cut his throat than live in South Kensington.’ Sybil heaved an exasperated sigh. ‘Would you live on a small island, Major Payne? If given the choice?’
‘I am not sure. I don’t think I would.’
‘Antonia?’
‘No. Not on a small island.’
‘What if someone left you an island in their will?’
Payne said he would sell it. He put a match to his pipe.
‘That’s exactly what I intend to do. I am so glad we are singing from the same hymn book. If my lease of life were suddenly to run out, the island would go to John. I have made a will to that effect, though of course I have no intention of kicking the bucket. Not in the foreseeable future at any rate,’ Sybil said brightly.
Payne looked at her. ‘Does your brother know that you’ve left him the island in your will?’
‘I have an idea I told him. I believe I said, “If I were to snuff it before you, dear boy, Sphinx is yours for life,” or words to that effect. I do try to be fair.’
Sybil went on to say that she hated the sea as much as she hated the island and of course you couldn’t have one without the other. The cruel alien sea . Either layered in purple and blue or muddy green or gun-metal grey. She’d got to know the sea so well, she could write a paper on its changing colour. The island used to bear their name – De Coverley Island – but it was popularly known as Sphinx Island. Crackpots seemed to be drawn to it as bees are to honey. There were pictures of the island on the internet, if they wanted to look at them before they came. Aerial photos and so on.
‘You can read about the island’s history, it’s on Wikipedia, all about the secret military experiments during the Second World War, the UFO landing in the fifties and so on and so forth.’
‘Where is Sphinx Island exactly?’ Antonia asked.
‘It is situated three miles off the Devon coast. From some angles, it does bring to mind a crouching, smiling kind of Sphinx. It looks absolutely hideous. We’ve got our very own launch, Cutwater , so you won’t have to hire a boat or anything like that. Oswald said he would collect you himself. Oswald is terribly keen on sailing. Mad about it. He said he would be at Wanmouth to meet the 4 . 50 from Paddington. I’m talking about Friday afternoon … Unless you decided to drive?’
Payne smiled pleasantly. ‘We haven’t yet said that we are coming.’
‘You’d recognise Oswald right away by his rather superior-looking yachting cap. Thank God for Oswald Ramskritt! He is an American. He is the man who’s going to take the island off my hands. He is awfully zealous and territorial. The frontier spirit, wouldn’t you say? Apparently, at one time, before the Crunch, he was so frightfully rich; he seriously considered the idea of buying Venice and turning the Grand Canal into a six-lane expressway.’
‘Can one buy Venice?’
‘Perhaps not in the normal course of things, but he said there was a way round it. Oswald has the smiling self-assurance of a man who has achieved success early and easily. I believe he is a self-made man, but then aren’t all Americans? He and his entourage are already on Sphinx. He’s got a yacht. Not a particularly vast one, but it’s terribly smart. Are you a sailing man, Major Payne?’
‘I’m afraid I am not.’
‘Poor John used to do a lot of sailing himself, when he was younger, before the attack, but he is a virtual recluse these days. He never goes anywhere and he tends to keep to his room when we have visitors. Expecting him to come down and say how-do-you-do would be futile, like waiting for a badger to start tap-dancing. Nobody seems to mind. Oswald says he loves English eccentricity in every shape or form. I am sure he means it. Mrs Garrison-Gore of course is too busy to notice anything. I must admit I find Mrs Garrison-Gore’s kinetic intensity a little exhausting.’ Sybil bit her lip. ‘Oswald’s secretary – not Ella, the new young one – seems to like John. Her name is
‘I am not sure. I don’t think I would.’
‘Antonia?’
‘No. Not on a small island.’
‘What if someone left you an island in their will?’
Payne said he would sell it. He put a match to his pipe.
‘That’s exactly what I intend to do. I am so glad we are singing from the same hymn book. If my lease of life were suddenly to run out, the island would go to John. I have made a will to that effect, though of course I have no intention of kicking the bucket. Not in the foreseeable future at any rate,’ Sybil said brightly.
Payne looked at her. ‘Does your brother know that you’ve left him the island in your will?’
‘I have an idea I told him. I believe I said, “If I were to snuff it before you, dear boy, Sphinx is yours for life,” or words to that effect. I do try to be fair.’
Sybil went on to say that she hated the sea as much as she hated the island and of course you couldn’t have one without the other. The cruel alien sea . Either layered in purple and blue or muddy green or gun-metal grey. She’d got to know the sea so well, she could write a paper on its changing colour. The island used to bear their name – De Coverley Island – but it was popularly known as Sphinx Island. Crackpots seemed to be drawn to it as bees are to honey. There were pictures of the island on the internet, if they wanted to look at them before they came. Aerial photos and so on.
‘You can read about the island’s history, it’s on Wikipedia, all about the secret military experiments during the Second World War, the UFO landing in the fifties and so on and so forth.’
‘Where is Sphinx Island exactly?’ Antonia asked.
‘It is situated three miles off the Devon coast. From some angles, it does bring to mind a crouching, smiling kind of Sphinx. It looks absolutely hideous. We’ve got our very own launch, Cutwater , so you won’t have to hire a boat or anything like that. Oswald said he would collect you himself. Oswald is terribly keen on sailing. Mad about it. He said he would be at Wanmouth to meet the 4 . 50 from Paddington. I’m talking about Friday afternoon … Unless you decided to drive?’
Payne smiled pleasantly. ‘We haven’t yet said that we are coming.’
‘You’d recognise Oswald right away by his rather superior-looking yachting cap. Thank God for Oswald Ramskritt! He is an American. He is the man who’s going to take the island off my hands. He is awfully zealous and territorial. The frontier spirit, wouldn’t you say? Apparently, at one time, before the Crunch, he was so frightfully rich; he seriously considered the idea of buying Venice and turning the Grand Canal into a six-lane expressway.’
‘Can one buy Venice?’
‘Perhaps not in the normal course of things, but he said there was a way round it. Oswald has the smiling self-assurance of a man who has achieved success early and easily. I believe he is a self-made man, but then aren’t all Americans? He and his entourage are already on Sphinx. He’s got a yacht. Not a particularly vast one, but it’s terribly smart. Are you a sailing man, Major Payne?’
‘I’m afraid I am not.’
‘Poor John used to do a lot of sailing himself, when he was younger, before the attack, but he is a virtual recluse these days. He never goes anywhere and he tends to keep to his room when we have visitors. Expecting him to come down and say how-do-you-do would be futile, like waiting for a badger to start tap-dancing. Nobody seems to mind. Oswald says he loves English eccentricity in every shape or form. I am sure he means it. Mrs Garrison-Gore of course is too busy to notice anything. I must admit I find Mrs Garrison-Gore’s kinetic intensity a little exhausting.’ Sybil bit her lip. ‘Oswald’s secretary – not Ella, the new young one – seems to like John. Her name is
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