Bruno's Dream by Iris Murdoch

Author:Iris Murdoch [Murdoch, Iris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-03-08T05:21:59+00:00

18

"Danby!"

Danby, who had just completed a letter to Lisa and put it in an envelope, cursed and laid his electric razor down on top of the envelope. As there was no table in his room he had writ ten the letter standing up beside the chest of drawers.

"Danby!"

"Coming, Bruno, coming!"

Danby went up the stairs two at a time.

"Don't shout so, Bruno."

"Danby, one of the stamps has gone."

"I daresay it has the way you scatter them around."

"But it's gone, it was there in its case, last time I looked and I'm certain I didn't take it out."

"You probably did, you know. Don't get out of bed, Bruno. I'll look for the damn thing."

"It's one of the Cape triangulars, it's worth two hundred pounds."

"Don't get out of bed! And don't fuss so. I'll search, Adelaide will search, it's probably somewhere in this room on the floor."

"It _can't__ be--"

"Adelaide! ADELAIDE!"

It was late evening, nearly Bruno's bedtime. Rain was beating against the windows. The lamp shone on the pale scrawled counterpane, Bruno's supper tray with half-eaten beans on toast, the usual litter of stamps, _The Spider Population of East Anglia__, and the _Evening Standard__. Danby had spent the evening in a frenzy. Lisa had visited Bruno in the afternoon and he had missed her.

A champagne glass rolled off the bed onto the floor and broke. Adelaide came in looking tired and irritable and began to pick up the pieces of the glass.

"Adelaide, Bruno has lost a stamp, a triangular stamp. It must be somewhere here on the floor. You do that side of the room and I'll do this side."

"It can't be in this room, I'm sure it was in its case--"

"Oh shut up, Bruno. Lift the carpet up at the corners, Adelaide. I'll help you shift the books. Mind you don't put your knee on a bit of glass. Oh Nigel, hello, Bruno's lost a stamp, a triangular one. Could you help us look? It must be on the floor."

Danby and Adelaide crawled slowly along the floor towards each other while Nigel stood dreamily at the door and watched them.

"I'll do under the bed, Adelaide. There's that hole in the carpet, it might have got underneath there."

"It's no good your looking, Danby, I _know__ it's not in this room."

"Well, where is it if it's not in this room?"

"I don't know, but I know--"

"Oh stop blithering. You're being jolly helpful aren't you, Nigel. Bruno, get back into bed. Well, it looks as if it's not on the floor, I'll look in the drawers and on the shelves. You can knock off, Adelaide, just take that damn glass away, will you, don't leave it in the wastepaper basket. And the tray. And don't bang the bloody door like that!"

Adelaide was heard noisily descending the stairs. Nigel continued to watch while Danby searched the chest of drawers, moved it away from the wall and looked behind it, looked behind the bookcase, looked behind the books in the bookcase.

"It may have got _inside__ a book. And if it has God knows when it'll turn up.

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