‘One reason is that you were so alone. That’s why being with the other kids, and then with Miss Kew, came to mean so much.’
‘So? I’ve still got the kids.’
He shook his head slowly. ‘You and the kids are a single creature. Unique. Unprecedented.’ He pointed the pipe-stem at me. ‘ Alone. ’
The blood started to pound in my ears.
‘Shut up,’ I said.
‘Just think about it,’ he said softly. ‘You can do practically anything. You can have practically everything. And none of it will keep you from being alone.’
‘Shut up, shut up… Everybody’s alone.’
He nodded. ‘But some people learn how to live with it.’
‘How?’
He said, after a time, ‘Because of something’you don’t know anything about. It wouldn’t mean anything to you if I told you.’