she wants to spend all her money fast. I think like Curran that it’s very humorous. I hope he brought my lard. I have a five-kilo jar of it that I got the butcher to prepare for me after the shop hours, cheap. Lard is important both for stomach and intestines. It also lubricates the lungs within the chest.’
‘Lina,’ said Violet, ‘you know you should come on trial before bringing all your possessions along here. I’ll give you a week’s—’
‘Here’s Curran,’ said Lina, peering through the glass doors. She opened them. A loaded water-taxi was approaching the landing-stage of the Ca’ Winter, with Curran standing in the midst of a pile of fruit-boxes laden with objects and two armchairs which oozed stuffing at many points,
Violet went out, shivering in her jumper and tweed skirt. Curran smiled at her affectionately as if taking it for granted that she would share an indulgent benevolence towards Lina and her trappings.
‘What d’you think of this lot?’ he said as the boat bumped against the moorings.
‘Look, Curran’ said Violet with a crack in her calm voice that made him look at her attentively. ‘Lina is only on trial. I’m sure she doesn’t want to come on a permanent basis until she finds out whether she likes it. And for my part, I—’
‘Oh, I shall like it. I intend,’ Lina said. She jumped into the boat to grab one of her boxes, setting it rocking and causing the driver to shout.
‘But it’s all settled, Violet,’ said Curran. ‘I can’t let Robert down at this point I promised him I’d get a job for Lina, and you’ve offered her the job.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be useful,’ Lina said, puffing. She was carrying a large open crate, from which the top layer of contents, a hammer, an electric grinder, a mammoth-sized pot of paint and an Italian-English dictionary, gave a hint of the great weight of everything below. ‘Where’s my spirit-stove?’ said Lina when she had dumped her box heavily on the lovely black and white square tiles of the hall. ‘Oh, God, my tiles!’ said Violet. ‘My spirit-stove,’ said Lina, ‘must be somewhere. I need it for my travels if necessary. Most of my furniture I gathered here and there for my flat, but my spirit-stove is necessary for survival. I had it since I made my act of exile. Now, where is it?’ Curran, on the landing paying the drivers of the two boats, stopped doing so; he helped Lina back into a water-taxi and followed her, to make sure the spirit-stove had not been left on the floor of either of the boats. One of the drivers shouted something, whereupon Curran told him to keep the change, helping Lina, with her long skirts lifted, to the landing-stage once more, still calling for her spirit-stove to the skies and to the waters. All of which was witnessed by various Venetians from the footpath and by some of Violet’s elegant tenants from behind the discreet windows of their apartments in the Ca’ Winter.
Violet now stepped forward and ordered the second driver to wait. She looked at Curran and said, firmly, ‘All this stuff must go back. I can’t have it here. I’ll pay Lina a month’s wages and let it go at that.’
‘I’ve nowhere to go,’ Lina said. ‘I’ve rented my flat to an Ethiopian student. I’ve brought my belongings to your house. You gave me the attic studio and I have my civil rights. I fled my country and I got asylum. You have no rights on your side. The student has paid me three months’ rent in advance, which is money that I needed, and it is my right to make my profit in a capitalist system.’ She hauled the first of her bundles over to the lift and pressed the button for it to descend. She pushed in the bundle and heaved another package over to the lift. ‘And I can help you with your researches, like you said you will help me with mine. Don’t worry.’
‘You promised,’ said Curran, suddenly infuriated, ‘to help her find her father’s grave.’ Violet stood still and dignified,
‘Lina,’ said Violet, ‘you know you should come on trial before bringing all your possessions along here. I’ll give you a week’s—’
‘Here’s Curran,’ said Lina, peering through the glass doors. She opened them. A loaded water-taxi was approaching the landing-stage of the Ca’ Winter, with Curran standing in the midst of a pile of fruit-boxes laden with objects and two armchairs which oozed stuffing at many points,
Violet went out, shivering in her jumper and tweed skirt. Curran smiled at her affectionately as if taking it for granted that she would share an indulgent benevolence towards Lina and her trappings.
‘What d’you think of this lot?’ he said as the boat bumped against the moorings.
‘Look, Curran’ said Violet with a crack in her calm voice that made him look at her attentively. ‘Lina is only on trial. I’m sure she doesn’t want to come on a permanent basis until she finds out whether she likes it. And for my part, I—’
‘Oh, I shall like it. I intend,’ Lina said. She jumped into the boat to grab one of her boxes, setting it rocking and causing the driver to shout.
‘But it’s all settled, Violet,’ said Curran. ‘I can’t let Robert down at this point I promised him I’d get a job for Lina, and you’ve offered her the job.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be useful,’ Lina said, puffing. She was carrying a large open crate, from which the top layer of contents, a hammer, an electric grinder, a mammoth-sized pot of paint and an Italian-English dictionary, gave a hint of the great weight of everything below. ‘Where’s my spirit-stove?’ said Lina when she had dumped her box heavily on the lovely black and white square tiles of the hall. ‘Oh, God, my tiles!’ said Violet. ‘My spirit-stove,’ said Lina, ‘must be somewhere. I need it for my travels if necessary. Most of my furniture I gathered here and there for my flat, but my spirit-stove is necessary for survival. I had it since I made my act of exile. Now, where is it?’ Curran, on the landing paying the drivers of the two boats, stopped doing so; he helped Lina back into a water-taxi and followed her, to make sure the spirit-stove had not been left on the floor of either of the boats. One of the drivers shouted something, whereupon Curran told him to keep the change, helping Lina, with her long skirts lifted, to the landing-stage once more, still calling for her spirit-stove to the skies and to the waters. All of which was witnessed by various Venetians from the footpath and by some of Violet’s elegant tenants from behind the discreet windows of their apartments in the Ca’ Winter.
Violet now stepped forward and ordered the second driver to wait. She looked at Curran and said, firmly, ‘All this stuff must go back. I can’t have it here. I’ll pay Lina a month’s wages and let it go at that.’
‘I’ve nowhere to go,’ Lina said. ‘I’ve rented my flat to an Ethiopian student. I’ve brought my belongings to your house. You gave me the attic studio and I have my civil rights. I fled my country and I got asylum. You have no rights on your side. The student has paid me three months’ rent in advance, which is money that I needed, and it is my right to make my profit in a capitalist system.’ She hauled the first of her bundles over to the lift and pressed the button for it to descend. She pushed in the bundle and heaved another package over to the lift. ‘And I can help you with your researches, like you said you will help me with mine. Don’t worry.’
‘You promised,’ said Curran, suddenly infuriated, ‘to help her find her father’s grave.’ Violet stood still and dignified,
Similar Books
