hock shop, and have the other engraved “With Gratitude From a Successful Patient.” Then I can offer people cigarettes from it, and do my professional standing no end of good. Though I suppose I might as well have “With Gratitude from Her Royal Highness” while I’m about it, don’t you think?’
I’d left Long Wotton that morning to the touching distress of everybody, particularly the sub-postmistress, who burst into tears and gummed up all the threepenny stamps. Even the old uncle had congratulated me on handling the Nutbeams, and not only written a comfortable cheque as promised but given me a straw hat from Jamaica. Percy Nutbeam himself had smartly disappeared from the district, it was rumoured to sell cars in a Piccadilly showroom, and I’d half a mind to go along later and make faces through the plate-glass window.
It was a beautiful afternoon in the middle of Ascot week as I arrived in London, when even the chaps with placards announcing Doom is Nigh at the bottom of the Edgware Road looked as though the world wasn’t such a bad old place after all. I was sorry to find the only drab patch on the whole cheerful canvas of life was poor old Miles himself.
‘They’ve postponed the appointment at St Swithin’s for six months,’ he announced, not seeming really interested in cigarette cases. ‘The committee have invited Professor Kaiser from Kentucky to fill the gap with a clinical visit.’
‘Gloved hands across the sea, and all that?’
He snorted. ‘Not a bit of it! It’s nothing but a transparent ruse for everyone to organize their forces. My only encouragement is that Mr Longfellow from the Neurosurgical Department is now supporting me. Though, of course, he always opposes Sir Lancelot in everything.’
‘Because Sir Lancelot gave him out, umpiring the last Staff and Students cricket match.’
‘I shouldn’t be at all surprised at that.’ Miles stared gloomily at the print of Luke Fildes’ The Doctor . ‘If only the patients knew what went on behind their backs!’
‘Why don’t you and Connie get away from it all and take a holiday?’ I suggested. ‘The yearly change of scene is essential for mental and bodily health – lesson one, social medicine.’
‘Nothing depresses me quite so much as packing.’
‘But the sunny shores of the Mediterranean–’
‘Only seem to give me the gut-rot.’
I’d thought of passing on Sir Lancelot’s advice. but the poor fellow looked so hopelessly miserable I said instead, ‘Don’t worry about me, old lad. I’ll do my bit by staying out of sight and out of trouble. At least for the next six months.’
‘You know, Gaston, you’re… you’re being rather decent about all this.’
‘Not at all. One of the family, good cause, and all that.’
‘I’m sincerely grateful to you. If can be any help in finding a new position–’
‘Not necessary, old lad. I have a scheme which will take me right out of everybody’s hair for a bit.’
‘You’re not emigrating?’ I thought his voice sounded a little too hopeful. ‘Apart from the oil company, I know the Secretary of the Commonwealth Resettlement Board pretty well at the club. He could easily fix you up somewhere like Australia or Canada.’
I shook my head. ‘Worthy places all, but I shall remain based on this blessed plot. What was it old Sir Lancelot used to tell us? “I know one-half of this country thinks it’s underpaid and the other half that it’s over-taxed, but believe me, gentlemen, it’s cheap at the price.” Anyway, my immediate future is taken care of in the homeland.’
‘Respectably, I trust?’
‘Very. But I must maintain strict professional secrecy about it at the moment.’
Miles looked surprised, but asked no more questions. We parted on such excellent terms I wished afterwards I’d thought of asking him for another ten quid.
I didn’t enlighten Miles that I was planning to write a book, because he would have told me it was a stupid notion, and I
I’d left Long Wotton that morning to the touching distress of everybody, particularly the sub-postmistress, who burst into tears and gummed up all the threepenny stamps. Even the old uncle had congratulated me on handling the Nutbeams, and not only written a comfortable cheque as promised but given me a straw hat from Jamaica. Percy Nutbeam himself had smartly disappeared from the district, it was rumoured to sell cars in a Piccadilly showroom, and I’d half a mind to go along later and make faces through the plate-glass window.
It was a beautiful afternoon in the middle of Ascot week as I arrived in London, when even the chaps with placards announcing Doom is Nigh at the bottom of the Edgware Road looked as though the world wasn’t such a bad old place after all. I was sorry to find the only drab patch on the whole cheerful canvas of life was poor old Miles himself.
‘They’ve postponed the appointment at St Swithin’s for six months,’ he announced, not seeming really interested in cigarette cases. ‘The committee have invited Professor Kaiser from Kentucky to fill the gap with a clinical visit.’
‘Gloved hands across the sea, and all that?’
He snorted. ‘Not a bit of it! It’s nothing but a transparent ruse for everyone to organize their forces. My only encouragement is that Mr Longfellow from the Neurosurgical Department is now supporting me. Though, of course, he always opposes Sir Lancelot in everything.’
‘Because Sir Lancelot gave him out, umpiring the last Staff and Students cricket match.’
‘I shouldn’t be at all surprised at that.’ Miles stared gloomily at the print of Luke Fildes’ The Doctor . ‘If only the patients knew what went on behind their backs!’
‘Why don’t you and Connie get away from it all and take a holiday?’ I suggested. ‘The yearly change of scene is essential for mental and bodily health – lesson one, social medicine.’
‘Nothing depresses me quite so much as packing.’
‘But the sunny shores of the Mediterranean–’
‘Only seem to give me the gut-rot.’
I’d thought of passing on Sir Lancelot’s advice. but the poor fellow looked so hopelessly miserable I said instead, ‘Don’t worry about me, old lad. I’ll do my bit by staying out of sight and out of trouble. At least for the next six months.’
‘You know, Gaston, you’re… you’re being rather decent about all this.’
‘Not at all. One of the family, good cause, and all that.’
‘I’m sincerely grateful to you. If can be any help in finding a new position–’
‘Not necessary, old lad. I have a scheme which will take me right out of everybody’s hair for a bit.’
‘You’re not emigrating?’ I thought his voice sounded a little too hopeful. ‘Apart from the oil company, I know the Secretary of the Commonwealth Resettlement Board pretty well at the club. He could easily fix you up somewhere like Australia or Canada.’
I shook my head. ‘Worthy places all, but I shall remain based on this blessed plot. What was it old Sir Lancelot used to tell us? “I know one-half of this country thinks it’s underpaid and the other half that it’s over-taxed, but believe me, gentlemen, it’s cheap at the price.” Anyway, my immediate future is taken care of in the homeland.’
‘Respectably, I trust?’
‘Very. But I must maintain strict professional secrecy about it at the moment.’
Miles looked surprised, but asked no more questions. We parted on such excellent terms I wished afterwards I’d thought of asking him for another ten quid.
I didn’t enlighten Miles that I was planning to write a book, because he would have told me it was a stupid notion, and I
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