Iris Murdoch - The Book And The Brotherhood

I hate it that Jenkin sees Crimond, Gerard was thinking. It weakens our position. Though heaven knows what exactly our position is. A position should be a strong point to move from. hut what move can we make? God, it's all got so horribly mixed up and messy.

'Of course we'll have Guy Fawkes as usual,' said Jenkin.

'Guy Fawkes. Of course. Gideon will want to send up all the rockets.'

'And then it'll be time for the reading party and then we'll he in sight of Christmas.' It's like talking to a child, thought Jenkin. The, once or twice yearly, reading parties at Rose's house in the country had been going on, with a number of longish intervals, ever since they were students. Rose and Gerard had recently revived the custom which had lapsed for a while.

'Oh yes – the reading party -'

`Will you invite Gulliver?'

'Yes.' Gerard frowned and Jenkin looked away. Gerard felt guilty before Jenkin about Gulliver Ashe. Jenkin had actually said, 'Don't lead him up the garden.' Gerard had, probably, undoubtedly 'encouraged' Gulliver, vaguely, not with anything in view, not for any good reason, not for any reason really except that he had looked rather beautiful when Gerard was feeling lonely. Of course nothing happened except that Gerard seemed to be 'taking him up' and making him a bit of a favourite. Gerard's interest had proved ephemeral; what remained were Gulliver's accusing glances, a resentful all having rights, a faint impertinence.

`Gull still hasn't got a job,' said Jenkin.

'I know!'

The summer and the autumn had changed many things Jenkin had been to a summer school and to Sweden oo it package tour. Rose had stayed with her father's relatiow, iii Yorkshire and her mother's relations in Ireland. Gerard had been to Paris, then to Athens to see an archaeological friend, Peter Manson, who was working at the British School. Tanta had unexpectedly given up the university and taken a job in a publishing firm which Gerard had found for her. Of couple Gerard had offered Violet financial help, he had offered it in his father's name, and Violet had rudely refused it. Gerard fill guilty about Tamar, he now felt he ought to have made nioisi, effort to discover what was going on. Violet said Tamar wan fed up with Oxford, Tamar confirmed this, Gerard, annoyed with Violet, failed to pursue the matter. He had been unhappy and preoccupied at the time, grieving about his father, dismantling and selling the house in Bristol, so full of childhood relics, feuding with Pat and Gideon, worrying about Crimond, worrying about Duncan. Duncan had ostentatiously taken no leave and worked throughout the summer. News of .Jean and Crimond was sparse. They were said to be still living in Crimond's house in Camberwell. They were rumoured to have been to a conference in Amsterdam.

'I hope Duncan will come to the reading party,' said Gerard. 'Christ, I wish I knew what to do about him.'

'There's nothing to do,'said Jenkin. 'Just let determined things to destiny hold unbewailed their way.'

'That's craven.'

'At the moment, I mean. Duncan obviously isn't going to make any move. And if we interfere we could just make trouble.'

'You mean get hurt? Are you afraid?'

‘Of him ? Of course not. I ust mean we could mess up further Lion we don't understand.'

‘What don’t we understand? I understand. I just don't what to do. If you're saying that in this modern age adultery doesn't matter -'

‘I’m not.'

'Jean will have to come back to Duncan- I suppose. There's no life she can lead with that man, he works like a demon all day, he's crazy really – and she's a moral sort of person after all- '

‘She loves the fellow!'

‘That's nonsense, it's psychological slavery, it's an illusion. The sooner she returns the less damage will be done.'

‘You think, after a certain time, Duncan might reject her?’

‘ He could generally detach himself out of self-defence, go cold on her. Why should he suffer so? He'll drink himself to death’.

'You feel we should help him positively, aggressively if necessary?

‘If we could think how.'

'Gang up on Crimond and beat the hell out of him? He'd like it, he'd play the victim and then take a terrible revenge.'

'Ofcourse I don't mean that sort of stuff! He wouldn't like it sold we couldn't do it.'

' I wasn't serious.'

'Well, be serious.'

'We can hardly go and fetch Jean away by force. You were saying something about Tamar last night, but I didn't get the hang because Rose came in.'

, Rose is terribly upset about Jean.'

'Is she seeing Jean?'

'No, of course not!'

'I don't see why she shouldn't – we have to defend Duncan -' 'She'll do what we do.'

'But about Tamar – you seemed to think that she could somehow bring Jean and Duncan together again?'

'It's an intuition. Tamar is a remarkable person.'

`Couldn't Rose do it?'

`She's too connected. She hates Crimond. And she and Jean are so close, or were. Jean would hate above all things to hr proved wrong by Rose.'

'I see what you mean. Tamar used to see a lot of Jean and Duncan. I remember you said they ought to adopt her! Bw I don't fancy involving Tamar, she's so young.'

`That's her passport, they couldn't see her as a judge. She’s got a special integrity. Out of that unspeakable background’

'Or because of it.'

`She has seen the abyss and stepped away from it, stepped firmly in the other direction – oh how firmly she steps!'

`She's in search of a father. If you see yourself in that role’

`Absolutely not. I just thought I'd suggest -'

'Don't burden her too much. She has a very high regard for you. She'd worry terribly if she wasn't able to do exactly what you wanted. I expect she's got enough worries.'

'I think something like this might be just what she needs, task, a mission, to be a messenger of the gods.'

`You.'see her as a sort of virgin priestess.'

`Yes. Are you joking?'

`Never in the world – I see her like that too. But look -supposing someone were to say that surely in these days women often leave their husbands for other men and bystanders don't think this is something intolerable they've got to stop at all costs. Why is this case different? Is it because Duncan is like our brother, or because Crimond is exceptionally awful, or-?'Jenkin here gave Gerard a wide-eyed look which meant that he was putting something out simply I'm clarification; they had been arguing since the ywere eighteen.

'Storms gather round that man. Someone could get hurt.'

'You think Duncan might try to kill Crimond? Duncan can bide his time, but he's violent and fey too.'

'No, but he might have a sudden irresistible urge simply to see Crimond, to argue with him even -'

'And Crimond might kill him, out of fear, or hate -?'

'Men in the wrong hate their victims.'

'Or by accident? You think it'll end in single combat? Or Crimond might kill Jean, or they'd jump off a cliff together, or -?’

‘'He likes guns, you remember at Oxford, and Duncan said he was in some rifle club in Ireland, it's hard luck on him he missed the war, he'd have been dead or a hero, that would have been his aim -'

'I think you're too obsessed with Crimond's awfulness. He's a romantic.'

'We forgive romantics.'

'An ame damnee then.'

'We forgive them too. Don't make excuses for him, Jenkin!' 'You want your Crimond to be as bad as possible!'

'He likes dramas and ordeals and tests of courage, he doesn't care if he destroys people because he doesn't care if he destroys himself -'

'He's a utopian thinker.'

'Precisely. Unrealistic and ruthless.'

'Oh come – He's courageous and hard-working and indiferent to material goods and he really cares about deprived people -‘