speed and violence of her husband's orgasm.
'Hey,' she said. 'It's a good job I caught you, wasn't it? Another day away, and God knows what you'd have been up to! Who's been tickling your fancy these past few days, then?'
It did not seem a ripe moment to mention, even jocularly, the consumptive queen of Paradise Hall, so Pascoe murmured, 'I missed you.'
'Almost,' she agreed. 'But you'll get another chance in the repechage. There is going to be a repechage, isn't there?'
'We try to please,' said Pascoe.
They lay in silence for a while and thoughts of the outside world and its time drifted back into Pascoe's mind. From his point of view it had been a delightful day. Besides Ellie's unconcealed joy at seeing him, there had been Rose's delighted gurgles of recognition. As for his parents-in-law, they had seemed much the same as always. In fact, on the same principle which soothes away toothache at the dentist's or engine squeaks at the garage, Mr Soper had been alert and cogent all evening. Ellie had scarcely referred to the situation, being in the unenviable position of wanting Pascoe to see for himself while at the same time not really wanting anything to happen for him to see.
'Penny for them,' said Ellie.
'Is that your best offer?' evaded Pascoe.
Before Ellie could press him further, there came a knock at the door.
'Ellie! Ellie!' called Mrs Soper's voice.
'Jesus!'
Ellie snapped the light on and headed for the door, grabbing the coverlet for cover en route. Pascoe followed, slipping into his dressing-gown.
'What's up, Mum?'
'He's gone,' said Mrs Soper.
'Gone. Oh Christ. Peter, get the car out. How long ago, Mum?'
'No, it's all right, you don't need the car, I think he's just gone down into the garden. He said he heard a noise and thought that someone was trying to break into the greenhouse.'
'Right,' said Pascoe, relieved that it was perhaps after all a case for the police rather than medical investigation. 'I'll get down there and take a look.'
'What at?' demanded Ellie. 'He hasn't got a green-house. It's twenty-five years since he had a greenhouse.'
This changed matters slightly, but the principle of rapid descent held good. Pascoe ran quickly down the stairs, through the kitchen and out of the back door. The cold night wind struck his thinly covered flesh like a water cannon, making him gasp. He could see a figure moving around at the bottom of the garden and he headed towards it, hoping the old man had had the time and sense to put on more clothes than he had.
Behind him he heard Ellie say sharply, 'Mother, you stay there.' He went quickly forward. Archie Soper, his father-in-law, was standing still now, peering intensely into a small patch of shrubbery. He had an old raincoat draped around his body and was carrying a walking-stick in his right hand.
'Archie,' said Pascoe. 'For God's sake…'
The old man turned with surprising agility. His face showed no recognition.
'There you are!' he cried. And swung the stick at Pascoe's head.
He managed to duck and raise his arm to ward off the blow, but only at the expense of taking a painful crack on the elbow. But now Ellie was here, crying 'Dad! Dad!' and putting her arms around the old man whose ferocity dissolved into confusion as he let himself be led back towards the house.
Inside the kitchen, Ellie bustled around, checking that her father was all right, putting the kettle on, disappearing into the lounge to stoke up the fire, returning to say that it was much warmer in there and helping her father out of the kitchen with a command over her shoulder to bring the tea through with lots of sugar as soon as it was ready.
Madge Soper had stood around making vague reassuring noises at her husband during all this and now she obediently began to warm the teapot. Her behaviour seemed at first sight to confirm Ellie's assertion that she could no longer cope. This had surprised Pascoe. She was nearly ten years younger than her husband and had always seemed a perfectly competent if rather self-effacing person.
He touched his elbow and winced.
Mrs Soper noticed and came across to him.
'Oh Peter, did he get you with that stick? Let's have a look. He didn't mean it, he just gets confused. All those years since the greenhouse blew down and now he remembers it! It's not cut. There's nothing broken, is there?'
Pascoe pulled down his sleeve. There was going to be a bruise, but nothing worse.
'Has he attacked anyone before?' he asked.
'Oh no! I mean, he was looking for a burglar, wasn't he? And he saw you. He wouldn't recognize you, you see. I mean, if it'd been me, he'd have recognized me. I was around when he had the greenhouse, after all. You weren't.'
'Where's that tea?' came Ellie's voice from the lounge. 'Do get a move on!'
Pascoe and Madge Soper smiled at each other.
'She's really in charge, isn't she?' said Pascoe.
'Yes, she is,' said Mrs Soper. 'She was always the same from a girl. Not bossy, you know, but she knew her own mind. But I needn't tell you any of this, Peter! And I'm not complaining. She's been a tremendous help these past few days. I'm afraid I've just sat back and let her get on with it while I've looked after little Rose! But I'm glad she came so she could see for herself how things were. Ellie's never been a girl for taking things on trust. She's always had to see for herself. I warned the doctor she'd want to see him and he said he didn't mind. He's very good.'
'You warned him?'
'Yes. I mean, he'd told me everything there was to know about Archie and how he'd go on, but Ellie needed to hear for herself.'
Pascoe looked at her thoughtfully and said, 'How long's Archie been like this, Madge?'
'Oh a long time,' she said vaguely. 'It's getting worse slowly, and it won't get better. But it's funny what you get used to, isn't it? And most of the time, he's still his old self. Well, that's what he is, isn't it? His old self. Himself, but old, I mean. It happens to us all, one way or another, Peter.'
‘Well, all I can say is, he's in very good hands,' said Pascoe.
'We both are, Peter,' she said gently. 'Him and me. We both are.'
Pascoe had nothing to say. He put his arms gently round his mother-in-law and drew her close.
From the lounge came another cry.
'Have you two gone to China for that tea?'
Pascoe and Madge smiled at each other.
'Better get to work,' said Pascoe, 'or your evening off will be stopped.'
Later, as he and Ellie lay once more in bed, she said, 'What were you and Mum doing in the kitchen?'
'Talking about you, what else?'
'About me? Not Dad?' she said indignantly.
'Archie too. But there's not much need for Madge to talk about Archie. She knows all about him, after all. Mind you, by the same token, there wasn't much need to talk about you either.'
'That sounds pretty reductive,' said Ellie.
'I don't think it was meant to be,' said Pascoe. 'But we've got to be careful not to reduce people by cramming them in the limits of our understanding, haven't we?'
Ellie mused on this and in the musing, both she and her husband were overtaken by drowsiness and brought to the edge of sleep.
Then Pascoe awoke with a start.
'Jesus Christ!' he said.
'What?'
'I've just thought of something.'
