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Leonard I do. I can only see myself and my ions as if I were in your shoes. But I'm not as as you in any way, for I would be jealous of the ght of anyone like Helen finding solace, any sort greater-than lace in another man's company. And now let me omething, Leonard. I was jealous of you. Oh yes, jealous of you, for a long dme; and then we met I realised how wise she had been in her choice. ld never have hoped to live up to your high ards. I know myself, and over the weeks during our friendship has grown, my admiration for has grown too. And I say again, I wouldn't be enough to act as you're doing now, not in any his fbu have a very poor opinion of yourself, John. quite different from that which ohers have of There are not many who would have wrecked

* own marriage, as you did through helping Ro (h no! No!" John shook his head vigorously. "My Aage was on the rocks before that But you'e right about us not knowing what goes on in her's mind especially in a lonely mind, and of results of that loneliness. Marriage with Beatrice 'ed that to me.

If ever there was a double personin a human being, it is in her. I can't go into it long before Rosie's affair our marriage was do. I was already considering a legal separation." illowing John's statement there was silence beai them. Then, as if aiming now to dismiss the ersation, Leonard said hose pills are marvel, you know' comhe nodded towards the table- put new life into me." He smiled now, then added, 'Going back to what we were talmg about earlier, man's woman, and woman's woman, you wouldn't think Daisy would fall into the former category, would you? But she does. With her looks you would think she was out of the running altogether; but even at her age she could have a number of men friends tomorrow. She's had three permanent men in her life."

John's face showed surprise, and Leond said, "Oh, yes, you can raise your eyebrows. And she's known the grand passion. Just once, as she said, but it has remained with her."

"Well, you do surprise me, Leonard. I must say you do, for she seems the most unlikely perso to...".

"Come! come!" said Leonard now somewhat briskly; "You a doctor and admitting that anything you hear that is off the beaten track about another's life should surprise you. Tut! tut! But yes I can see your point: the first meeting with Daisy can be a little mind-boggling. Her Tommy divorced her on the grounds of desertion while she was still in tne P

colony. So she had no monetary support and she was almost penniless when she returned to Englad was when she found herself in hospital that she first saw her dear Stephen, Stephen King, which she doesn't think was his real name. But she understood be visited old people who were without friends. And app she was without riends and from the first me they met up, it was done. It was the same with him, I think, from what she says."

"But what about her family? She said she was one of ten."

"Yes, she was one of ten, John, but they were all

*bar ied and had children. And were they going to .

to meet this weird Aunt Daisy, who had spent pn years in a leper colony and was likely contas?

Without exception, all her family held the IBC

view as Tommy had. Odd" comhere he smiled-Jlalways think of him as Tommy, not reeman tteatland, which sounds too superior a name for him

"*ase to me he was a funk of a man. Anyway, to er long story short, and she has kept this part r short even while keeping me amused, which is comirays her intention when she comes here, they tked together and they lived together. or four s they lived together. I asked her why they never Aned, and she answered simply, "He never asked What did they live on? I asked her, because sy spent their days helping others. What she did tell B was that she felt he was expiating something he "3 done when he was young. She even says he might Sve been in prison for a time. She didn't enquire, s just loved him. But apparently he had enough

,eaij0ney to sustain them in ordinary living conditions, ,j8d every now and again he would give her so much keep things going. Where it came from she never Jnew. His life was a mystery. But that didn't matter her. The only thing that did was, she had him for "ur long years, long, happy years. And then"

comnow y bar eonard snapped his fingers- "he goes like that. One bar "y he was there, the next he was gone, leaving her

32ar ough money for her to carry on for six months and ifo a note to say he would always love her."

l Good gracious!"

P Yes, that's what I said, John. Good gracious! I ipleed her if she had heard of im since, and she said

"Never." But what she did say was, he might have gone back to a wife and family in Ireland or somewhere out of the country. Or her earlier thoughts might have been the reason, that he had a criminal record and was living now on the results while expiating that past."

"And she's never heard of him since, in any way;

never seen a photograph or anything?"'

"No, never, and just as well, I would say, for she wouldn't be living comfortably as she is today if he had stayed with her. For then she wouldn't have met her Mr Anasby..mr Jaes Anasby. out know, I've said this before, John, but her life would fill a book and not just one. Oh no, not one, because the last episode really is fantastic. From how she told me, it should happen that she was glad to get a position as an assistant nurse. You see, she'd had no proper training, although she had nursed in that leper colony. But this day she happened to be late and was hurrying through a side door used by the staff when the door caught the end of her finger and drew her to a dead stop. And she stood holding it and exclaiming what, in ordinary English, would have been "Damn and blast it!" Instead she uttred three words in an African tribal dialect, and then was astounded to hear an immediate response in the same language.

She turned to see a man in a wheelchair, flanked by two nurses and being pushed by a man in green livery. She had gaped at him for a moment, then spoke to him in the language again. What next he said was, "What is your name? Who are you?"

'She told him her name and also that she was an assistant nurse there. The latter information seemed Kprise him, and he protested strongly,

"What's Colonial Office doing, not using you in some

"How long were you out there?" Oh" she had paused and said "a number of

Is." And then he put his head back and looked at Jtaan in the livery and said, "Give the lady my Mason." And at this the man drew a card from

*inner pocket and handed it to her; but she didn't disL at it immediately because she was studyig te in the wheelchair. He was elderly, well into his s'ies, she surmised as she also did mat he was

'eone of importance. Then he said "Will you nd see me?"

then glanced at the card without properly it but said "Yes, sir. I'd be pleased to."

It's

ther long, long story, quite unbelievable, but ym a onth she was well installed in his expensive use as a nursecompanion. Apparently, he had ent much of his life in me area of Africa Daisy jftew. He had been married twice, both wives having jed. He seemed to have no close relatives. She was

T*"

yandh him seven years and gradually knew all his busi, iss and money transactions in which he came to ap

"eciate her judgement. When he died she was only rty-four and he left her half of his estate." bar bar John shook his head as he said, 'Amazing story,

I Well, you should be used to amazing stories in H 'ationothing like that I can assure you, Leonard.

Al-

Ri, here and there, you do get a surprise."

He now "You've been talking too much; you're tied" s, John I am a little tired. But in a strange way,

I am happy that we've come to an understanding. At least I hope we have." He stared at John now, but when there was no reply immediately forthcoming from John, he said quietly, 'Have I asked too much?"'

"No. No. Not at all." But now he held up his head, "Don't start again. I'm going to ring for Johnson. I think you'd be wise to have an early night, because the theatre-goers will certainly not be back before eleven."

"Oh, I had no intention of waiting up for them."

Leonard watched John rise and ring the bell; then he held out his hand, and as John took it he said simply, hank you." But when his man entered the room, he said, 'I'm being ordered about in my own house, Johnson, and I'm not standing any more of it, so, would you like to see the doctor to the door."

The two men smiled at each other, then went out.

But there was no exchange of words: not even in the hall after he had helped John into his coat, then opened the front door, did Johnson say a word.

Nor did he answer John's "Good night"; which caused John to remark to himself, "He's a stiff-necked fellow, that. And he has no use for me. That's plain. Well, 1 can return the compliment there."

bar atnce was paying her weekly Friday visit to the BB. It was a bright day, the sun was shining and

*main thoroughfare was full of shoppers.

e made sure she did not always visit the same t shop to buy her chocolates. People talked. Oh people talked. She knew they talked about her p inside and outside the house. So, sometimes she to bar Bd walk as far as the outskirts of the town to a H sweet shop she knew, there to purchase the only Jifor she had in life, she told herself; and they were for her anyway; they must be, because they (ten't putting weight on her.

bar was er tapestry-trimmed felt bag she was now carjfe two pound boxes and one half-pound box of olates. At one time she had always put a pound K on the household order, but not since she had cut bar not on the kitchen requirements. Pour of them bar so, eating their heads off, and his meagre aUow bar to her hardly paid their wages. She was going lo something about that, too. Two doing the gar bar ftg and Needier pottering in the yard What did they do most of their time? Sit in the greenhouse drinking tea. Oh, she knew what went on; she had nothing to do but watch them from the windows.

Today she had waled as far as Brampton Hill, which was almost on the outskirts. But, from the sweet shop thee she had been able to buy only a halfpound box of chocolates. As the shop-keeper had said, they were only asked for pounds at Christmastime.

Seeing a post office reminded her that she hadn't any stamps, and she needed to write to that solicitor again. Oh yes, she should indeed.

She hadn't entered this post office before and was annoyed that there were a number of people waiting to be served When she joined hose waiting for stamps, there were three people before her, and she moved from one foot to the other with impatience. She wasn't accustomed to having to wait to be served.

Her fidgeting moved the bag that she was carrying and it came in contact with the woman in front of her, so causing her to turn and stare at her, and the recognition was instant, especially on Beatrice's part Aiming to step back rom the woman, she pointedly pulled her skirt back as if from contact with her, oly immediately to be admonished by the woman behind saying,

"Look what you're doing! I've got a cld here."

When, added to tis, the woman in front of her also muttered something as she moved away after picking up her two penny stamps, Beatrice paused for a second before taking her place. And there, in a high and superior tone she asked for six penny stamps, which

J; (hen placed very carefuly in her bag, together y her change, before turning away. yhen she walked into the street and saw the jtoa standing as if waiting for her, she made to and her, but the hand that came out and grabbed her

left-brace made her turn furiously and say, "How dare you! go of my arm this minute!"

will," growled Molie Wallace, 'when I've had ay, and it's this. Who the hell d'you think you j? Trying to show me up in there, pulling your skirt y as if I had the mange. You above all people, Ighter of a dirty old bastard who couldn't pay for jleasure. And I'll tell you something else when J" on. That man of yours, he was the means of getme put out, I'm sure of that, 'cos it was him who ght Jackie home. But I'll get me own back on

J- ist you wait. 'full get me own back on the lot . Poverty-stricken buggers that you are."

And she released her hold on Beatrice's arm with that caused Beatrice to stagger back against gpost office wal.

Would appear that she had been struck speechless bar Be attack. But it had been only her fear of a scene, eet scene, that had prevented her from raising her

@y and slapping this filthy individua, as she Sbt of her, across the face. But she was deterd to have the last word as she said, "Scum!"

betaming away; yet even in this she was forestalled bar Nollie Wallace saying, "And if I was you, missis, iwok out for your own man. Aye, I would that. By A" yes, I wold that." And at this she swung round

32ar arched away, leaving Beatrice with one hand to

r

her throat now, the other clutching the handle of her bag to her waist.

She had felt angry before, but that creature mentioning her husband in such a suggestive way made her initial anger pale against the rage that was consuming her now. Those people! That woman! How did she know what went on in the house? Oh! Oh! Why was she so stupid! Of course, servants talked. They just had to hint. She would dismiss them, the lot the lot!

She swung about now, intending to stalk away, but found that her legs appeared weak and, as was the rest of her body, were trembling. Her mind still on her staff, she cried inwardly that she didn't need them all: two in the kitchen and two in the house, and only her to look after! And three outside. She'd get rid of William Connor. But no, he was the only one who could see to the topiary; the hedge must be kept clipped, or the garden would look so unkempt, and you couldn't keep up prestige with an unkempt garden... or house.

Oh, dear me! Her head was beginning to buzz again.

She was in for that awful feeling which obliged her to lie down She, who until recently had never taken to reclining in the middle of the day. And when she did lie down, her thoughts would jump all over the place, and all about him. Legal separation, the solicitor had said. Well, he wouldn't get past that. Never! He was her husband and he would remain her husband until he died. But then, what did that woman mean? There was no smoke without fire. But he could do nothing there, for Helen was married. Yes, but to a sick man. And you never got rid of TB, did you Was her dear John waiting for the man to die?