«Of course I won't tell anybody,» said Francis. «But why after all did you tell me? You didn't intend to and you'll regret it. You'll probably hate me for it. But please, please don't if you can. You told me because you were frantic, because you felt an irresistible nervous urge. You'll tell her, sooner or later, for the same reason.»
«Never.»
«There's no need to make such heavy weather of it. As for her being sickened, it's far more likely that she'll laugh.»
«Laugh?»
«Young people can't take too seriously the feelings of oldies like us. She'll be rather touched, but she'll regard it as an absurd infatuation. She'll be amused, fascinated. It'll make her day.»
«Oh get out,» I said, «get out.»
«Brad, you are cross with me, don't be, it wasn't my fault you told me.»
«Get out.»
«Brad, what about Priscilla?»
«Do anything you think fit. I leave it to you.»
«Aren't you coming over to see her?»
«Yes, yes. Later. Give her my love.»
Francis got as far as the door. I was still sitting and rubbing my eyes. Francis's funny bear face was all creased up with anxiety and concern and he suddenly resembled his sister, when she had become so absurd, looking at me tenderly in the indigo dark of our old drawing-room.
«Brad, why don't you make a thing of Priscilla?»
«What do you mean?»
«Make her your life-line. Go all out to help her. Really make a job of it. Take your mind off this.»
«You don't know what this is like.»
«Why shouldn't you have an affair with Julian Baffin? It wouldn't do her any harm.»
«You vile-thing-Oh why did I tell you, why did I tell you, I must have been insane-«Well, I'll keep mum. All right, all right, I'm going.»
When he was gone I simply ran berserk round the house. Why oh why oh why had I broken my silence. I had given away my only treasure and I had given it to a fool. Not that I was concerned about whether Francis would betray me. Some much more frightening thing had been added to my pain. In my chess game with the dark lord I had made perhaps a fatally wrong move.
Later on I sat down and began to think over what Francis had said to me. At least I thought over some of it. About Priscilla I did not think at all.
