So Mr. Visconti was rid of both dog and general and was able to ride in reasonable comfort to Florence. Mental comfort was another matter, and the generals wife was hysterical with grief. I think Curran would have dealt with the situation a great deal better than Mr. Visconti. At Brighton, Curran would offer the last sacrament in the form of a ritual bone, which the poor beast of course could not possibly chew, to a dying dog. A lot of dogs were killed by cars on Brighton front, and the police were quite annoyed by owners who refused to have the bodies shifted until Curran had been summoned to give the corpse absolution. But Mr. Visconti, as I have told you, was not a religious man, and the consolations he offered, I can well imagine, were insufficient and unconvincing. Perhaps he spoke of punishment for the Frau Generals sins (for Mr. Visconti had a sadistic streak), and of the purgatory which we suffer on earth. Poor Mr. Visconti, he must have had a hard time of it all the way to Florence.
What happened to the general?
He was captured by the Allies, I believe, but Im not sure whether or not he was hanged at Nuremberg.
Mr. Visconti must have a great deal on his conscience.
Mr. Visconti hasnt got a conscience, my aunt said with pleasure.
Chapter 15
For some reason an old restaurant car with a kind of faded elegance was attached to the express after the Turkish frontier, when it was already too late to be of much use. My aunt rose that day early, and the two of us sat down to excellent coffee, toast and jam: Aunt Augusta insisted on our drinking in addition a light red wine, though I am not accustomed to wine so early in the morning. Outside the window an ocean of long undulating grass stretched to a pale green horizon. There was the talkative cheerfulness of journeys end in the air, and the car filled with passengers whom we had never seen before: a Vietnamese in blue dungarees spoke to a rumpled girl in shorts, and two young Americans, the man with hair as long as the girls, joined them, holding hands. They refused a second cup of coffee after carefully counting their money.
Wheres Tooley? my aunt asked.
She wasnt feeling well last night. Im worried about her, Aunt Augusta. Her young mans hitch-hiking to Istanbul. He may not have arrived. He may even have gone on without her.
Where to?
Shes not sure. Katmandu or Vientiane.
Istanbul is a rather unpredictable place, Aunt Augusta said. Im not even sure what I expect to find there myself.
What do you think youll find?
I have a little business to do with an old friend, General Abdul. I was expecting a telegram at the Saint James and Albany, but none came. I can only hope that theres a message waiting for us at the Pera Palace.
Who is the General?
I knew him in the days of poor Mr. Visconti, my aunt said. He was very useful to us in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia. He was Turkish Ambassador then in Tunis. What parties we had in those days at the Excelsior. A little different from the Crown and Anchor and a drink with poor Wordsworth.
The scenery changed as we approached Istanbul. The grassy sea was left behind and the express slowed down to the speed of a little local commuters train[153]. When I leant from the window I could see over a wall into the yard of a cottage; I was in talking distance of a red-skirted girl who looked up at us as we crawled by; a man mounted a bicycle and for a while kept pace with us. Birds on a red tiled roof looked down their long beaks and spoke together like village gossips.
I said, Im awfully afraid that Tooleys going to have a baby.
She ought to take precautions, Henry, but in any case its far too early for you to worry.
Good heavens, Aunt Augusta, I didnt mean that how can you possibly think?
Its a natural conclusion, my aunt said, you have been much together. And the girl has a certain puppy charm.
Im too old for that sort of thing.
You are a young man in your fifties, Aunt Augusta replied.
The door of the restaurant car clanged, and there was Tooley, but a Tooley transformed. Perhaps it was only that she had put on less shadow, but her eyes seemed to be sparkling as I had never known them do before. Hi, she called down the length of the car. The four young people turned and looked at her and called back Hi, as though they had been long acquainted. Hi, she greeted them in return, and I felt a small ache of jealousy, irrational as the irritations of early morning.
Good morning, good morning, she said to the two of us; she seemed to be speaking a different language to the old. Oh, Mr. Pulling, its happened.
Whats happened?
Whats happened?
The curse. Ive got the curse. I was right, you see. The jolting of the train, I mean it did do it. Ive got a terrible belly-ache, but I feel fabulous. I cant wait to tell Julian. Oh, I hope hes at the Gulhane, when I get there.
You going to the Gulhane? the American boy called across.
Yes, are you?
Sure. We can all go together.
Thats fabulous.
Come and have a coffee if youve got the money.
You dont mind, do you? Tooley said to my aunt. Theyre going to the Gulhane too.