find. That's it, he'd say he'd changed his mind, that before going to see X he had thought it would be better if first he went and consulted Y. Whereupon he embarked upon his frenzied toings and froings. He marched in hope and perspiration.
'Oh hello, Arianny, what a lovely surprise, how sweet of you to call. Excuse me just one second, darling.' (He pretended to speak to a colleague who had supposedly just come into his office, and in a superior voice, with his mouth close to the receiver so that his wife would not miss a word, he said: 'Couldn't possibly. I shan't have time to see you today. If I've a moment free tomorrow, I'll let you know.') 'Sorry, darling, that was Huxley wanting some information, you know, the one who rather fancies himself, but that sort of thing doesn't wash with me.' (Huxley, Solal's principal private secretary, was the best turned out but also the most overbearing Englishman in the whole Secretariat. Adrien had selected him as his victim because he knew for certain, alas, that he would never be invited to Huxley's house. So there was absolutely no risk of Ariane's ever noticing that he could be very pleasant to the snob in other circumstances.) 'Well now, darling, and to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing the sound of your lovely voice?' (A flash of his tapered tongue, pushed out and sucked back in at once, a habit he had copied from Huxley.) 'You want to come and see me here? How splendid! I'm delighted! Let's see, it's ten to five now. Take the car and try to come directly, will you? I'll show you my little Brunswick, you know, I told you about it, that improved pencil-sharpener with the handle you turn, I ordered one from Supplies before we went to Valescure, a porter just brought it. I haven't tried it yet but I think it's pretty good.'
There was no reply. She had hung up. He wiped his glasses. A funny girl, his Arianny, but what charm! Yes, kiss her hand when she arrived, that would be the refined smart thing to do. Then he'd usher her to a chair with a touch of the Quai d'Orsays. Annoyingly, all he had to usher her to was an ordinary straight-backed affair rather than a proper leathet armchair. But 'I write to officially state'! And 'militate these drawbacks'! Patience, patience!
'Is that all you can say? But there is absolutely nothing I can do, old man, I've done my level best to get to meet that stinker Solal, confound him! What do you want me to do, it's not my fault if that swine Huxley happened to come by and give me a queer look, obviously he was wondering what on earth I was doing there clutching a thick file. So what did you expect? I had to clear off, there was nothing else for it. I'll have another go tomorrow, all right? Right. Fine. Now leave me alone. Anyway, I've got other things on my mind. I must see how our little Brunswick performs. Come on then, pet.'
Feeling quite excited, he put the first pencil in the slot, turned the handle gently, admired its smooth, well-oiled action, and then took the pencil out. A perfect point. The Brunswick was a good little worker, the two of them would get along like a house on fire.
'I love you,' he told it. 'And now for the next of the bunch!' he said, picking up another pencil.
A few moments later the phone rang. He withdrew the seventh pencil from the sharpener and picked up the receiver. It was the porter at the front entrance asking if a Madame Adrien Deume could come up. He replied that he was in a meeting and would phone the moment he was free. He hung up, poked out the end of his tongue, and then put it away again. Good for the image being in a meeting and making her wait a while!
'In a meeting,' he said, archly articulating, and he put the pencil back into the machine, gave it three turns, removed it, inspected it, decided it was done to a T, and pricked his cheek with it to test its sharpness. A marvel! He would do some more tomorrow. But now, get things ready. He moved the chair she would sit on to the right spot. Alas, it
'Oh hello, Arianny, what a lovely surprise, how sweet of you to call. Excuse me just one second, darling.' (He pretended to speak to a colleague who had supposedly just come into his office, and in a superior voice, with his mouth close to the receiver so that his wife would not miss a word, he said: 'Couldn't possibly. I shan't have time to see you today. If I've a moment free tomorrow, I'll let you know.') 'Sorry, darling, that was Huxley wanting some information, you know, the one who rather fancies himself, but that sort of thing doesn't wash with me.' (Huxley, Solal's principal private secretary, was the best turned out but also the most overbearing Englishman in the whole Secretariat. Adrien had selected him as his victim because he knew for certain, alas, that he would never be invited to Huxley's house. So there was absolutely no risk of Ariane's ever noticing that he could be very pleasant to the snob in other circumstances.) 'Well now, darling, and to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing the sound of your lovely voice?' (A flash of his tapered tongue, pushed out and sucked back in at once, a habit he had copied from Huxley.) 'You want to come and see me here? How splendid! I'm delighted! Let's see, it's ten to five now. Take the car and try to come directly, will you? I'll show you my little Brunswick, you know, I told you about it, that improved pencil-sharpener with the handle you turn, I ordered one from Supplies before we went to Valescure, a porter just brought it. I haven't tried it yet but I think it's pretty good.'
There was no reply. She had hung up. He wiped his glasses. A funny girl, his Arianny, but what charm! Yes, kiss her hand when she arrived, that would be the refined smart thing to do. Then he'd usher her to a chair with a touch of the Quai d'Orsays. Annoyingly, all he had to usher her to was an ordinary straight-backed affair rather than a proper leathet armchair. But 'I write to officially state'! And 'militate these drawbacks'! Patience, patience!
'Is that all you can say? But there is absolutely nothing I can do, old man, I've done my level best to get to meet that stinker Solal, confound him! What do you want me to do, it's not my fault if that swine Huxley happened to come by and give me a queer look, obviously he was wondering what on earth I was doing there clutching a thick file. So what did you expect? I had to clear off, there was nothing else for it. I'll have another go tomorrow, all right? Right. Fine. Now leave me alone. Anyway, I've got other things on my mind. I must see how our little Brunswick performs. Come on then, pet.'
Feeling quite excited, he put the first pencil in the slot, turned the handle gently, admired its smooth, well-oiled action, and then took the pencil out. A perfect point. The Brunswick was a good little worker, the two of them would get along like a house on fire.
'I love you,' he told it. 'And now for the next of the bunch!' he said, picking up another pencil.
A few moments later the phone rang. He withdrew the seventh pencil from the sharpener and picked up the receiver. It was the porter at the front entrance asking if a Madame Adrien Deume could come up. He replied that he was in a meeting and would phone the moment he was free. He hung up, poked out the end of his tongue, and then put it away again. Good for the image being in a meeting and making her wait a while!
'In a meeting,' he said, archly articulating, and he put the pencil back into the machine, gave it three turns, removed it, inspected it, decided it was done to a T, and pricked his cheek with it to test its sharpness. A marvel! He would do some more tomorrow. But now, get things ready. He moved the chair she would sit on to the right spot. Alas, it
Similar Books
