AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maud said: "I fear he won't make the most of any chance of peace. "
"Peace?" said Fitz. "I don't think you need to worry too much about that. " He tried not to sound heated, but defeatist talk of peace made him think of all the lives that had been lost: poor young Lieutenant Carlton-Smith, so many Aberowen Pals, even the wretched Owen Bevin, shot by a firing squad. Was their sacrifice to have been for nothing? The thought seemed blasphemous to him. Forcing himself to speak in a conversational tone, he said: "There won't be peace until one side or the other has won. "
Anger flashed in Maud's eyes but she, too, controlled herself. "We might get the best of both worlds: energetic leadership of the war by Lloyd George as chairman of the War Council, and a statesmanlike prime minister such as Arthur Balfour to negotiate peace if we decide that's what we want. "
"Hm. " Fitz did not like that idea at all, but Maud had a way of putting things that made it hard to disagree. Fitz changed the subject. "What are you planning to do this afternoon?"
"Aunt Herm and I are going to the East End. We host a soldiers' wives club. We give them tea and cake-paid for by you, Fitz, for which we thank you-and try to help them with their problems. "
"Such as?"
Aunt Herm answered. "Getting a clean place to live and finding a reliable child minder are the usual ones. "
Fitz was amused. "You surprise me, Aunt. You used to disapprove of Maud's adventures in the East End. "
"It's wartime," Lady Hermia said defiantly. "We must all do what we can. "
On impulse Fitz said: "Perhaps I'll come with you. It's good for them to see that earls get shot just as easily as stevedores. "
Maud looked taken aback, but she said: "Well, of course, yes, if you'd like to. "
He could tell she was not keen. No doubt there was a certain amount of left-wing rubbish talked at her club-votes for women and suchlike tosh. However, she could not refuse him, as he paid for the whole thing.
Lunch ended and they went off to get ready. Fitz went to his wife's dressing room. Bea's gray-haired maid, Nina, was helping her off with the dress she had worn at lunch. Bea murmured something in Russian, and Nina replied in the same language, which irritated Fitz as it seemed intended to exclude him. He spoke in Russian, hoping they would think he understood everything, and said to the maid: "Leave us alone, please. " She curtsied and went out.
Fitz said: "I haven't seen Boy today. " He had left the house early this morning. "I must go to the nursery before he's taken out for his walk. "
"He's not going out at the moment," Bea said anxiously. "He's got a little cough. "
Fitz frowned. "He needs fresh air. "
To his surprise, she suddenly looked tearful. "I'm afraid for him," she said. "With you and Andrei both risking your lives in the war, Boy may be all I have left. "
Her brother, Andrei, was married but had no children. If Andrei and Fitz died, Boy would be all the family Bea had. It explained why she was overprotective of the child. "All the same, it won't do him good to be mollycoddled. "
"I don't know this word," she said sulkily.
"I think you know what I mean. "
Bea stepped out of her petticoats. Her figure was more voluptuous than it used to be. Fitz watched her untie the ribbons that held up her stockings. He imagined biting the soft flesh of her inner thigh.
She caught his eye. "I'm tired," she said. "I must sleep for an hour. "
"I could join you. "
"I thought you were going slumming with your sister. "
"I don't have to. "
"I really need to rest. "
He stood up to go, then changed his mind. He felt angry and rejected. "It's been a long time since you welcomed me into your bed. "
"I haven't been counting the days. "
"I have, and it's weeks, not days. "
"I'm sorry. I feel so worried about everything. " She was close to tears again.
