and it does make me cross. There was nothing like that between them. My father may have been a swine, but he was perfectly normal.’
‘I was really asking more from Buster’s side.’
‘He was married too, you seem to forget. Of course he was normal.’
‘It doesn’t always follow.’
She looked at him, and then sniffed. ‘I suppose not. But I assure you Buster wasn’t – isn’t – like that. He thinks my father’s a genius, that’s all.’
‘And was he?’
She noticed the change of tense. ‘I keep forgetting. He was always such a larger-than-life figure, it’s hard to remember he’s gone. Well, I don’t know – a genius? Yes, I suppose he was. If I hadn’t been his daughter I probably would have worshipped him too. I do love music, you know. But by the time I was old enough to leave home, I’d had enough of the world of music, if you follow.’ Slider nodded. ‘That’s why I married Alec.’ She smiled. ‘Alec’s a musical ignoramus. He wouldn’t know Schubert from Schoenberg. It was so refreshing! And it drove my father mad, of course. He absolutely forbade me to marry, so I waited until I was twenty-one and then thumbed my nose at him. He never really forgave me.’
He couldn’t tell how she felt about that. He asked, ‘What were relations like between you and your father? Recently, I mean.’
‘He didn’t really care about me, not as a person. But I was
his
child, you know, so he wanted me to do well so that he could bathe in reflected glory. He was very into all that. Buster said a clever thing once – that my father never discarded, he only added to his hand. If he’d ever talent-spotted anyone or helpedthem in their career, they were his for life, and he expected them to go on being grateful and referring to his influence in all future interviews. He didn’t much care for my business – he thought it was frivolous – but when I did well at it and made lots of money and became famous in my own small way, he liked to claim the credit.’
‘How did he do that?’
‘He brought me up to have good taste, of course, and taught me to stand on my own two feet and be tough, which made me a good businesswoman. And his fame rubbed off on me, so that people used me because they wanted to say their house was done over by Sir Stefan Radek’s daughter.’ She smiled tautly. ‘All nonsense, of course, but I stopped arguing with him. If it made him happy.’
‘Did you see much of him?’
‘No, not really. I suppose it averaged out at about once a month. Family occasions, and the odd invitation if he felt we would do him credit. I didn’t pop in. For one thing he was hardly ever at home – although he had slowed down a bit in the last year or two.
‘With whom?’
‘With anyone. If he was married people would always say, “Oh, and how is your wife?” Divided attention, you see.’
‘Yes, I see.’
‘He had Buster to take care of him, and Buster was better than a wife. He didn’t have to remember Buster’s birthday or buy him flowers.’
‘He does seem very devoted.’
‘Oh, he is. Poor old thing. He’ll be so lost without Daddy.’ It was the first time, Slider noticed, that she had said ‘Daddy’instead of ‘my father’. ‘He’s like a faithful old dog. A bit creepy almost, I sometimes used to think, the way he dedicated himself to him. But now they’ve grown old together they’re a bit more on equal terms. They fight like cat and dog, you know. It’s quite funny sometimes, as long as you’re out of range. They sling plates at each other like a married couple.’
Slider inched in a delicate question. ‘The relationship between them – was it ever – was Buster more than—?’
She cut him off, looking genuinely shocked, and even a little annoyed. ‘Good God no! Oh, I know nowadays it’s the first thing anyone thinks, and it does make me cross. There was nothing like that between them. My father may have been a swine, but he was perfectly normal.’
‘I was really asking more from Buster’s side.’
‘He was married too, you seem to forget. Of course he was normal.’
‘It doesn’t always follow.’
She looked at him, and then sniffed. ‘I suppose not. But I assure you Buster wasn’t – isn’t – like that. He thinks my father’s a genius, that’s all.’
‘And was he?’
She noticed the change of tense. ‘I keep forgetting. He was always such a larger-than-life figure, it’s hard to remember he’s gone. Well, I don’t know – a genius? Yes, I suppose he was. If I hadn’t been his daughter I probably would have worshipped him too. I do love music, you know. But by the time I was old enough to leave home, I’d had enough of the world of music, if you follow.’ Slider nodded. ‘That’s why I married Alec.’ She smiled. ‘Alec’s a musical ignoramus. He wouldn’t know Schubert from Schoenberg. It was so refreshing! And it drove my father mad, of course. He absolutely forbade me to marry, so I waited until I was twenty-one and then thumbed my nose at him. He never really forgave me.’
He couldn’t tell how she felt about that. He asked, ‘What were relations like between you and your father? Recently, I mean.’
‘He didn’t really care about me, not as a person. But I was
his
child, you know, so he wanted me to do well so that he could bathe in reflected glory. He was very into all that. Buster said a clever thing once – that my father never discarded, he only added to his hand. If he’d ever talent-spotted anyone or helpedthem in their career, they were his for life, and he expected them to go on being grateful and referring to his influence in all future interviews. He didn’t much care for my business – he thought it was frivolous – but when I did well at it and made lots of money and became famous in my own small way, he liked to claim the credit.’
‘How did he do that?’
‘He brought me up to have good taste, of course, and taught me to stand on my own two feet and be tough, which made me a good businesswoman. And his fame rubbed off on me, so that people used me because they wanted to say their house was done over by Sir Stefan Radek’s daughter.’ She smiled tautly. ‘All nonsense, of course, but I stopped arguing with him. If it made him happy.’
‘Did you see much of him?’
‘No, not really. I suppose it averaged out at about once a month. Family occasions, and the odd invitation if he felt we would do him credit. I didn’t pop in. For one thing he was hardly ever at home – although he had slowed down a bit in the last year or two.
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