The Janeites Read Online Free PDF Page A

We got very hungry but the idea of phoning for a pizza nauseated both of us, the Chinaman, the hamburger-man, nonono. Cooking suddenly became funny, we went through the fridge for leftovers, through the shelf for tins, Raymond – that skilful fellow – made wonderful (really they were very good) fishcakes. Three for each. He watched Janine’s technique with these, fascinated. She put a great deal of ‘mexican’ ketchup on all three, scraped it all off to eat with the first, put as much again on the other two and polished that off with the second,repeating this with the last. Ray was delighted. He didn’t feel insulted (taken pains to make the things nice). He didn’t think her vulgar or greedy. He wasn’t disgusted when she used her finger to catch any traces on the plate, licked it and said she wished there were more. If he had thought about it at all he would have said it showed trust; that she felt confidence, was comfortable with him, able to let her hair down. It was loveable in her.
    He couldn’t, probably, have described her, even physically. That would not have thrown doubt upon his truthfulness, accuracy, nor detachment. He loved her. One would have to have asked William – quite a while later. His accuracy of observation struck everyone, including Ray. Trained cop, trained and experienced bodyguard: normal.
    “Janine? I only met her once, no, twice. I had dinner with them in a restaurant. Ray brought her to show off. Her table-manners were perfect, altogether the lady. She was an actress, not very good; highly professional though. Very attractive, tremendous magnetism. Wonderful dancer, marvellous legs. Well – durably – put together. Marvellous tits too.
    “Not beautiful but pretty, fine features. The only thing bad, small narrow eyes. Blue, a sharp electric blue, bit of green in it. Made up well. Lovely nose and ears, wide mouth well cut. Wide high cheekbones, not really Slav, fine forehead. Fair hair; she would have tanned well. Good deep voice, quite a lot of range. Handled herself well. Skilled. Anyhow some talent, I never saw her on a stage.
    “She picked up bit parts pretty often, enough for a living. Ray told me she’d failed for the Conservatoire here, ‘in a year of lots of good girls’. Don’t know if that’s true, she was an accomplished liar. Tried out for television here, they didn’t want her. Had a go in Paris, got a few film parts. Knew her trade, could have made her way no doubt. But expensive flat, sharp little sporty car, spent a lot on clothes, so always broke.
    “No, she wasn’t on the tap, not with Ray anyhow. Little sums maybe, he bought her things but no jewellery or stuff – keepsakes. It would be a big mistake to think of her as grabbing or even false. A generous streak and a lot that was genuine. Of course, I can only goby what he told me. I think she made up stories, didn’t know herself whether they were true or false; all muddled together as I’d guess, in her mind. But when it came to trouble I wasn’t surprised.”
    One would give a lot of weight to William’s view of people seldom met and scarcely known. Among others ‘M. le Marquis’ confirmed that; said William was unusually shrewd at summing up a character and that he’d often found it so. Pretty shrewd himself as well as crooked; probably a good witness. Especially as to whores. Back for a moment to William –
    “No I don’t think you’d call Janine a whore. Came awfully close perhaps, now and then. She was quite intelligent. On the whole, possibly, she was too damn complicated.” Ray himself said that she was given to ‘acting out her own fantasies’.
    “You don’t understand her” warm in her defence. “So very vulnerable, so sensitive, so little confidence in herself. A broken family, nobody to care for her, she’s had some hard times.” It is fairest no doubt to all concerned to leave it at that.

    Doctor Valdez has no ‘consulting room’. He has his being in the office at the