The Sandcastle (34 page)

As he neared the foot of the hill, pedalling with his head down, he heard
through the noise of the traffic a strange cry. He looked up. Then he saw
Felicity, who was coming flying down the hill on her bicycle, across on the
other carriage way. She had seen him and was calling out. She came whirling
towards him, dismounted at a high speed, and hurled herself and the bicycle
across the grass which divided the two sections of the road. Mor came rapidly
in towards the centre to meet her, and rode his bicycle on to the grass. As she
came up to him, tumbling off her machine, Felicity called out something which
at first Mor understood as ‘Rain’s come back!’ Then he realized that what
Felicity must have said was ‘Don’s come back!’ They met with an impact,
cannoning into each other, their bicycles colliding.
‘Oh, Daddy,’ cried Felicity, ‘I’m so glad I found you!’ She clung on to him.
‘Did you say Don had come back?’ said Mor.
‘Yes,’ said Felicity, ‘at least he’s not actually back yet. He came very late
last night to Tim Burke’s house, and Tim rang up about half an hour ago to say
that he was going to bring Don over on his motor bike. He says Don is quite all
right. They ought to be arriving any moment now. We might see them on the way.’
‘Well, thank God for that,’ said Mor. He picked up Felicity’s bicycle and his
own, and they got back on to the road and began to push their machines up the
hill. Felicity still clung on to his arm.
‘How did you know where to look for me?’ said Mor.
‘I saw you go out,’ said Felicity, ‘and then I saw you go by again towards the
fields. So I thought you might be down at Mr Demoyte’s house.’
Mor was silent. Arm in arm they plodded up the hill.
‘Daddy,’ said Felicity, ‘will you be an M.P. now?’
‘I suppose so, darling,’ said Mor, ‘if I get elected.’ He put his hand into
hers.
‘Will we move to London?’ said Felicity.
‘Yes,’ said Mor, “we’ll move to London.‘
‘I’m so glad,’ said Felicity. ‘I shall like that. I’m tired of living here.
Daddy — ’
‘Yes?’ said Mor.
‘Need I go on that secretarial course?’ said Felicity. ‘I wasn’t sure before, but
now I think I’d much rather stay at school for the present.’
‘You shall stay at school then,’ said Mor, ‘and later on perhaps you’ll go to a
university.’
Daddy,‘ said Felicity, ’don’t be too cross with Don.‘
‘I won’t be cross with him,’ said Mor.
‘Do you think Don could work with Tim Burke now?’ said Felicity. ‘He’d much
rather do that than chemistry, only he was always afraid to tell you. He’s
missed his silly exam anyway.’
We’ll see about that, darling,‘ said Mor. ’Perhaps it may be the best thing.
But we’ll see.‘
They were nearly at the top of the hill.
‘Daddy,’ said Felicity, ‘when we go to London do you think we could have
another dog?’
Mor was very near to tears. Not the tears that he cried, as Rain had told him,
inside his eyes, but visible tears that would stream down and wet his cheeks.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I expect we might have a dog when we go to London, if you’d
like that.’
They had reached the top of the hill. They mounted their bicycles and began to
free-wheel down the other side towards Mor’s house. The tears came to him now,
coursing down his cheeks and blown away by the wind. He put one hand to his
eyes. By the time he had reached his own front gate they were no longer
flowing.
Nan was standing at the door. Mor leaned his bicycle against the fence and came
up the path, followed by Felicity. He looked at Nan. He felt that his shoulders
were bowed. She looked at him. She looked very tired and like an old woman.
Before they could exchange any words a sound was heard which Mor recognized. It
was the note of Tim Burke’s Velocette. They all three turned back to the road.
Tim Burke appeared round the corner, riding very slowly now. Donald was sitting
behind him on the pillion, his arms clasped round Tim’s waist. The machine
stopped outside the house and the two riders dismounted. Donald was still
dressed in the flannels and gym shoes which he had worn on the day of the
climb. He was also wearing an old mackintosh. His face was pale and withdrawn.
Tim held him by the shoulder and turned towards the group at the gate. He
seemed as nervous about his own reception as about Donald’s. He said in a
defiant voice, ‘The prodigal’s return!’
‘Come inside,’ said Mor. He led the way into the house. Donald followed
directly after him, pushed forward by Tim Burke. They all crowded into the
hall. Mor turned to Donald. The boy looked at him, raising his eyebrows in a
half humorous half desperate appeal. Mor embraced him, holding him fast for a
minute in his arms. Then he said, ‘I expect you’re dead tired.’
Felicity was hugging him now and Nan was kissing him on the cheek. ‘I’m
exhausted,’ said Donald. ‘I’m afraid I gave Tim an awful night too. We’ve
hardly slept’
‘You’d better go straight to bed,’ said Nan. ‘Your clothes look as if they’re
sticking to your body. Off with you now, and I’ll bring you up some hot coffee
and an egg in bed.’
Donald began to mount the stairs. Mor followed after him and went with him into
his bedroom. The door closed behind them.
Nan went into the kitchen. She nodded to Tim Burke to come with her. She put
the kettle on the stove, and a saucepan to boil the egg. She lit the gas. Then
she looked towards Tim Burke. He was sitting beside the table in an attitude of
dejection. He would not meet her eye.
Felicity was sitting by herself on the stairs, half-way up. From the kitchen
she could hear the noise of crockery and of the hissing gas. From up above she
could hear the quiet sound of voices as Mor and Donald were talking in the
bedroom. Everything was all right now. Why was it then that she was starting to
cry? She fumbled in her clothes until she found a handkerchief. Her eyes were
filled with tears and soon they were streaming down her face. She gave a little
sob into her handkerchief. Everything was all right now. It was all right. It
was all right.
IRIS MURDOCH IN PENGUIN
Fiction
Under the Net
The Flight from the Enchanter
The Sandcastle
The Bell
A Severed Head
An Unofficial Rose
The Unicorn
The Italian Girl
The Red and the Green
The Time of the Angels
The Nice and the Good
Bruno’s Dream
A Fairly Honourable Defeat
An Accidental Man
The Black Prince
The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
A Word Child
Henry and Cato
The Sea, the Sea
Nuns and Soldiers
The Philosopher’s Pupil
The Good Apprentice
The Book and the Brotherhood
The Message to the Planet
The Green Knight
Jackson’s Dilemma
Non-Fiction
Acastos: Two Platonic Dialogues
Metaphysics As a Guide to Morals