The Green Knight (72 page)

‘Both of them gone – it's a terrible blow. One feels that now seeing them must always be a lie.'

‘As my letter is a lie – and hers too. Yet the love is there, the love
is
there – only it's as if it's so wounded it has curled up and gone into a black hole.'

‘I hope the love will recover though it can never be as it once was, it can never again be really expressed. Or is all this nonsense? We are suffering from shock. Perhaps in a year or two we'll be spending our holidays with them in California!'

‘I hope so. No, I don't hope so, I mean I can't see it, it's impossible. Being with them affectionately, openly, with mutual love?'

‘With Aleph conceivably. Lucas will be polite, but will be away at the university, giving seminars, attending meetings,
she
will show us around, drive us about in her big car – '

‘At least I hope she
will
go on at the university. But suppose he ditches her, will she come back here, will she be with us? Or will she stay in America and find an American husband?'

‘She won't come back here. She'll stay in America and find an American husband. But he won't ditch her. And do you know, I can imagine them happy together – and Lucas, really happy, for the first time in his life.'

‘Clement, you haven't changed your mind since last night?'

‘No my love, I feel we arranged all this ages ago, it's so simple, it's so right, it's just that we have idiotically delayed it. For this we must forgive each other.'

‘But now we must tell the others. Sefton will be delighted, I know she will. Only Moy – you know how Moy feels about you – '

‘We must be firm and sensible about that. These were feelings she had as a child, in a childish game. But she is grown up now and probably already embarrassed that we were ever able to notice them.'

‘We must just assume she's got over it. She'll be all right, she's shedding her childishness very fast. She's taller and she's becoming quite beautiful, have you noticed?'

‘Yes, she'll survive. Where's Sefton, out slogging away as usual?'

‘She works too hard. Wait, listen, Sefton is just coming in now, someone's with her. Why, I think it's Harvey! Sefton, Harvey, hello, come up, Clement and I are up here!'

Two radiant beautifully dressed young people entered the Aviary. Sefton was wearing a dark green dress of very fine corduroy pulled in at her waist by a red belt. Her abundant reddish brown hair, grown a little longer, was combed back from her brow, her green hazel eyes shone, her firm lips were parted, her pale face, blushing, glowed. Harvey, tall, slim and noble, the raffish prince, had put on his best second-hand suit of dark brown tweed, with a blue striped shirt and a red and green tie, his glossy flowing blond hair falling neatly to his shoulders, his fringe carefully trimmed, his large gentle brown eyes narrowed with joy. Clement and Louise, rising to meet them, were wearing respectively, Louise a pale blue velvet dress with a lace collar and a dark blue cardigan, and Clement a light golden brown suit, with a dark red shirt and a light red bow tie. Louise, smiling though also near to tears, looked flushed, her stiff hair combed upward and backward making a crown. Clement alone looked solemn, lifting his long nose, pouting his red lips, running his hand with a graceful movement through his copious dark hair. They were a handsome foursome. There was an instant's silence. Louise looked at Clement. Harvey looked at Sefton.

Louise said, ‘My dears, I'm so glad you've come. How smart and pretty you both look! We have something to tell you.'

‘We have something to tell you too!' said Sefton.

‘Who shall tell first?' said Louise.

‘We shall,' said Clement. ‘Listen, dear children. I am going to marry Louise.' He put an arm round her waist.

Sefton and Harvey gasped, then laughed, then wailed with joy.

Sefton said, ‘Oh how perfectly wonderful, and listen, listen, I am going to marry Harvey, and Harvey is going to marry me!'

After an instant they all began to talk at once, till talk was taken over by helpless laughter, and they were waving their arms and kissing each other. Clement sat down at the piano and began to play Mendelssohn's wedding-march. Then Sefton cried out, ‘Where's Moy?'

‘Yes, indeed, quiet Clement, we must tell Moy, I'll fetch her, no you fetch her, Sefton, she's working as usual, she must think we've all gone mad!'

‘All right, Louie,' Clement and Louise looked at each other as Sefton rushed away up the stairs. She returned with Moy. ‘I haven't told her,' Sefton said.

Moy stood in the doorway, then came in and closed the door behind her. She smiled at her mother, then became grave. The others became suddenly grave too. Moy was in her new being. She had become taller and slimmer. She was wearing a blue dress with a round neck and a belt, not like her old shapeless shifts, very nearly a smart dress, as Clement said later. Her thick golden plait was hanging down over her left breast. She was carrying her painting overall, which she had hastily taken off after Sefton's summons and absently tossed over one arm. Her blue eyes, which matched her dress, gazed anxiously only at her mother.

Louise said, turning to the others as if for permission and support, ‘Moy, my darling, we have to tell you two – new things – I am going to marry Clement, and Sefton is going to marry Harvey, so there, you see – what a happy family – we all shall be – ' After this Louise burst into tears, and Clement led her to the sofa and sat down beside her. Sefton, also in tears, ran to Moy and hugged her and kissed her. Harvey, breathing deeply, went to the window and looked out, adjusting his tie. Some real snow was falling. Of course Moy shed some tears too and said how glad she was. Clement said there should now be champagne, and then they could all sing together. Harvey said he thought he and Sefton should now go on to tell his mother, who was still with Cora. It was then voted that they should all go to Cora's house, and Louise ran downstairs to telephone Cora (without giving anything away) that she and Clement and the children would so much like to come over. Sefton said she would run out for a bottle of champagne, and Clement revealed that he had brought a case, it was in his car. They began to troop down the stairs and put on their warm clothes. Moy said she was sorry, she was in the middle of a picture, and disappeared back upstairs.

 

 

‘What's all this?' said Cora, opening the door.

Clement carried the case of champagne and put it down in the hall. He had been thinking on the way over that after all it was unseemly and unkind, and perhaps unwise, to arrive in just this way to inform Joan of his intentions. How would she react? Was she really still with Cora, perhaps she was not, he now hoped she was not. But of course she had to know soon, indeed at once, and he must tell her. The presence of others might indeed be helpful to them both, precluding drama – so he hoped. Also, his heart at this moment strangely went out to Joan and he thought of her more lovingly perhaps than he had ever done before. He thought, she's tough, she's
brave
. She will take it calmly, proudly, without a shudder, probably without even an exchange of significant glances. And he thought, she will think: poor fool!

‘May we go into the drawing-room?' said Clement.

‘Yes, who's stopping you. Joan is in there.'

They trooped in, leaving their slightly snowy coats in a pile in the hall. Joan, who had been sitting on the window-seat, stood up. They could not avoid the significant glance. Clement thought, perhaps she understands already. As agreed beforehand, Harvey, stepping forward, addressed his mother.
‘Maman,
please don't faint, listen, I am going to get married. I am going to marry Sefton.'

Joan replied instantly but calmly, ‘Don't be silly, Harvey.' Her crackling eyes flashed at Clement.

Ignoring her, Harvey turned to Cora and said, ‘And Clement is going to marry Louise – so, you see, this is how it is – ' His strong voice trailed away.

Cora, sturdy, said, ‘How absolutely marvellous! Was that champagne I saw out there? Let's celebrate! We have something to celebrate too. So bring in the bubbly, and I'll get glasses directly.' There was a bustle with everyone moving about, bringing in bottles, handing glasses.

When they were more or less gathered again, Joan, who had briefly disappeared, said in her loud commanding voice, ‘May I say, on behalf of myself and Cora, how glad we are to hear your news. I'm sorry, Sefton, for that slip of the tongue, not a good start for a mother-in-law. I didn't mean anything personal, I just thought Harvey was too young to marry, but now I see he isn't and I think you are ideal, you will keep him in order.'

‘So may we raise our glasses?' said Clement.

‘No, wait a moment. There is something to be added to this happy scene. Shall – I – Cora – ?'

‘Yes, yes.'

Joan went out, crossed the hall, and returned after a minute followed by a tall handsome middle-aged man with a large head and a lot of almost colourless straight fair hair. He was smiling shyly, showing long white teeth. His light blue eyes were narrowed among wrinkles.

Joan took his hand. She said to him, pointing. ‘This is Clement, who is going to marry Louise, this is my son Harvey who is going to marry Sefton, this is Sefton, she is Louise's daughter.' She then said, addressing Clement, ‘And this is my
fiancé,
Humphrey H. Hook from Texas.'

Fortunately for her hearers, Hook took charge at once, approaching Harvey with his long stride and his broad glinting smile and taking his hand. ‘So, I'm going to be your step-father, Harvey, is that OK?' Harvey, dazed, said, ‘Oh, yes, sir, that's OK, certainly that's OK.' He rescued his hand from the iron grip. Clement reached out his hand to Joan. Joan kissed him. He said, ‘My dear, I wish you every happiness,
well done
– I mean – ' Cora was pouring out the champagne, as Hook shook hands with the others.

Joan was explaining, ‘You see, Humphrey wanted us to live in America where his business is, and I wanted us to stay in England, so we couldn't get anywhere, but do you know what suddenly arranged things for us? The Fax machine! With the Fax machine any businessman can live anywhere, so we're going to buy a house in London and one in the country.'

Clement murmured, ‘The Fax machine, oh the Fax machine!' Hook was explaining that his extra H stood for Harold, and that his ancestors were Scandinavian, and that he and Joan were going to have their honeymoon in Norway. They drank the champagne and toasted one another and tears came into the eyes of all the women and also into Harvey's eyes. They stood in Cora's big drawing-room, moving among themselves as in a dance, no one sat down. Joan said, ‘All we need now is Bellamy marrying Emil!' The word ‘happiness' was often used, although, since they were all in their own ways sober and reflective people, each one wondered for a moment or two
what
it was and
how
they were destined to achieve it. (At least one thought for a second, ‘Am I mad?') Cora alone felt detached,
her
fate was not in the balance. She thought, I am always helping other people to be happy (for these were not the only matches which she had facilitated). But I can never be happy without my Isaac. Better not to think about happiness at all. Cheerfulness will do. And I do like looking after people. It was Cora also who, with the dead in mind, suggested they should all drink a toast to Peter Mir. As they, more solemnly did this, Clement said suddenly, ‘How strange, do you remember that drink which we had at Peter's place before dinner, that “special”? Now we see what it was – it was a love potion!' And Joan said, ‘It's as if all spells are broken and we are all set free!' Everyone laughed, then became solemn, thinking of Lucas and Aleph. There was no toast to them, and no one mentioned their names. Before they all parted, Humphrey Hook took Harvey aside and spoke to him gravely, saying he much looked forward to their being good friends, and that he would do everything in his power to make Harvey's mother very happy. He also captivated Sefton, calling her his stepson's lovely bride. Harvey, cautiously ready to like Hook, thought:
Maman
said Sef would keep me in order. I think this man will keep
maman
in order!

 

 

Meanwhile at Clifton, not long after they had left, Moy was busy struggling with a pair of scissors. She was trying to cut her long golden plait off at the nape of her neck. It was not easy. The scissors were rather blunt. She did not unplait the hair, as it would be harder to deal with spread all about. The closely interwoven mass of hair, so thick at the top, resisted her, it did not want to be cut. Moy went downstairs to the kitchen and found the big kitchen scissors. She was ready to try the secateurs next, only at last she could feel the dense stuff giving way, coming away, parting, yielding bit by bit to the steady tugging of her left hand. The scissors made a strange sound, partly a little shrill, partly a deep hissing shearing sound. She kept on steadily sawing, keeping the blades at work, until suddenly the whole long thick thing came away in her hand and she could look at it, hanging heavy and drooping and dead before her. She climbed back up to her bedroom carrying the severed plait. She did not know what to do with it. She threw it into the basket in the corner with the cushion in it, which she had left untouched since Anax left.

 

 

 

 

‘But how did you get in?' said Bellamy to Kenneth Rathbone at The Castle. It was early and the pub was empty.

‘I climbed in by a window at the back. I planned it before, did myself up shabby in overalls and carried some tools. A cobber in a white coat saw me, but he thought I was a maintenance man! Then it was dead easy. There was a big board with the names and the numbers of the rooms. I just slipped in. It was more than half an hour before the nurse found me!'