‘And I’ll go on thinking.’
And he would smile again and send his line whipping and hissing through the air.
All the rest could go by, remain unsaid, with no falsehood at all. Perhaps, after years of patient sitting, even Roddy might be forgotten; or transformed into an object for idle pleasurable regrets.
In the midst of these speculations, Martin came back and threw himself down beside her.
‘No luck, Martin?’
‘Not a nibble.... I don’t care. I’d rather talk to you.’ He gazed lovingly at her and said:
‘What are you thinking of?’
She clenched her hands; then answered softly:
‘ ... of nothing ...
When I muse thus I sleep.’
He turned her face towards him with a hand beneath her chin, and gently kissed her lips.