VIII + 

I + 

The friendship with Sebastian Levinne prospered and throve apace. Half the zest of it lay in the secrecy that had to be adopted. VernonтАЩs mother would have been horrified if she had guessed at anything of the kind. The Levinnes would certainly not have been horrifiedтБатАФbut their gratification might have led to equally dire results. + 

School time passed on leaden wings for poor Joe, cooped up with a daily governess, who arrived every morning, and who subtly disapproved of her outspoken and rebellious pupil. Joe only lived for the holidays. As soon as they came, she and Vernon would set off to a secret meeting place where there was a convenient gap in a hedge. They had invented a code of whistles and many unnecessary signals. Sometimes Sebastian would be there before timeтБатАФlying on the brackenтБатАФhis yellow face and jutting out ears looking strangely at variance with his knickerbocker suit. + 

They played games, but they also talkedтБатАФhow they talked! Sebastian told them stories of Russia. They learnt of the persecution of JewsтБатАФof pogroms! Sebastian himself had never been in Russia, but he had lived for years amongst other Russian Jews and his own father had narrowly escaped with his life in a pogrom. Sometimes he would say sentences in Russian to please Vernon and Joe. It was all entrancing. + 

тАЬEverybody hates us down here,тАЭ said Sebastian. тАЬBut it doesnтАЩt matter. They wonтАЩt be able to do without us because my father is so rich. You can buy everything with money.тАЭ + 

He had a certain queer arrogance about him. + 

тАЬYou canтАЩt buy everything,тАЭ objected Vernon. тАЬOld NicollтАЩs son has come home from the war without a leg. Money couldnтАЩt make his leg grow again.тАЭ + 

тАЬNo,тАЭ admitted Sebastian. тАЬI didnтАЩt mean things like that. But money would get you a very good wooden leg, and the best kind of crutches.тАЭ + 

тАЬI had crutches once,тАЭ said Vernon. тАЬIt was rather fun. And I had an awfully nice nurse to look after me.тАЭ + 

тАЬYou see, you couldnтАЩt have had that if you hadnтАЩt been rich.тАЭ + 

Was he rich? He supposed he was. HeтАЩd never thought about it. + 

тАЬI wish I was rich,тАЭ said Joe. + 

тАЬYou can marry me when you grow up,тАЭ said Sebastian, тАЬand then you will be.тАЭ + 

тАЬIt wouldnтАЩt be nice for Joe if nobody came to see her,тАЭ objected Vernon. + 

тАЬI wouldnтАЩt mind that a bit,тАЭ said Joe. тАЬI wouldnтАЩt care what Aunt Myra or anybody said. IтАЩd marry Sebastian if I wanted to.тАЭ + 

тАЬPeople will come and see her then,тАЭ said Sebastian. тАЬYou donтАЩt realize. Jews are frightfully powerful. My father says people canтАЩt do without them. ThatтАЩs why Sir Charles Alington had to sell us Deerfields.тАЭ + 

A sudden chill came over Vernon. He felt without putting the thought into words that he was talking to a member of an enemy race. But he felt no antagonism towards Sebastian. That was over long ago. He and Sebastian were friendsтБатАФsomehow he was sure they always would be. + 

тАЬMoney,тАЭ said Sebastian, тАЬisnтАЩt just buying things. ItтАЩs ever so much more than that. And it isnтАЩt only having power over people. ItтАЩsтБатАФitтАЩsтБатАФbeing able to get together lots of beauty.тАЭ + 

He made a queer un-English gesture with his hands. + 

тАЬWhat do you mean,тАЭ said Vernon, тАЬby get together?тАЭ + 

Sebastian didnтАЩt know what he meant. The words had just come. + 

тАЬAnyway,тАЭ said Vernon, тАЬthings arenтАЩt beauty.тАЭ + 

тАЬYes, they are. Deerfields is beautifulтБатАФbut not nearly so beautiful as Abbots Puissants.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhen Abbots Puissants belongs to me,тАЭ said Vernon, тАЬyou can come and stay there as much as ever you like. WeтАЩre always going to be friends, arenтАЩt we? No matter what anyone says?тАЭ + 

тАЬWeтАЩre always going to be friends,тАЭ said Sebastian. + 

II + 

Little by little the Levinnes made headway. The church needed a new organтБатАФMr.┬аLevinne presented it with one. Deerfields was thrown open on the occasion of the choir boysтАЩ outing, and strawberries and cream provided. A large donation was given to the Primrose League. Turn where you would, you came up against the opulence and the kindness of the Levinnes. + 

People began to say: тАЬOf course theyтАЩre impossibleтБатАФbut Mrs.┬аLevinne is wonderfully kind.тАЭ + 

And they said other things. + 

тАЬOh, of courseтБатАФJews! But perhaps it is absurd of one to be prejudiced. Some very good people have been Jews.тАЭ + 

It was rumoured that the Vicar had said: тАЬIncluding Jesus Christ,тАЭ in answer. But nobody really believed that. The Vicar was unmarried, which was very unusual, and had odd ideas about Holy Communion, and sometimes preached very incomprehensible sermons, but nobody believed that he would have said anything really sacrilegious. + 

It was the Vicar who introduced Mrs.┬аLevinne to the Sewing Circle which met twice a week to provide comforts for our brave soldiers in South Africa. And meeting her twice a week there certainly made it awkward. + 

In the end, Lady Coomberleigh, softened by the immense donation to the Primrose League, took the plunge and called. And where Lady Coomberleigh led, everybody followed. + 

Not that the Levinnes were ever admitted to intimacy. But they were officially accepted, and people were heard saying: + 

тАЬSheтАЩs a very kind womanтБатАФeven if she does wear impossible clothes for the country.тАЭ + 

But that, too, followed. Mrs.┬аLevinne was adaptable like all her race. A very short time elapsed before she appeared in even tweedier tweeds than her neighbourтАЩs. + 

Joe and Vernon were solemnly bidden to tea with Sebastian Levinne. + 

тАЬWe must go this once, I suppose,тАЭ said Myra, sighing. тАЬBut we need never get really intimate. What a queer-looking boy he is. You wonтАЩt be rude to him, will you, Vernon, darling?тАЭ + 

The children solemnly made the official acquaintance of Sebastian. It amused them very much. + 

But the sharp-witted Joe fancied that Mrs.┬аLevinne knew more about their friendship than Aunt Myra did. Mrs.┬аLevinne wasnтАЩt a fool. She was like Sebastian. + 

III + 

Walter Deyre was killed a few weeks before the war ended. His end was a gallant one. He was shot when going back to rescue a wounded comrade under heavy fire. He was awarded a posthumous V.C., and the letter his colonel wrote to Myra was treasured by her as her dearest possession. + 

Never [wrote the colonel] have I known anyone so fearless of danger. His men adored him and would have followed him anywhere. He has risked his life again and again in the gallantest way. You can indeed be proud of him. + 

Myra read that letter again and again. She read it to all her friends. It wiped away the faint sting that her husband had left no last word or letter for her. + 

тАЬBut being a Deyre, he wouldnтАЩt,тАЭ she said to herself. + 

Yet Walter Deyre had left a letter тАЬin case I should be killed.тАЭ But it was not to Myra and she never knew of it. She was grief-stricken, but happy. Her husband was hers in death as he had never been in life, and with her easy power of making things as she wished them to be, she began to weave a convincing romance of her wonderfully happy married life. + 

It is difficult to say how Vernon was affected by his fatherтАЩs death. He felt no actual griefтБатАФwas rendered even more stolid by his motherтАЩs obvious wish for him to display emotion. He was proud of his fatherтБатАФso proud that it almost hurtтБатАФyet he understood what Joe had meant when she said that it was better for her mother to be dead. He remembered very clearly that last evening walk with his fatherтБатАФthe things he had saidтБатАФthe feeling there had been between them. + 

His father, he knew, hadnтАЩt really wanted to come back. He was sorry for his fatherтБатАФhe always had been. He didnтАЩt know why. + 

It was not grief he felt for his fatherтБатАФit was more a kind of heart-gripping loneliness. Father was deadтБатАФAunt Nina was dead. There was Mother, of course, but that was different. + 

He couldnтАЩt satisfy his motherтБатАФhe never had been able to. She was always hugging him, crying over him, telling him they must be all in all to each other now. And he couldnтАЩt, he just couldnтАЩt, say the things she wanted him to say. He couldnтАЩt even put his arms round her neck and hug her back. + 

He longed for the holidays to be over. His mother, with her red eyes, and her widowтАЩs weeds of the heaviest crapeтБатАФsomehow she overpowered things. + 

Mr.┬аFlemming, the lawyer from London, came down to stay, and Uncle Sydney came from Birmingham. He stayed two days. At the end of them, Vernon was summoned to the library. + 

The two men were sitting at the long table. Myra was sitting in a low chair by the fire, her handkerchief to her eyes. + 

тАЬWell, my boy,тАЭ said Uncle Sydney, тАЬweтАЩve got something to talk to you about. How would you like to come and live near your Aunt Carrie and me at Birmingham?тАЭ + 

тАЬThank you,тАЭ said Vernon, тАЬbut IтАЩd rather live here.тАЭ + 

тАЬA bit gloomy, donтАЩt you think?тАЭ said his uncle. тАЬNow IтАЩve got my eye on a jolly houseтБатАФnot too big, thoroughly comfortable. ThereтАЩll be your cousins near for you to play with in the holidays. ItтАЩs a very good idea, I think.тАЭ + 

тАЬIтАЩm sure it is,тАЭ said Vernon politely. тАЬBut IтАЩd really like being here best, thank you.тАЭ + 

тАЬAh! HтАЩm,тАЭ said Uncle Sydney. He blew his nose and looked questioningly at the lawyer, who assented to the look with a slight nod. + 

тАЬItтАЩs not quite so simple as that, old chap,тАЭ said Uncle Sydney. тАЬI think youтАЩre quite old enough to understand if I explain things to you. Now that your fatherтАЩs deadтБатАФerтБатАФpassed from us, Abbots Puissants belongs to you.тАЭ + 

тАЬI know,тАЭ said Vernon. + 

тАЬEh? How do you know? Servants been talking?тАЭ + 

тАЬFather told me before he went away.тАЭ + 

тАЬOh!тАЭ said Uncle Sydney rather taken aback. тАЬOh, I see. Well, as I say, Abbots Puissants belongs to you, but a place like this takes a lot of money to runтБатАФpaying wages and things like thatтБатАФyou understand? And then there are some things called Death Duties. When anyone dies, you have to pay out a lot of money to the Government. + 

тАЬNow, your father wasnтАЩt a rich man. When his father died, and he came into this place, he had so little money that he thought heтАЩd have to sell it.тАЭ + 

тАЬSell it?тАЭ burst out Vernon incredulously. + 

тАЬYes, itтАЩs not entailed.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhatтАЩs entailed?тАЭ + 

Mr.┬аFlemming explained carefully and clearly. + 

тАЬButтБатАФbutтБатАФyou arenтАЩt going to sell it now?тАЭ + 

Vernon gazed at him with agonizing, imploring eyes. + 

тАЬCertainly not,тАЭ said Mr.┬аFlemming. тАЬThe estate is left to you, and nothing can be done until you are of ageтБатАФthat means twenty-one, you know.тАЭ + 

Vernon breathed a sigh of relief. + 

тАЬBut, you see,тАЭ continued Uncle Sydney, тАЬthere isnтАЩt enough money to go on living here. As I say, your father would have had to sell it. But he met your mother and married her, and fortunately she had enough money toтБатАФto keep things going. But your fatherтАЩs death has made a lot of difference. For one thing, he has left certainтБатАФerтБатАФdebts which your mother insists on paying.тАЭ + 

There was a sniff from Myra. Uncle SydneyтАЩs tone was embarrassed and he hurried on. + 

тАЬThe commonsense thing to do is to let Abbots Puissants for a term of yearsтБатАФtill you are twenty-one, in fact. By then, who knows? Things mayтБатАФerтБатАФchange for the better. Naturally your mother will be happier living near her own relations. You must think of your mother, you know, my boy.тАЭ + 

тАЬYes,тАЭ said Vernon. тАЬFather told me to.тАЭ + 

тАЬSo thatтАЩs settledтБатАФeh?тАЭ + 

How cruel they were, thought Vernon. Asking himтБатАФwhen he could see that there was nothing to ask him about. They could do as they liked. They meant to. Why call him in here and pretend! + 

Strangers would come and live in Abbots Puissants. + 

Never mind! Some day he would be twenty-one. + 

тАЬDarling,тАЭ said Myra, тАЬIтАЩm doing it all for you. It would be so sad here without Daddy, wouldnтАЩt it?тАЭ + 

She held out her arms, but Vernon pretended not to notice. He walked out of the room, saying with difficulty: + 

тАЬThank you, Uncle Sydney, so much, for telling me.тАЭ + 

IV + 

He went out into the garden and wandered on till he came to the old Abbey. He sat down with his chin in his hands. + 

тАЬMother could!тАЭ he said to himself. тАЬIf she liked, she could! She wants to go and live in a horrid red brick house with pipes on it like Uncle SydneyтАЩs. She doesnтАЩt like Abbots PuissantsтБатАФshe never has. But she neednтАЩt pretend itтАЩs all for me. ThatтАЩs not true. She says things that arenтАЩt true. She always has.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

He sat there smouldering with indignation. + 

тАЬVernonтБатАФVernonтБатАФIтАЩve been looking for you everywhere. I couldnтАЩt think what had become of you. WhatтАЩs the matter?тАЭ + 

It was Joe. He told her. Here was someone who would understand and sympathize. But Joe startled him. + 

тАЬWell, why not? Why shouldnтАЩt Aunt Myra go and live in Birmingham if she wants to? I think youтАЩre beastly. Why should she go on living here just so that you should be here in the holidays? ItтАЩs her money. Why shouldnтАЩt she spend it on doing as she likes?тАЭ + 

тАЬBut Joe, Abbots PuissantsтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬWell, whatтАЩs Abbots Puissants to Aunt Myra? In her heart of hearts she feels about it just like you feel about Uncle SydneyтАЩs house in Birmingham. Why should she pinch and scrape to live here if she doesnтАЩt want to? If your father had made her happier here, perhaps she would want toтБатАФbut he didnтАЩt. Mother said so once. I donтАЩt like Aunt Myra terriblyтБатАФI know sheтАЩs good and all that, but I donтАЩt love herтБатАФbut I can be fair. ItтАЩs her money. You canтАЩt get away from that!тАЭ + 

Vernon looked at her. They were antagonists. Each had their point of view and neither could see the otherтАЩs. They were both ablaze with indignation. + 

тАЬI think women have a rotten time,тАЭ said Joe. тАЬAnd IтАЩm on Aunt MyraтАЩs side.тАЭ + 

тАЬAll right,тАЭ said Vernon, тАЬbe on her side! I donтАЩt care.тАЭ + 

Joe went away. He stayed there, sitting on the ruined wall of the old Abbey. + 

For the first time he questioned lifeтБатАКтБатАж Things werenтАЩt sure. How could you tell what was going to happen? + 

When he was twenty-one. + 

Yes, but you couldnтАЩt be sure! You couldnтАЩt be safe! + 

Look at the time when he was a baby. Nurse, God, Mr.┬аGreen! How absolutely fixed they had seemed. And now they had all gone. + 

At least, God was still there, he supposed. But it wasnтАЩt the same GodтБатАФnot the same God at all. + 

What would have happened to everything by the time he was twenty-one? What, strangest thought of all, would have happened to himself? + 

He felt terribly alone. Father, Aunt NinaтБатАФboth dead. Only Uncle Sydney and MummyтБатАФand they werenтАЩtтБатАФdidnтАЩtтБатАФbelong. He paused, confused. There was Joe! Joe understood. But Joe was queer about some things. + 

He clenched his hands. No, everything would be all right. + 

When he was twenty-oneтБатАКтБатАж + 