The World According to Bertie - Alexander Hanchett Smith [144]
I think the world is nice. I think that it is very sad that there are people who are unkind to one another. I also think that it is sad that there are people who want to kill other people just because they do not like them. I think that we should share things, and not be selfish, like Tofu.
Miss Harmony was a very kind teacher. We all loved her and she was very kind to us. I hope that wherever she is she is happy. I want her to come back, though. I want things to be the same again and for everybody to be happy. That is what I want.
Bertie Pollock (6).
94. Robinsonade
Domenica had arranged to meet her old friend, Dilly Emslie, forcoffee in the Patisserie Florentin in North West Circus Place. Theyhad last met shortly after Domenica’s return from the Malacca Straits, and Domenica had given Dilly an account of her anthropological research project among contemporary pirates – a project that had ultimately led to the discovery that the pirates stole intellectual property rather than anything else. Dilly had greeted this news with some relief; it was she who had encouraged Domenica to take on a new piece of research in the first place, although she had not envisaged that she would choose to work among pirates. Had Domenica come to an unfortunate end, she would have felt a certain responsibility, and so now, if Domenica again showed signs of itchy feet, she would certainly not give her any encouragement.
The two old friends had much to discuss.
‘I take it that everybody behaved themselves while I was off in the Malacca Straits,’ said Domenica, as she contemplated a small Italian biscuit that had been placed on the side of her plate.
‘I’m afraid so,’ said Dilly. ‘Or if they didn’t, then word hasn’t reached me yet.’
Domenica sighed. ‘So disappointing. That’s Edinburgh’s one, tiny little fault: most people behave rather well.’
‘On the surface,’ said Dilly, smiling. ‘But there are some people who are still capable of surprising one.’
‘Next door, for example,’ said Domenica. ‘My erstwhile friend, Antonia – she of the work-in-progress on the lives of the Scottish saints, and, incidentally, the person who removed a blue Spode teacup from my flat, but that’s another story – she has just finished an affair with a Polish builder, would you believe it? A man who had only one word of English, and that was “brick”.’
‘The strong and almost silent type,’ said Dilly.
Domenica laughed. ‘Yes, but it’s over now, and she’s decided to look for a better sort of man. Where she’ll find somebody like that, I have no idea, but hope springs eternal. Meanwhile, she continues to write about her saints.
‘A very popular field at the moment,’ she went on. ‘Do you know that Roger Collins is writing a great work on the lives of the popes? He’s got quite far with it. I had tea with Judith McClure and she showed me the new study they’ve built. There are two desks in it – one for Judith and one for Roger, with a rather comfortable-looking chair that Roger can swing round in while he’s writing about popes.’
‘This city, taking a broad view of its boundaries, is becoming very productive,’ said Dilly. ‘Roger Collins and his book on popes. And Allan Massie, with those marvellous historical novels of his. Even if the Borders claim him he’s almost Edinburgh. And—’
‘Ian Rankin writing all about criminal goings-on,’ interjected Domenica. ‘Such an active imagination, and a very fine writer too. And then there’s Irvine Welsh, with his vivid dialogue!’
‘Quite an impressive range,’ said Dilly.
Domenica nodded. ‘And that’s only mentioning the books that make it into print. Imagine all the others. On which subject, do take a look at Stuart Kelly’s Book of Lost Books – it’s all about books that people have talked about but which were never really written or have been lost. Great missing masterpieces. Books that never were, but which may still contribute to their authors’ reputations!’
They moved on. Had Domenica seen the