Books Do Furnish a Room Read Online Free PDF Page A

veil of mystery was not worth sustaining, especially as
Miss Leintwardine herself might at any moment give the show away. However, it
turned out she was well aware that contacts with the Widmerpool ménage were too
profitable to be squandered in casual enquiry. She was giving nothing away that
evening. This attitude was probably due also to other matters connected with
her relationship with Sillery which only came to light some minutes later.
    ‘They’re both all right so far
as I know, Sillers.’
    ‘Leonard here lives in the same
block of flats.’
    ‘Oh, do you?’
    She spoke politely, no more.
    ‘You were saying Mrs W finds
the place rather poky,’ persisted Sillery.
    Miss Leintwardine did not
choose to answer that one. Instead, she addressed herself to me.
    ‘I think you know Pam and
Kenneth, Mr Jenkins. They spoke of you. Like so many people, Pam’s been having
rather a painful reaction now the war’s over. Tired, I mean, and listless.
Always ill. We’ve been friends since we were in the ATS together.’
    ‘She was a driver in the ATS
when I first met her.’
    ‘Then we both went into secret
shows, different ones, and always kept
in touch – but for God’s sake don’t let’s talk about the
war. Such a boring subject.’
    Sillery shouted assent to that,
showing distinct signs of displeasure at this interchange. What was the good of presenting Ada
Leintwardine as a woman of mystery, if she shared a crowd of acquaintances in
common with another guest? Besides, long experience of extracting information
out of people must have warned him she was not prepared to furnish anything of
great interest that evening, unless matters took an unexpected turn. Grasp of
the fact was to Sillery’s credit, in some degree justifying the respect paid
him in such traffickings by Short and others. He rose
once more from his chair, again throwing himself to the floor with surprising
suppleness of movement, to scrabble further at the stuff in the cupboard.
    ‘You’re sure you’ve got the
right notebooks now, Ada? I’m putting away the ones you brought back, ere worse
befall. Don’t want to lose them, do we?’
    Miss Leintwardine chose this
moment of Sillery’s comparative detachment on the floor to announce something
probably intended to take a less abrupt form. Possibly she had even paid the
visit for this purpose, the diaries only an excuse. Since she had not found
Sillery alone, she had to take the best opportunity available.
    ‘Talking of J. G. Quiggin, you’ve
heard about this new publishing firm of his?’
    She spoke rather
self-consciously. Sillery, swivelling round where he squatted orientally on a
hole in the carpet, was attentive to this.
    ‘Have you any piquant details,
Ada? I should like to know more
of JG’s publishing venture.’
    ‘I’m rather committed myself. Perhaps you heard that too, Sillers?’
    Whatever this
meant, clearly Sillery had not heard. He sat up sharply. Miss
Leintwardine’s manner of asking the question strongly suggested he had been
given no opportunity to hear anything of the sort
    ‘How so, Ada?’
    ‘As it happens, I’m joining the
firm myself. I’ve been reading manuscripts for them since they started. I
thought I told you.’
    ‘No, Ada, no. You never told
me.’
    ‘I thought I had.’
    This showed Sillery in the
plainest terms he was not the only one to discharge bombshells. He took it
pretty well, though there could be no doubt he was shaken. His eyes showed
that.
    ‘Craggs brought in the goodwill
of Boggis & Stone, together with such Left-Wing steadies as survive. Of
course the new firm won’t be nearly so limited as Boggis & Stone. We’re
hoping to get the young writers. We’ve signed up X. Trapnel, for example.’
    She spoke all this quickly,
more than a little embarrassed, even upset, at having to break the news to
Sillery. He did not say anything. She continued in the same hurried tone.
    ‘I was wondering