Роберт Эйкман - The Late Breakfasters (Faber Finds)

‘Now sit down.’

Griselda’s normally strong legs were weak and she was glad to obey. Louise sat at the other end of the bench, her beautiful neck whiter in the smoky moonlight than her white shirt.

‘What about you ?’

‘ What about me?’ Louise’s tone was warm but enigmatic.

‘You’ll be cold.’

‘Oh . . . No, I shan’t be cold. But we’d better speak softly.’

‘Why?’ This question Griselda knew to be absurd, but her excitement was such that she had no difficulty in restraining a wild hilarity.

‘It’s better.’ Louise paused, then again began to speak, very low. ‘I’ve kidnapped you and brought you here so that we can make some plans. It was necessary that we could be sure of being alone, and also this is the best place.’

‘The best place in which to plan?’ enquired Griselda, equally softly. She had either to shout or to whisper. She felt she might easily faint.

‘Yes, Griselda. If you wish to plan. I don’t know whether you do or not. You said you did, but perhaps it was only the beauty of the night or a reaction from other people.’

‘Will it be difficult?’ Griselda’s voice was barely audible.

‘It will be very difficult, Griselda. I love you.’

Immediately Griselda felt completely calm; an entirely and absolutely different person. She would never be the same person again.

‘I love you, Louise,’ she replied in a level voice, still pitched low.

After a moment’s silence, Louise said ‘It’s a pity that the world instead of being at our feet, has to be about our ears.’

Griselda replied: ‘As I said in my bath, I know very little about the world.’

‘That, though a good thing.’ said Louise, ‘is also a bad thing. It makes the next step difficult.’

‘No,’ said Griselda. ‘I think it makes the next step easy. I’m so innocent that whatever the next step is, I’ll take it without a second thought.’

‘Will you live with me?’

‘I’ve decided to leave home. Where else should I go?’

‘We could share a loft.’

‘That would be rather expensive for us. I’ve very little money. At least until I get a job.’

‘What sort of job?’

‘Lord Roller offered me something.’

‘Are you going to take it?’

‘If it would enable us to share a loft.’

Louise looked her in the face. Louise’s smile was full of tears and anguish: she took Griselda’s hand.

‘The air is, I am sure, full of nightingales,’ she said, ‘if only we could hear them.’

‘This is their night,’ said Griselda. ‘Tomorrow it’s going to rain.’

‘Does that stop them singing?’

‘Unless they are very imprudent nightingales.’

‘I can’t see your face,’ said Louise. ‘It is entirely overshadowed by a column.’

‘Of course you can’t. Am I not totally invisible?’

Griselda thought that when she said this Louise looked round the Temple in a way more anxious than she cared for. Then Louise said: ‘For my part I have no money at all. And not only that but I hate work of any kind. I hate not to be free.’

‘I’ve never yet had a real job,’ replied Griselda. ‘I am not looking forward to that particular part of it at all.’

‘I wonder if Hugo would give us an allowance? He understands people like us.’

But Griselda noticed something.

‘Look Louise. That door’s open. It was shut when we came in.’

Louise started up. The black door interfered with the columnar pattern on the carpet of moonlight.

‘And there’s someone coming.’

Louise’s perfume was suddenly heavy on the air. Louise stood quite upright, her back to the garden and the moon, her eyes on the open door. There were undoubtedly footsteps.

But it became clear that the steps were outside the temple. A figure appeared between the columns.

‘What’s going on in there?’

It was a policeman. He flashed his lamp, ineffective in the moonlight, upon Griselda’s dark figure.

Louise wheeled round.

‘Officer,’ she said, ‘please return to your fireside. No one is in need of help.’

‘Sorry miss,’ the policeman replied. ‘I thought you might be reds.’

‘You can see at a glance,’ said Louise, ‘that we’re not.’

‘Yes miss,’ said the policeman.

‘I don’t know so much,’ cried Griselda, rising to her feet. ‘Look at me.’ Cloaked and masked, she was the perfect operatic conspirator.

‘I can see you’re nothing you shouldn’t be, miss,’ replied the officer. ‘Just like the lady said. Still we have to be careful. The whole house and garden’s surrounded.’

‘Surrounded by what?’ asked Griselda.

‘By the force, miss. We have our orders. There’ve been half a dozen of us on duty all the evening not a quarter of a mile from this outhouse. Spread about of course. Well, I must be getting back to them. Good night, ladies.’

At this moment the door of the inner apartment of the Temple banged shut as unaccountably as it had opened. The policeman jumped.

‘I’d better have a look round.’ The beam of his lamp made a dim circle on the heavy painted woodwork of the door.

‘There’s no one there,’ said Louise. ‘It often happens.’

‘If you say so, miss – ’ He thought for a moment, then looked at Louise searchingly. ‘Quite sure, miss?’

‘Quite sure, officer. I often come here at night.’ Her tone was unbelievably patrician.

‘Very well.’

Again he bade them Good-night. They reciprocated; and this time he departed.

‘We must go back,’ said Louise. ‘Soon they’ll be looking for you.’

‘Shall I leave my cloak?’

‘No. When we reach the house I’ll take it.’

Silently they returned upon their tracks.

They were only a few paces from the shore of the lake.

Louise remarked. ‘I don’t know how Stephanie is going to behave about this. She is, after all, a Belgian.’

Griselda shivered inside her warm cloak, but said nothing. They entered the Grove of the Hamamelids.

‘You know,’ said Louise after a while, ‘you know that Stephanie was at the Temple?’

‘Yes,’ said Griselda. ‘I know.’

‘It was a mistake. I didn’t expect her tonight. But I knew she was there even before we got there ourselves. Her scent is the same as mine. I fear she may go after revenge. Though that would be rather absurd of her.’

‘Revengeful people don’t think of that.’

‘Poor Stephanie! But, after all, Griselda, she is only a ghost.’ Louise suddenly laughed very musically.

‘I don’t want at all to be gloomy, but do you think I shall be all right alone in the haunted room?’

Immediately she had spoken, she jumped violently. They had crossed the wooden bridge. The figure of a man was visible among the trees. His back was towards the two women and he appeared much occupied at some labour.

The women stopped for a moment; then Louise held Griselda’s hand very tightly and they advanced together. Not until they were right up to the man, did he learn of their presence.

‘Good evening, miss,’ he said, seeing Griselda’s long cloak. ‘Didn’t expect any of the guests to walk this far from the house.’ His voice was sombre.

‘Good evening,’ said Griselda.

He was leaning on a spade. He was elderly and enormous.

‘For her Highness’s dog.’ He indicated a pit he had dug. ‘The best place for ’im on the ’ole property. And if you listen you can ’ear ’em knocking up the little chap’s coffin.’

Through the still moonlight night came indeed a very distant hammering.

‘Poor little Fritzi,’ said Griselda. Louise was lurking indistinctly among the foliage.

‘Dunno about that, miss,’ said the Gravedigger. ‘Reckon ’e was ripe.’ Lifting his spade he plunged it up to the haft into the soft black earth. Though hideous, he was still hale in the extreme.