The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro [94]
I gave no reply, and Mr Cardinal went on gazing emptily at the floor. After a while, he continued:
‘His lordship is a dear, dear man. But the fact is, he is out of his depth. He is being manoeuvred. The Nazis are manoeuvring him like a pawn. Have you noticed this, Stevens? Have you noticed this is what has been happening for the last three or four years at least?’
‘I’m sorry, sir, I have failed to notice any such development.’
‘Haven’t you even had a suspicion? The smallest suspicion that Herr Hitler, through our dear friend Herr Ribbentrop, has been manoeuvring his lordship like a pawn, just as easily as he manoeuvres any of his other pawns back in Berlin?’
‘I’m sorry, sir, I’m afraid I have not noticed any such development.’
‘But I suppose you wouldn’t, Stevens, because you’re not curious. You just let all this go on before you and you never think to look at it for what it is.’
Mr Cardinal adjusted his position in the armchair so that he was a little more upright, and for a moment he seemed to be contemplating his unfinished work on the desk near by. Then he said:
‘His lordship is a gentleman. That’s what’s at the root of it. He’s a gentleman, and he fought a war with the Germans, and it’s his instinct to offer generosity and friendship to a defeated foe. It’s his instinct. Because he’s a gentleman, a true old English gentleman. And you must have seen it, Stevens. How could you not have seen it? The way they’ve used it, manipulated it, turned something fine and noble into something else – something they can use for their own foul ends? You must have seen it, Stevens.’
Mr Cardinal was once again staring at the floor. He remained silent for a few moments, then he said:
‘I remember coming here years ago, and there was this American chap here. We were having a big conference, my father was involved in organizing it. I remember this American chap, even drunker than I am now, he got up at the dinner table in front of the whole company. And he pointed at his lordship and called him an amateur. Called him a bungling amateur and said he was out of his depth. Well, I have to say, Stevens, that American chap was quite right. It’s a fact of life. Today’s world is too foul a place for fine and noble instincts. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you, Stevens? The way they’ve manipulated something fine and noble. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you?’
‘I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t say I have.’
‘You can’t say you have. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to do something about it. If Father were alive, he would do something to stop it.’
Mr Cardinal fell silent again and for a moment – perhaps it was to do with his having evoked memories of his late father – he looked extremely melancholy. ‘Are you content, Stevens,’ he said finally, ‘to watch his lordship go over the precipice just like that?’
‘I’m sorry, sir, I don’t fully understand what it is you’re referring to.’
‘You don’t understand, Stevens. Well, we’re friends and so I’ll put it to you frankly. Over the last few years, his lordship has probably been the single most useful pawn Herr Hitler has had in this country for his propaganda tricks. All the better because he’s sincere and honourable and doesn’t recognize the true nature of what he’s doing. During the last three years alone, his lordship has been crucially instrumental in establishing links between Berlin and over sixty of the most influential citizens of this country. It’s worked beautifully for them. Herr Ribbentrop’s been able virtually to bypass our foreign office altogether. And as if their wretched Rally and their wretched Olympic Games weren’t enough, do you know what they’ve got his lordship working on now? Do you have any idea what is being discussed now?’
‘I’m afraid not, sir.’
‘His lordship has been trying to persuade the Prime Minister himself to accept an invitation to visit