Charles Snow - The Conscience of the Rich

Charles answered: ‘I shouldn’t think so for a minute.’

‘What is the position then?’ said Katherine.

‘I imagine it’s exactly the same as when she fell ill,’ Charles said.

‘You mean, everything’s coming down on our heads, that’s what you mean, don’t you?’ she cried.

Francis asked: ‘I take it we’re right to gather that the only certain way of stopping this business is to get the Note suppressed?’

‘You’re quite right,’ said Charles.

‘And we’re right to gather that it’s in Ann’s power to do it?’

‘You’re quite right,’ said Charles.

‘She would do it if you told her?’

‘Certainly.’

‘Have you tried?’

For the first time, Charles did not answer immediately. He might have been considering telling them that by now the choice was his. At last he just said: ‘No.’

‘We must ask you to.’ Francis’ temper was rising. ‘You ought to know that I dislike interfering, but this is too serious to let go by. We must ask you to tell her.’

‘I absolutely agree with Francis,’ said Katherine loudly. ‘It would be gross to interfere between you and Ann, but this is an occasion which we simply can’t shut our eyes to, surely you admit that? We must ask you to tell her.’

Charles’ voice was quiet, level, self-possessed after theirs.

‘I haven’t the slightest intention of doing so.’

He looked from one set face to the other. Unexpectedly he smiled.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘You know how fond I am of both of you. Nothing will affect that, so far as I am concerned, don’t you know that? I would do anything for you both.’

‘Then for God’s sake do this,’ cried Katherine.

Charles shook his head. ‘I gave you my answer more unpleasantly than I ought to have done. But it’s still my answer.’

Francis tried to control himself, to subdue his tone in response to Charles’. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘we can’t leave it there. You know, Charles, I feel responsible to some extent. If it hadn’t been for my brother Herbert, we might never have got into this mess. He seems to have covered his tracks somehow—’

‘You needn’t worry about Herbert,’ I said.

‘Are you sure?’ said Francis.

‘Quite sure,’ I said. ‘He’s still got a chance of finishing up as a judge.’

‘I shouldn’t be surprised by anything he did. Not even that,’ said Francis. He turned to Charles again. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘you understand that we can’t leave it there.’

‘I know it’s difficult for you. And I’m sorry.’

Francis went on: ‘I want to make one point clear. Before I go on. We’re not prejudiced by Ann’s political motives you know that, but I want to tell you. I think she over-simplifies it all: but if it comes to two sides, we are on the same side as she is. It’s the only side one could possibly be on. I’m also prepared to admit that the Note has its uses. By and large it’s making a contribution. I should just say that it’s not such a major contribution — it’s not such a major contribution that she’s justified in driving on whoever is getting hurt. It is certainly not worth disgracing your family and breaking up Mr L.’

‘You must agree with that,’ said Katherine. Her voice was angry and menacing: unlike Francis, she was making no attempt to conciliate Charles. ‘Anyone in their senses must agree with that.’

‘I agree with you politically much more than I do with Ann,’ said Charles to Francis. ‘In fact, I’ve always been less committed than you, don’t you realize that?’

It was true. Of us in that room, Francis was the furthest to the left. ‘I’m much more sceptical than you, I suspect,’ said Charles, ‘about what Ann and her friends can possibly achieve. You think this paper of theirs has some value. I must say I doubt it. It’s different for her. She doesn’t doubt it in the slightest. If you’re going to lead that kind of life, you must believe from the start that every little action is important—’

Katherine was frowning, but Francis nodded his head.

‘For myself,’ said Charles, ‘I don’t think any of that matters.’

‘What does matter?’ said Katherine.

‘Simply that this is something Ann believes in. The suggestion is that I should force her to betray it.’

‘You must be mad,’ said Katherine. ‘You can’t give us a better reason than that for getting Uncle Philip into the newspapers?’

‘What reason would you like me to give?’

‘It’s not good enough,’ said Francis.

‘It won’t do her any harm to be forced,’ said Katherine. ‘If you’d done more of it earlier, this would never have happened. Don’t you see that you’ve been wrong since the day you met her?’

‘No,’ said Charles. ‘I don’t see that.’

‘We mustn’t criticize your marriage,’ said Francis.

Katherine interrupted him: ‘If your marriage is worth anything at all, this can’t make any difference. Don’t you see that you can’t afford to be too considerate? And we can’t afford to let you be. Could anyone in the world think the reason you’ve given is enough excuse for ruining Mr L’s peace of mind for the rest of his life?’

Charles said: ‘There was a time when you were prepared to take a risk like that.’ Katherine looked at him. Her bitter indignation lessened, for he had spoken, for the first time that afternoon, with sadness.

‘There was a time,’ he repeated, ‘when you were prepared to take a risk like that. And that time I was on your side, you know.’

‘It was the easy side for you.’ Her tone was stern and accusing again.

‘I should have taken your side whether it was easy or hard,’ said Charles. ‘I’ve always loved you, don’t you know that?’

Katherine was near to tears. He had spoken with a warmth and freedom such as she had scarcely heard. She said: ‘I can’t take your side now. I can’t take your side.’

She burst out: ‘Don’t you see that I can’t? Do you think that I don’t know you at all? You’ve never forgiven Mr L for being in power over you. You’ve never forgiven him for trying to stop your marriage. And he was absolutely right. Since you married this woman, you’ve never cared for the rest of us. You’ve been ready to destroy everything in the family because of her. You’re not sorry now, are you? You’re not sorry for anything you’ve done? I believe you’re glad.’

Charles had stood up. He leant by the fireplace and spoke with a fierce release of energy:

‘I repeat, you were ready to do all these things to marry Francis. I would have done anything on earth to help you. I would still.’

‘You won’t say this one word which would cost you nothing,’ Katherine cried furiously. ‘You won’t stop your wife finishing off a piece of wickedness she should never have thought of. I know you won’t think twice about what this means for Mr L. You’ve always been capable of being cruel. But is it possible for you to think twice of what it means to us?’

‘Yes,’ said Francis. ‘Can you bring yourself to do that?’

Charles replied: ‘You have said some hard things of me. Many of them are true. You have said hard things of Ann. Those you should have kept to yourselves. I won’t trouble to tell you how untrue they are. Are you sure that in all this concern of yours you’re not thinking of your own convenience? Are you sure that your motives are as pure as you seem to think? It will be a nuisance for you to have a scandal in the family. Aren’t you both so comfortable that you’d like to prevent that — whatever else is lost in the process?’

Francis and Katherine sat silent, looking up at him as he stood. Francis, who in much of the quarrel had shown sympathy, was dark with anger, the vein prominent in his forehead. Katherine said, as a last resort: ‘You won’t trust us. Perhaps you’ll trust Lewis. He’s got nothing at stake. Lewis, will you tell him what you think?’