The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch [240]
‘I like being nice and soft, like a squashy toy. But are you actually going to marry again? Surely you won’t go that far? I thought you said marriage was hell, Peregrine, you said it was brainwashing. ’
‘Not when you marry the same person for the second time. Everyone should do it.’
‘But what about Pamela?’
‘Oh, haven’t you heard? Pam’s gone off with Marcus Henty. You know he’s become a gentleman farmer. The manor house life should suit Pam down to the ground.’
‘So I thought I’d better grab Peregrine before he started making passes at Angie!’
‘God!’ said Peregrine. They laughed crazily, Perry’s big wrinkled face red with the sun and the champagne. Rosina as usual was perched, now on the arm of Peregrine’s chair, swinging long bare legs, her white dress hitched up. She leaned over him, brushing his hair with her nose. They both twinkled at me, then regarded each other solemnly and went off into another fit.
‘I hope there’s a part for Peregrine in Fritzie’s Odyssey,’ I said. ‘Perhaps he could enact the old dog.’
‘Oh, that’s off,’ said Rosina.
‘Fritzie’s changed his mind?’
‘No, I’ve changed mine.’
‘We’re going to Ireland,’ said Peregrine.
‘To Ireland?’
‘Yes, to Londonderry. We’ve had enough of West End show business. We’re going to bring theatre to the people.’
‘Oh my God!’
‘Don’t you mock, Charles. This is going to be the beginning of something great—’
‘So you’re giving up the Calypso part, Rosina?’
‘Yes,’ she said.
I said, ‘You’ve impressed me, at last.’
‘The beginning of something great,’ said Peregrine. ‘We’re going to write the plays ourselves and get local people to act them. The Irish are natural actors, and there’s a darling little theatre that’s only a bit bombed—’
‘I’m not mocking,’ I said. ‘I think you’re brave, both of you, I wish you the best of luck. No, no more champagne, thanks, it’s made me drunk already.’
‘Charles never had a head for drink,’ said Peregrine, pouring himself some more.
‘I’m not a monster in your mind any more, I hope?’ I said to him.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I killed the monster when I pushed you into the sea. I’m glad you survived, really. All’s well that ends well.’
‘Ah, but when is the end? I must be off. Thanks for the champers.’
‘I’ll see you to the door,’ said Rosina. She skipped out, and I saluted Peregrine and followed.
Rosina’s white dress turned out to be a sort of shapeless prophetess’s robe made of some very light fabric which practically floated on the air all round her. She held out her arms and flapped it, then drew it closely about her. We came out and stood a moment in the sun on the stony verge of the road. Rosina’s feet were bare.
‘So you think this’ll work, I mean you and Peregrine?’
‘I don’t see why not,’ she said. ‘There was never anything the matter between us except jealousy.’
‘A big matter. And ubiquitous.’
‘Well, it’s a sign of love. Peregrine was simply obsessed about you, then he married that Pam simply to annoy me. And, you know, I couldn’t bear Peregrine being so passive about your stealing me away, I always wanted him to fight for me.’
‘The Helen of Troy complex. It’s fairly common.’
‘And when I heard he’d killed you . . .’
‘He boasted of it?’
‘Naturally—’
‘Well, good luck to you. Tell me, Rosina, that day when you went off and said you were going to see Ben, did you go?’
Rosina peered up at me with her intense crossing eyes. She chuckled and hugged the white robe more closely around her. ‘Yes.’
‘And what happened?’
‘Oh nothing happened. We had a tremendous talk.’
‘I would call that a happening. What about?’
‘Charles, you ask too many questions,’ said Rosina, ‘and you want something for nothing, you always did. But I can