plump thigh clamping him to the floor and then her weight was removed and he rose dizzily to his knees, groping for his spectacles and conscious of Sybil standing directly over him and calling 'Jonquil!' at the top of her voice.
"Don't, Sybil!" he said feebly, but Jonquil was already there and behind her Keith, both looking down at him with wonder while Sybil struggled into her flowered gown and seemed almost to be whimpering between breathless protests. He found his spectacles and put them on, glaring at the children who said nothing at all but just stood there looking down at him.
"Get out!" he roared, "get to hell out of here, both of you!" and to his relief they fled, ignoring Sybil's "No! No! Don't leave me alone with him!"
He got to his feet slowly, rubbing his ear where it had been creased against the carpet. Then he saw her cowering in the window alcove, holding her gown about her like a helpless woman facing a troop of licentious hussars. The sheer idiocy of the situation struck him like a blow from a swinging door.
"Don't behave like a damned child, Sybil!" he grunted. "Be your age, can't you? I'm not going to hurt you, it was all in fun!" She almost choked with indignation.
"Me- 1 Me be my age! I don't know what's the matter with you but if you think you can treat me like a ... a ..."
She did not complete the protest. As he took a single step towards her she jumped for the bathroom door and this time she got there with a yard to spare, slamming it and shooting the bolt.
For a moment he contemplated hurling his weight against it, knowing that the bolt was flimsy and would give at the first rush but the urgency had ebbed from him and although he still felt aggressive and masterful it was not in the same sense. He lifted his hand to thump the panels of the door and then let it drop.
"Sybil!" he said, evenly, "come out of there at once!"
"I most certainly will not," she said, "not until you go and lock yourself in your dressing-room."
"I could break through that bathroom lock with one kick," he announced.
"If you do I shall open the window and scream!" she countered but he noticed an unfamiliar quaver in her voice. Could it be, he wondered, that she was secretly enjoying this romp? Did she want to be pursued and manhandled ? The malevolent imp inside him, who had been dozing since his final gibe at the Head, suddenly woke up and urged him to increase his stake and damn the consequences.
"Sybil!" he said, heavily, "I'm warning you! Either you come out and get into that bed or I walk out of here tonight and I'm not fooling, you ask them up at Napier Hall. There are times when a man needs his wife and this is one of them, so stop being so damned coy and come out this instant. If you don't you'll regret it, I promise you!"
He waited. Ten, fifteen seconds passed. He fancied that he could almost hear her heartbeats and could certainly feel his own. All around them was complete silence. The clock had stopped ticking and still lay where it had fallen amid the wreckage of the bedside table. He took out his watch and polished the glass with his sleeve. It was nine-forty-two and outside darkness had fallen. Through a gap in the curtains he could see lights winking on the hillside and the night breeze came soughing through the open window, striking cold on his temples.
Sebastian," said Sybil at last, and now her voice sounded emin-
47
ently reasonable, "suppose you stay where you are and tell me exactly what's happened? Then, when you've calmed down a little, and if you promise not to be too silly, I'll come out and we can discuss this like sensible people!"
He looked at his watch again. "I'll give you ten seconds to open that door, Sybil!" he said, "and I'm not making conditions, you understand ?"
There was silence again while another ten seconds ticked by. Inside the bathroom she laid her hand on the knob of the bolt but she did not draw it, remaining quite still, listening. Her mind was a turmoil of
"Don't, Sybil!" he said feebly, but Jonquil was already there and behind her Keith, both looking down at him with wonder while Sybil struggled into her flowered gown and seemed almost to be whimpering between breathless protests. He found his spectacles and put them on, glaring at the children who said nothing at all but just stood there looking down at him.
"Get out!" he roared, "get to hell out of here, both of you!" and to his relief they fled, ignoring Sybil's "No! No! Don't leave me alone with him!"
He got to his feet slowly, rubbing his ear where it had been creased against the carpet. Then he saw her cowering in the window alcove, holding her gown about her like a helpless woman facing a troop of licentious hussars. The sheer idiocy of the situation struck him like a blow from a swinging door.
"Don't behave like a damned child, Sybil!" he grunted. "Be your age, can't you? I'm not going to hurt you, it was all in fun!" She almost choked with indignation.
"Me- 1 Me be my age! I don't know what's the matter with you but if you think you can treat me like a ... a ..."
She did not complete the protest. As he took a single step towards her she jumped for the bathroom door and this time she got there with a yard to spare, slamming it and shooting the bolt.
For a moment he contemplated hurling his weight against it, knowing that the bolt was flimsy and would give at the first rush but the urgency had ebbed from him and although he still felt aggressive and masterful it was not in the same sense. He lifted his hand to thump the panels of the door and then let it drop.
"Sybil!" he said, evenly, "come out of there at once!"
"I most certainly will not," she said, "not until you go and lock yourself in your dressing-room."
"I could break through that bathroom lock with one kick," he announced.
"If you do I shall open the window and scream!" she countered but he noticed an unfamiliar quaver in her voice. Could it be, he wondered, that she was secretly enjoying this romp? Did she want to be pursued and manhandled ? The malevolent imp inside him, who had been dozing since his final gibe at the Head, suddenly woke up and urged him to increase his stake and damn the consequences.
"Sybil!" he said, heavily, "I'm warning you! Either you come out and get into that bed or I walk out of here tonight and I'm not fooling, you ask them up at Napier Hall. There are times when a man needs his wife and this is one of them, so stop being so damned coy and come out this instant. If you don't you'll regret it, I promise you!"
He waited. Ten, fifteen seconds passed. He fancied that he could almost hear her heartbeats and could certainly feel his own. All around them was complete silence. The clock had stopped ticking and still lay where it had fallen amid the wreckage of the bedside table. He took out his watch and polished the glass with his sleeve. It was nine-forty-two and outside darkness had fallen. Through a gap in the curtains he could see lights winking on the hillside and the night breeze came soughing through the open window, striking cold on his temples.
Sebastian," said Sybil at last, and now her voice sounded emin-
47
ently reasonable, "suppose you stay where you are and tell me exactly what's happened? Then, when you've calmed down a little, and if you promise not to be too silly, I'll come out and we can discuss this like sensible people!"
He looked at his watch again. "I'll give you ten seconds to open that door, Sybil!" he said, "and I'm not making conditions, you understand ?"
There was silence again while another ten seconds ticked by. Inside the bathroom she laid her hand on the knob of the bolt but she did not draw it, remaining quite still, listening. Her mind was a turmoil of
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