Books Do Furnish a Room - Anthony Powell [25]
‘Quite forgot, quite forgot … These good people I travelled down with … shared a taxi from the station … Mr – met him at those dinners Nicholas and I … and his wife … very good looking … another couple too, Sir Somebody and Lady Something … also another old friend of Erridge’s … nice people … something they wanted to ask…’
Alfred Tolland turned towards Widmerpool, in search of help, to give words to a matter not at all easy to summarize in a few broken phrases. At least he himself found that hard, which was usual enough, even if the situation were not as ticklish as this one appeared. Widmerpool, not happy himself, was prepared at the same time to accept his cue. He began to speak in his least aggressive manner.
‘Two things, Nicholas – though I don’t expect you’re really the person to ask, sure as I am, as an old friend, you’ll be prepared to act for us as – well, as what? – intermediary, shall we say? You know already, I think, the other members of the party I came down with. J. G. Quiggin, of course – must know him as a literary bloke yourself – and as for Sir Howard and Lady Craggs, of course you remember them.’
One to admit that ‘Sir Howard and Lady Craggs’ conjured up a rather different picture from Mr Deacon’s birthday party, Gypsy lolling on Craggs’s knee, struggling to divert a too exploratory hand back to a wide area of pink thigh. If it came to that, one had one’s own reminiscences of Lady Craggs in an easy-going mood.
‘We all wanted, of course, to pay last respects to your late brother-in-law, Lord Warminster – much to my regret I never managed to meet him – but there was also something else. This seemed a golden opportunity to have a preliminary word, if possible, with the appropriate member, or members, of the family, now collected together, as to the best means of approaching certain matters arisen in consequence of Lord Warminster’s death.’
Widmerpool paused. He was relieved to have made a start on whatever he wanted to say, for clearly this was by no means the end.
‘The late Lord Warminster left certain instructions in connexion with the publishing house Sir Howard Craggs – well, we can talk about all that later. As I say, this seemed a good moment to have a tentative word with the – in short with the executors, as I understand, Mr Hugo Tolland and Lady Frederica Umfraville.’
Whatever complications now threatened were beyond conjecture. Within the family it had been generally agreed that for Erridge to leave the world without arranging some testing problem to be settled by his heirs and successors, was altogether unthinkable. The form such a problem, or problems, might take was naturally not to be anticipated. That Widmerpool should be involved in any such matters was unlooked for. His relief at having made the statement about Erridge’s dispositions, whatever they were, turned out to be due to anxiety to proceed to a far more troublesome enquiry from his own point of view.
‘Another matter, Nicholas. My wife – you know her, of course, I’d forgotten – Pamela, as I say, was overcome with faintness during the service. In fact had to leave the church. I hope no one noticed. She did so as quietly as possible. These attacks come on her at times. Largely nerves, in my opinion. It was arranged between us she should await me in the porch. She no doubt found the stone seat there too cold in her distressed state. I thought she might have taken refuge in our taxi, but the driver said, on the contrary, he saw her walking up the drive in the direction of the house.’
Widmerpool stopped speaking. His efforts to present in terms satisfactory to himself two quite separate problems, so that they merged into coherent shape, seemed to have broken down. The first question was what Craggs and Quiggin wanted from the executors, no doubt something to do with the matters of which Bagshaw had spoken; the second, which Widmerpool, judging by past experience, regarded as more important, the disappearance of his wife.
Frederica and Blanche, saying goodbye to the Alford relations to whom they had been talking, came over to have a word with their uncle. Alfred Tolland, still considerably discomposed by all that was happening round him, managed to effect a mumbled introduction of Widmerpool, who seized his opportunity, settling on Frederica. He began at once to put forward the advantages of having a preliminary talk,