Roddy laughed. "I could have told them that," he said.
"Money?"
"Rather. They can't do it under two hundred pounds. I suppose Victor'll stump up as usual."
"Poor Victor."
"Victor won't mind. He'll do anything for Mamma. They can call it a premium if it makes them any happier, but it simply means that they're paying Alderson to get rid of me."
"No. They've got it into their heads that it's bad for you sticking here doing nothing."
"So it is. But being made to do what I can't do's worse…. I'm not likely to do it any better with that young beast Alderson looking at me all the time and thinking what a bloody fool I am…. They ought to have left it to me. It would have come a lot cheaper. I was going anyhow. I only stayed because of Papa. But I can't tell them that. After all, I was the only one who looked after him. If I'd gone you'd have had to."
"Yes."
"It would even come cheaper," he said, "if I stayed. I can prove it."
He produced his pocket sketch-book. The leaves were scribbled over with sums, sums desperately begun and left unfinished, sums that were not quite sure of themselves, sums scratched out and begun again. He crossed them all out and started on a fresh page.