Henry Green - Loving

'Well they can count on summat else then and so can she very likely,' Kate said.

'Now Kate you've no call to say such a thing.' Edith's voice was truly indignant. They could not hear their masters.

'It's not fair. You could get one of these,' Davenport was saying.

'Now Dermot,' she replied, 'you've no right to be beastly.'

'But a bike's the only way to get about these days,' he said.

'Darling I've already told you,' she said.

'She couldn't surely object to your having a bike Violet after all.'

'Oh I can't go on like this behind her back,' she announced from an expressionless face but with tears coming into her blue, blue eyes that matched the curtains in her room, 'no I can't Dermot any longer.' She stopped. She stamped the ground. 'Oh darling,' she said, 'I do wish I could get you out of my system.'

'Now you're upset,' he began. 'By the way,' he went on, 'what's the matter with that footman you've got here? He asked me how the salmon trout were runnin'. I thought everyone in Old Ireland knew it was close season.'

'Dermot you don't mean he suspects anything?'

'Suspect anything? My dear girl I only mentioned it to change the conversation. Good Lord I only meant he seemed a funny sort.'

'And why d'you say you wanted to change the conversation?' she asked.

'Now you're all upset.'

'You don't understand,' she wailed.

'All I meant was I'd rather have him than Eldon,' the Captain said with bitterness. But it seemed that she was not thinking of the servants.

Charley now studied the black and red notebooks each afternoon. In the black he found Mr Eldon had written down peculiarities of those who were invited to Kinalty Castle with a note of the tips received on mentioning those peculiarities. But he did not as a rule spend long over this. There were not many people came to the Castle in wartime.

In the red Charley found Mr Eldon had kept a record of everything he drew under the petty cash account, which was presented monthly to Mrs Tennant. At one end was a copy of each account on which he had been paid. Against every item was an index number. At the other end of this red notebook the leaves were numbered and at least one whole sheet was given over entirely to copious notes on the item in question. Thus with a charge for sashcord of 7s 6d in March 1938 which reappeared in September of that year in an amount of 6s 8d and did not recur until July 1939 at 8s 9d, Raunce turned up the page on sashcord to find that hardly a yard had been bought or used in these last three years and that Mr Eldon was reminding himself to charge for more but had not lived to do it.

Once he had got the hang of things and had well studied the amount of corn bought for the peacocks at certain periods, Charley turned to that part which dealt only with the Cellar. By keeping open a Cellar Diary which had also to be shown each month to Mrs Tennant and by comparing the two,, he was able to refer from one to the other. Thus much that would otherwise have been obscure became plain.

For instance it was Mrs Tennant's custom to have on tap a cask of whisky, which had to be replenished at regular intervals by means of ten-gallon jars shipped from Scotland. Not only had Mr Eldon never credited her with the empties, that was straightforward enough, but he had left whole pages of calculations on the probable loss of the volatile spirit arising from evaporation in a confined space from which the outside atmosphere was excluded. He had gone into it thoroughly, had probably been prepared for almost any query. Charley appeared to find it suggestive because he whistled. There was also an encouraging note of recent date to say that no questions had been asked for years.

After the whisky had been blended in cask for a period at a calculable loss it was Mrs Tennant's custom to have her butler bottle it. Mr Eldon had charged her for new bottles every time. There was even a note of his about a rise in the cost of corks which he had not been able to use over again.

What this forenoon halted Charley in the study while on his weekly round rewinding clocks was a reminder in the red notebook to charge 10s 6d for a new spring to the weathervane. This was fixed on top of the tower and turned with a wind in the usual way. Where it differed from similar appliances was that Mr Tennant had had it connected to a pointer which was set to swing over a large map of the country round about elaborately painted over the mantelpiece. Raunce did not know yet how the thing worked. He stood and pondered and asked himself aloud where he could say he was going to fix the replacements if she asked him.

This map was peculiar. For instance Kinalty Church was represented by a miniature painting of its tower and steeple while the Castle, which was set right in the centre, was a fair sized caricature in exaggerated Gothic. There were no names against places.

As Charley stood there it so happened that the pointer was fixed unwavering E. S. E. with the arrow tip exactly on Clancarty, Clan-carty which was indicated by two nude figures male and female recumbent in gold crowns. For the artist had been told the place was a home of the old kings./ Mrs Jack came in looking for a letter from Dermot. The carpets were so deep Raunce did not hear her. He was staring. She noticed he seemed obsessed by the weathervane and turned to find what in particular held him.

When she saw and thought she knew she drew breath with a hiss.

'Raunce,' she said and he had never heard her speak so sharp, 'what is it?'

He faced about, holding himself quite still.

'Why Madam I never heard you. The thing seems to have got stuck Madam.'

'Stuck? What d'you mean stuck?'

'It does not seem to be revolving Madam, and I'm sure the wind is not in that quarter.'

She reacted at once. She strode up to that arrow and gave it a wild tug presumably to drag the pointer away from those now disgusting people lying there in a position which, only before she had known Dermot, she had once or twice laughed at to her husband. The arrow snapped off in her hand. The vane up top might have been held in a stiff breeze or something could have jammed it.

Charley knew nothing as yet about Clancarty. 'It's the spring Madam,' he said cheerful as he took that broken piece from her. 'You noticed the arm did not have any give Madam?'

'Oh get on with your work,' she said appearing to lose control and half ran out. Shaking his head, grumbling to himself, Raunce made his way upstairs.

He made his way smooth down the Long Passage until he found one of the girls. It was Edith opposite Mrs Jack's chamber, doing out this lady's bathroom.

'Hello ducks,' he whispered.

'What brings you here?' she asked as soft.

'Who d'you think?' he answered.

'Get on with you,' she said.

'Look it's like this,' he began. 'This weathervane now. Where's the old works? 1 mean behind a little door or suchlike there must be a spring to do with some clockwork. At least that's what I'm led to understand.'

She looked disappointed.

'Behind a little door there's clockwork? Whatever's that?' she enquired.

'Don't ask me but Mr Eldon's left a book of directions which makes mention. Here,' he said, 'give us a kiss.' She said no as though she had been waiting to say this. She backed away against sweet primrose tiles. 'No,' she repeated quite loud and decided.

'Whatever's the matter with you these days?' he asked.

'I'm fed up I shouldn't wonder.'

'No need to take it out on me is there? What's up?'

'It's the war most likely,' she said pouting 'I shall have to get me out of this old place.'

'You don't want to talk like that my girl. Why we're on a good thing here all of us. Trust Uncle Charley, he's seen some. There's a war on, the other side. You don't want none of it do you? And there's the grub question. You got to consider that. About this weathervane now. I'll have to find the other one of you then, that's the only thing left for me to do.' He leered at her. 'Where is she?' he demanded.