relieved.' 'She's not with me,' said Ducane. 'But never mind about Judy. Forget Judy.' 'What's this all about, Ducane? I wish you'd get on with it., 'Listen, listen ' 'I am listening, confound you.' 'Biranne,' said Ducane, 'do you still love your wife?' Biranne put his glass down sharply on the table and turned away. He moved a little along the room. 'What's the relevance of this to – anything?' 'Answer me.' 'I don't know.' 'Well, think about it. We've got plenty of time.' Ducane sat down in one of the easy chairs, waving his glass gently about in a figure of eight. He took a sip. 'It's my affair.' Ducane was silent. He gazed into his glass, breathing slowly and deeply. It seemed to him that he still smelt of the sea. Perhaps he would smell of the sea now until the end of his days. 'All right,' said Biranne. 'Yes, I do still love my wife. One doesn't recover from a woman like Paula. And now that I've satisfied your rather quaint curiosity perhaps we can get back to the matter in hand.' 'But this is by no means irrelevant to the matter in hand,' said Ducane. 'Do you ever think of returning to Paula?' 'No, of course not.' 'Paula and the twins ' 'There isn't any road back to Paula and the twins.' 'Why back? Why not on? They haven't been standing still in the past: 'Precisely, Paula's written me off long ago. She's got a life of her own. May I now ask the reason for these impertinent inquiries?' Pertinent, pertinent. Don't hustle me. I'm feeling very tired. Give yourself another drink.' Ducane pulled his chair closer to the fire and sipped the vermouth-fragrant gin. He did in fact feel very tired and curiously dreamy. Biranne, who had been pacing the room, had stopped behind the chair opposite and was leaning on it, staring at Ducane with puzzlement. , You were in the Commandos,' said Ducane. He looked up at Biranne's lean figure, his contracted slightly twisted clever face, under the dry fuzzy crest of hair. 'Your mind's rather straying around the place today,' said Biranne. 'That business with Eric Sears. Is it specially because of that you feel you couldn't possibly return to Paula? T 'Good God! Who told you about Eric Sears?' 'Paula did.' 'Oh she did, did she. Interesting. Well, it's a bit of a barrier. When one has deprived somebody's lover of his foot – ' 'It becomes an obsession, a nightmare –?' 'I wouldn't say quite that. But it's certainly one of those events that do things, psychological things.' 'I know. Paula felt this too.' 'Besides. Paula detests me.' 'No she doesn't. She still loves you.' 'Did she tell you that too?» 'Yes.' 'Christ. Why are you meddling here, Ducane?' 'Can't you see?' 'No, I can't.' 'You said it was mine to command and that I could make any conditions. Well, this is my decision. I'll keep quiet about everything if you will at least try out the possibility of returning to Paula.' Biranne turned away and went to the window. Ducane began to talk excitedly and fast, rather apologeti323 called. 'I remember your saying damn my duty, and I think now you were quite right, or rather there is another sort of duty. I don't want to wreck your life, why should I? It wouldn't help poor Claudia or poor Radeechy. And as for the processes of law, human law is only a very rough approximation to justice, and it's far too clumsy an instrument to deal with the situation that you're in. It isn't that I want to play God, I've just had this business forced upon me and I've got to do something about it. I really want to get right out without doing any damage. As for the inquiry, I'm certain about the answer to the question and I shall say so without the details. The thing about Paula just came as an inspiration, an extra, a felicitous conjecture. She certainly loves you, so why not try it? I'm not sentencing you to succeed, I'm sentencing you to try.' Ducane stood up and banged his glass on to the mantelpiece. Biranne came drifting back. He murmured, 'I haven't much choice, have I?' 'Well, you have and you haven't,' said Ducane.'I may as well reveal that I've decided not to open up this business anyway, I mean whatever you do. But since you're a gentleman – ' 'I think you're crazy. It could be a disaster. I can't imagine how you see it as a good idea.' 'I've talked to Paula about it – in general terms of course, I haven't told her this lot. And I think she very much wants to try again. She appears not to have got over you, either.' 'No doubt you find this bizarre,' said Biranne. He stood for a moment looking into the fire. Then he said, 'All right, Ducane, all right. I'll try, just try. God knows how it'll be.' 'Good. You have sometimes thought of going back?' 'Yes, I have, but only in a fantasy way. When two rather stiffnecked people part as we parted ' 'I know. That was why I felt a deus ex machina was not out of place.' 'I trust you've enjoyed yourself. All right. But when it comes to it Paula may find she hates the sight of me. And I don't imagine I'll turn into an ideal husband overnight.' 'Yes, yes. You'll go on being the bastard that you are.' Biranne smiled and picked up his drink again. 'I'm surprised you don't want to preserve Paula from my clutches. Funny thing, I used to think that perhaps you and Paula – God, I'd have hated it! I couldn't bear the idea of any man coming near Paula, but you would have been the worst of all – ' 'Well, if you want to keep other men off you'd better look after her yourself. By the way, I should have added another condition. You must tell Paula everything.' 'About Radeechy and so on?' 'Yes. Of course Paula may decide to, as you put it, turn you in. But somehow I don't think she will. Here, you'll need this. I don't want it any more.' Ducane held out Radeechy's confession. Biranne put it on the mantelpiece. He said, 'I think it would be wiser if you told Paula. I mean, just the outline of facts. She may decide she doesn't want to see me. She may decide that anyway.' 'I don't think so. But all right, I'll tell her. Should she come up here to see you, or would you rather go down to Dorset?' 'Let her decide that. Well, no, it might be better in town. I –I don't feel quite ready to face the twins.' Ducane laughed. 'The twins are indeed formidable. But I expect you'll find that they forgive you. Now there's nothing to say but good luck.' Biranne, pulling at his lower lip, had made his face more than usually asymmetrical. 'I suppose this is a kind of blackmail, isn't it.' 'I suppose it is.' 'I think perhaps I'll take this along after all.' Biranne pocketed Radeechy's confession. They both laughed. Biranne began to move towards the door. 'I'll drop you a note when I've seen Paula,' said Ducane. 'Thanks. And in general, thanks.' They moved out towards the front door. As they reached it Biranne touched Ducane's shoulder. Ducane
