Henry Green - Back

“You shouldn’t have bothered,” he said.

“It’s no trouble. I couldn’t let you travel all that distance to Redham for nothing,” she replied. The truth was, her free time lay lonely on her. She was glad, now, to have him round.

“It’s not so good,” he began, and gave a description of how he had found Mr Grant. She listened, seeming to be unmoved. “And there she was, after pretty nearly telling me not to speak a word in front of him which he wouldn’t wish to hear, there she was on about he could never get well.” His indignation made Charley speak out. “What d’you make of that? I felt such a twirp in front of the doctor.”

“She couldn’t help herself, poor thing,” Miss Whitmore explained. “It was too much, you see. Don’t distress yourself. You needn’t suppose he would listen. Anyway we shall never know now, will we? But that’s bad about his health then, Charley, isn’t it?”

“Certainly is,” Mr Summers replied.

“I reckon I ought to drop in on them one day, don’t you?” she said. “I could lend a hand.”

“He wouldn’t care for that,” Charley objected. “From what he told me the other time, he was aiming to keep you dark.”

“But he sent you to see me, Charley?”

“That’s as may be,” Mr Summers took her up, “yet he’d never have let it out to Mrs Grant.”

“Won’t you have the other piece of fish?” she asked. “Go on. I couldn’t. We have a lovely canteen, really, where I work. Well, you can’t tell how much he’s let on to her, can you? There’s not a great deal wives don’t get to know, believe me.”

“Yes,” he said, his mouth full, “you’ve had experience.”

If he had been looking he would have seen her eyes fill with tears at this, but he wasn’t.

“Anyway,” she said, “we’ll never learn now about my dad, if he doesn’t get better.”

“Pretty rotten, though, to upset him, the shape he’s in at the moment.”

“Why, how d’you mean?” she asked.

“By you going down,” he explained.

“Yes, but I can’t just leave her to herself, can I?” she said. “With dad like that? The only bother is Panzer.”

“The cat?”

“My darling puss.”

“But you wouldn’t be there all that amount of time.”

“Oh well, you know how it is,” she said, “either you do a thing properly or not at all. I was thinking I ought to go each day, after what you’ve told me. Why, your cup’s empty. Why didn’t you ask? If you don’t speak up for yourself there’s no one will do it for you, you know. Sitting with an empty cup, indeed.”

“You are certainly looking after me,” he said.

“And how do you manage at your lodgings?” she enquired. “D’you get your rations? I know those old landladies all right.”

“Oh there’s nothing of that sort about Mrs Frazier,” he told her. “Which reminds me. Mrs Grant said Mrs Frazier used to know your mother.”

“It’s news to me,” she replied, uninterested. “Well I hope I know where my responsibility lies. I’ll go down to Redham to find that poor woman, and see if I can’t lend a hand round the house.”

“What about your job?”

“Who, me? I’m on nights, as I told you. I’ve got the daylight hours to myself.”

He felt absolutely comfortable. He could be free, or so he was beginning to imagine, when in her company.

“You’re not like some, then,” he said.

“What d’you mean? Of course I’m not. There’s not everyone who’s on night work.”

“I didn’t mean that, I meant who’ll take their coats off. I had a girl in my office who wasn’t fit even to copy a thing down.”

“You explained about her.”

“I did? Excuse us, I don’t think so?”

“Wasn’t she the girl you took away with you over the August?” She was laughing at him as she asked this. He ruefully laughed back.

“There you are,” he said.

“I’m not,” she said, “but you are,” and pleasantly laughed some more.

He could not get over how easy all this was.

“No, about Redham now, you can’t tell what effect you might have on his health when he sees you,” he said.

“You’re a man, so you think of him. I’m a woman, and I consider her. You don’t want ’em both to fall into neglect, surely? I’ve a responsibility to those two.”

“She knows about you,” he carelessly announced. She cannot have liked this for she said,

“Let’s have less about me and more regard to the old people. Why, I’d have no respect for myself if I didn’t go down. The work here’s nothing. I could look in on them every afternoon.”

“Well that’s grand,” he said, letting it go at last. “I’m sure they’d be very grateful. I see you’re using my cup.”

“There wasn’t anything else for it,” she replied, tart. “I only had the two when you broke yours. They’re a terrific price these days.”

“I can’t imagine what you can have thought.”

“I know right enough,” she said, laughing gaily.

“What did you?” he asked, very shy.

“You want to learn too much too soon,” she replied. “Anyway, it took a bit of forgetting, but I’ve forgotten now all right.”

“All’s well that ends well, then.”

“Least said, soonest mended,” she agreed.

“She wants to keep up the allowance he made,” Charley told her, greatly daring, for he did not know how she would take this.

“Why, that’s generous. But you seem to be pretty well acquainted with my personal affairs now, don’t you?”

He looked at her. It was all right. She was keeping quite pleasant.

“Excuse us will you, please? None of my business, naturally.”

“O.K.” she said. “Only it was queer the way we met, and now here you are knowing so much I’ve no idea what you haven’t learned.”

“It’s luck,” he explained. “Chance, that’s all.”

“Have another cup,” she offered. “Look,” she said, “when you were down at Redham, did you ask about those spare coupons like I advised?”

“How could I?”

“Well, there’s something in that. I’ll tell you what. I will, when I go. It’ll come easier from me.”

He thanked her confusedly. He was amazed that she should be so kind.

“Have you heard anything about Art lately?” she asked.

“Art?”

“Arthur Middlewitch?”

“No, why?”

“There’s a change come over him. He’s not the same man at all.”

“I couldn’t say,” he announced.

“Oh I’m not sending you after him as I did after my old dad,” she laughed. “Don’t you fret. No I only asked. I thought you might have come across him in the ordinary run of business.”

“Not me,” Charley said. “He’s out of my street altogether in the C.E.G.S. Got a big job there, Arthur has.”

“I wonder.”

“How’s that?”

“I fancy Art’s in some sort of trouble. There’s no other way of explaining his manner these past few weeks. And I don’t know about his position with them. I shouldn’t be surprised if you don’t hold down just as important a position at Meads.”

“Me? I’m only the office boy.”

“Then why, when I rang you up, did the telephone lady call you their production manager?”

“Oh, that was just Miss Whindle.”

“What are you, then?”

“That is my job as a matter of fact,” he said.

“There you are. You’ve got to get wise to yourself. Why, if Art came to your firm he’d be glad to take a place under you.”

“If he didn’t sit in my own chair at my own desk.”

“No, you’re not being fair to the man, or to yourself,” she said. Soon after this, he thought it would never do to outstay his welcome. So he made his departure. She noticed he didn’t say a word about when they might meet again. Of course, it was not for her to suggest.