scarcely expecting me to understand. "You can't see them. They won't let you. Only ... a glimpse. Now and then ... when the light fades ... and they grow careless. That's when I see them .. . from the corner of my eye. But I can never .. . never catch a clear sight." We came to a dead stop. "Can you?"
I shrugged, not knowing what to say.
"You have my eyes, Gewgaw. Maybe .. . one day .. . you'll catch a clear sight of them. Then we'll know .. . who they really are. Won't we?"
Still I said nothing, struck as I had been before by the oddly disturbing nature of Felix's delusions. In a world that thought itself so wise yet behaved so stupidly, it was possible sometimes to believe that only the mad saw matters as they truly were, that only people like my brother were prepared to admit what they saw from the corner of their eye.
"You'll tell me ... if you do, won't you?" he persisted. "You'll come .. . and tell me?"
"Oh yes, Felix." I practised my sane unseeing smile. "I'll be sure to."
Max had left for Dorking by the time I returned from Napsbury. I did not know when to expect him back and so should not have been surprised though I was when he appeared early on Monday morning. I was digesting my breakfast and smoking a reflective cigarette at the time, while reading an apocalyptic editorial about what everybody now seemed to agree was a full-scale economic crisis. But it was immediately obvious to me that Max's thunderous expression owed nothing to the run on the pound.
"Don't say it," was his cryptic greeting. "Just don't say it."
"Don't say what, Max?"
"That you told me so. You were right, God damn it. Charnwood won't budge an inch." He helped himself to coffee from the still warm pot on the table and ran his hand ruefully over his unshaven chin. "I practically pleaded with the man. Begged him to give me a chance. I was abject."
The philosophical tone to his remarks gave me cause for hope. "He refused to give his consent?" I asked as sympathetically as I could. "It doesn't surprise me."
"He said I wasn't worthy of his daughter, wasn't fit to marry her." He slumped down in the armchair opposite mine, coffee-cup cradled in his hand. "I love her, for God's sake. And she loves me. But he doesn't seem to care."
"I'm sorry, Max, really I am, but it's only what I warned you to expect."
"He took me out into the garden. Walked me round explaining why he'd planted roses here and rhododendrons there. And then he explained why he'd never allow his daughter to marry a man like me. Why the only thing he was prepared to give me was money. And not even that if I didn't abandon Diana sooner rather than later."
I could not suppress an apprehensive intake of breath at this confirmation of my worst fears. Max heard it and shot a forbidding glare at me before continuing.
"You may as well know I tried to persuade Diana to elope with me. After what Charnwood had said, there seemed to be nothing else for it. If I'd succeeded, he'd probably have cut her off without a penny. But you'll be glad to hear she refused. God knows why, but she needs him to approve of what she does. He realizes that, of course. It's why he's so confident of her obedience and of my compliance with his terms."
"So you will comply?"
He stared at me, then slowly shook his head, as if despairing of my ability to understand. "I can't comply, Guy. I love her. Without her .. . two thousand pounds would mean nothing."
I grimaced. "I never thought I'd hear you say such a thing."
"Neither did I. But it's true."
"If Diana won't disobey him, and you won't withdraw, what will you do?"
"Change his mind."
"How?"
"It's why I caught the early train. Diana has an idea she wants to discuss with you."
"With meT
"Yes. She's accompanying Vita on some hat-buying expedition to Harrods today. She can easily slip away for a while and meet you outside. She suggests the door at the corner of Hans Road and Basil Street around noon. Can you be there?"
"I can, but '
"Diana will explain
I shrugged, not knowing what to say.
"You have my eyes, Gewgaw. Maybe .. . one day .. . you'll catch a clear sight of them. Then we'll know .. . who they really are. Won't we?"
Still I said nothing, struck as I had been before by the oddly disturbing nature of Felix's delusions. In a world that thought itself so wise yet behaved so stupidly, it was possible sometimes to believe that only the mad saw matters as they truly were, that only people like my brother were prepared to admit what they saw from the corner of their eye.
"You'll tell me ... if you do, won't you?" he persisted. "You'll come .. . and tell me?"
"Oh yes, Felix." I practised my sane unseeing smile. "I'll be sure to."
Max had left for Dorking by the time I returned from Napsbury. I did not know when to expect him back and so should not have been surprised though I was when he appeared early on Monday morning. I was digesting my breakfast and smoking a reflective cigarette at the time, while reading an apocalyptic editorial about what everybody now seemed to agree was a full-scale economic crisis. But it was immediately obvious to me that Max's thunderous expression owed nothing to the run on the pound.
"Don't say it," was his cryptic greeting. "Just don't say it."
"Don't say what, Max?"
"That you told me so. You were right, God damn it. Charnwood won't budge an inch." He helped himself to coffee from the still warm pot on the table and ran his hand ruefully over his unshaven chin. "I practically pleaded with the man. Begged him to give me a chance. I was abject."
The philosophical tone to his remarks gave me cause for hope. "He refused to give his consent?" I asked as sympathetically as I could. "It doesn't surprise me."
"He said I wasn't worthy of his daughter, wasn't fit to marry her." He slumped down in the armchair opposite mine, coffee-cup cradled in his hand. "I love her, for God's sake. And she loves me. But he doesn't seem to care."
"I'm sorry, Max, really I am, but it's only what I warned you to expect."
"He took me out into the garden. Walked me round explaining why he'd planted roses here and rhododendrons there. And then he explained why he'd never allow his daughter to marry a man like me. Why the only thing he was prepared to give me was money. And not even that if I didn't abandon Diana sooner rather than later."
I could not suppress an apprehensive intake of breath at this confirmation of my worst fears. Max heard it and shot a forbidding glare at me before continuing.
"You may as well know I tried to persuade Diana to elope with me. After what Charnwood had said, there seemed to be nothing else for it. If I'd succeeded, he'd probably have cut her off without a penny. But you'll be glad to hear she refused. God knows why, but she needs him to approve of what she does. He realizes that, of course. It's why he's so confident of her obedience and of my compliance with his terms."
"So you will comply?"
He stared at me, then slowly shook his head, as if despairing of my ability to understand. "I can't comply, Guy. I love her. Without her .. . two thousand pounds would mean nothing."
I grimaced. "I never thought I'd hear you say such a thing."
"Neither did I. But it's true."
"If Diana won't disobey him, and you won't withdraw, what will you do?"
"Change his mind."
"How?"
"It's why I caught the early train. Diana has an idea she wants to discuss with you."
"With meT
"Yes. She's accompanying Vita on some hat-buying expedition to Harrods today. She can easily slip away for a while and meet you outside. She suggests the door at the corner of Hans Road and Basil Street around noon. Can you be there?"
"I can, but '
"Diana will explain
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