It was the night of the raid, heremembered. He saw
his sunburnt face with the broad cheek bones and thelittle brown eyes.
Save for a dish of rather fly-blown fruit,
applesand bananas, there was no more to eat apparently. She had comehome, after a
raid; she had been dining in Westminster with Rennyand Maggie. He listened to what
she was saying; he tried topiece it together.
He was going todine with Sara but he had not much
notion how to get there.
A shadow like an angel with bright hair Whos the
young Frenchman, she said, with the top hat in thepicture? He lookedup and caught
her staring at him.
He had half a mind to stopand buy a bunch to take
to Sally. And I, he said, as he took his plate, was among the damned.
The roar of traffic in the High Street
soundedlouder and louder. Not thatit was anything of importance, she
added.
You know theyd flown theChannel not so very long
before.
The girl was in the room, andshe distracted him;
also the noise of London still bothered him. Nicholas, said Sara, finishing his
sentence.
Pargiter was near the top, punched on astrip of
aluminium. It was the night of the raid, heremembered.
Now a dark line of railings emergedfrom the
mist.
He saw his sunburnt face with the broad cheek bones
and thelittle brown eyes.
They sat down and she took the carving-knife and
made a longincision. Then he gave thedoor a push; it was open.