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They could create an illusion of intimacy which was at least good enough to make it possible for them decently to pretend that they believed in it themselves—
    But the things they saw when they looked at each other were – were—
    But not a smile. Not a smile like that – mechanical smiles, sometimes; pitying, mocking, cruel, or really amused. But not smiles like this one that Bret was suddenly giving her – not—
    â€œYou seemed to be bothering about it,” he said. “I just wanted to remind you they really are extinct.”
    And then he leaned forward and called to her father:
    â€œThis is Parramatta we’re in. The turn off comes pretty soon – to your left.”
2
    Millicent looked over her shoulder to speak to Susan and looked quickly back again. She mused pleasantly for a few moments on the quaintness of her own Anglo-Saxon temperament. Perhaps it would be more satisfying, at all events from the material point of view, if one were a Latin? Perhaps it would be nice when one saw in the faces of one’s children intense joy, intense sorrow, to be able to plunge into it with them, to lift one’s voice in lamentation or to cry the praises of the blessed Virgin? But no, she thought regretfully, glancing down at her fragile body, one must have thefigure for that kind of thing as well as the temperament. One might conceivably lash oneself into the required emotional frenzy, but one could not acquire the bosoms! So one glanced round and saw one’s daughter looking as though heaven and all its angels had appeared before her; and one glanced away again quickly so that no one should be embarrassed by the acknowledgment of too deep an emotion—
    But there it was. Oh, lovely day! Susan looking happy, and here before them, mile after precious mile, the Western Road!

CHAPTER FOUR
1
    D REW settled down to his driving with a freshened interest. This, you might say, was the beginning of the country; here you began to see bits of vacant land, and there were grassy banks by the roadside, and the scattered shops had that gauche but rather engaging appearance unknown to city shops, of not being quite sure what it was they were really there to sell. Drew began to feel benevolent; he began to feel expansive and kindly and tolerant, and he liked the mental picture which he had of his large, gleaming, powerful car rocketing along through this naive and humble countryside.
    It was pleasant, he thought, to feel the velvety throb of the engine, the effortless power of it soaring them up the crest of this hill ahead. Pleasant, too, not to know what was coming. Pleasant – and of them all, he thought, rather grimly, he was the only one who could be knowing that particular pleasure – to come to it without memories, quite fresh to a fresh adventure.
    They swooped at the sunny crest of the hill, sank away from it into lavender coloured shadow, and the road raced on ahead of them to another hilltop. Yes, this was fine! Good road, straight, just enough ups and downs to keep it from being monotonous, and a car that purred like a cat newly fed on fish and cream! You could let her out a bit on a road like this – turn the purr into a roar, the cat into a tiger!
    Up into the sun again, down into the shadow and still the road lay in front vanishing like a thread over yet another distant hill! Forty-five and you hardly knew you were moving! Fifty. Fifty-five. A miracle really, this conversion of a few gallons of petrol into annihilated miles! A liquid, a vapour that could spin you like the carpet of Bagdad from Ballool to Coolami!
    A longer hill, this one – but she rose to it like a bird! Funny, the effect of movement the glittering sun gave to that little silver figure in front; if it weren’t so damned fanciful, so definitely one of the miracles that
don’t
happen, you’d say that all the power of this headlong flight came from its wild, forward-leaping body and followed