‘Really, Magdalene, you surprise me. Does—er—does Lydia feel the same?’
‘He doesn’t say the same kind of things to Lydia,’ said Magdalene. She added angrily, ‘No, he never says them to her. I can’t think why not.’
George glanced at her quickly and then glanced away.
‘Oh, well,’ he said vaguely. ‘One must make allowances. At Father’s age—and with his health being so bad—’
He paused. His wife asked:
‘Is he really—pretty ill?’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that. He’s remarkably tough. All the same, since he wants to have his family round him at Christmas, I think we are quite right to go. It may be his last Christmas.’
She said sharply:
‘You say that, George, but really, I suppose, he may live for years?’
Slightly taken aback, her husband stammered:
‘Yes—yes, of course he may.’
Magdalene turned away.
‘Oh, well,’ she said, ‘I suppose we’re doing the right thing by going.’
‘I have no doubt about it.’
‘But I hate it! Alfred’s so dull, and Lydia snubs me.’
‘Nonsense.’
‘She does. And I hate that beastly manservant.’
‘Old Tressilian?’
‘No, Horbury. Sneaking round like a cat and smirking.’
‘Really, Magdalene, I can’t see that Horbury can affect you in any way!’
‘He just gets on my nerves, that’s all. But don’t let’s bother. We’ve got to go, I can see that. Won’t do to offend the old man.’
‘No—no, that’s just the point. About the servants’ Christmas dinner—’
‘Not now, George, some other time. I’ll just ring up Lydia and tell her that we’ll come by the five-twenty tomorrow.’
Magdalene left the room precipitately. After telephoning she went up to her own room and sat down in front of the desk. She let down the flap and rummaged in its various pigeon-holes. Cascades of bills came tumbling out. Magdalene sorted through them, trying to arrange them in some kind of order. Finally, with an impatient sigh, she bundled them up and thrust them back whence they had come. She passed a hand over her smooth platinum head.
‘What on earth am I to do?’ she murmured.
VI
On the first floor of Gorston Hall a long passage led to a big room overlooking the front drive. It was a room furnished in the more flamboyant of old-fashioned styles. It had heavy brocaded wallpaper, rich leather armchairs, large vases embossed with dragons, sculptures in bronze…Everything in it was magnificent, costly and solid.
In a big grandfather armchair, the biggest and most imposing of all the chairs, sat the thin, shrivelled figure of an old man. His long clawlike hands rested on the arms of the chair. A gold-mounted stick was by his side. He wore an old shabby blue dressing-gown. On his feet were
carpet slippers. His hair was white and the skin of his face was yellow.
Ashabby, insignificant figure, one might have thought. But the nose, aquiline and proud, and the eyes, dark and intensely alive, might cause an observer to alter his opinion. Here was fire and life and vigour.