Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith

Author:Alexander McCall Smith
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Tags: Literary, Mystery & Detective, English Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors, Fiction, Fiction - General, England), Pimlico (London, General
ISBN: 9780307379085
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2010-08-15T07:00:00+00:00

51. A Very Good Risotto

BY THE TIME WILLIAM eventually got back to his flat, Marcia had prepared the risotto and was becoming anxious.

“You took your time,” she said, glancing at her watch. “That was a long walk. Did Freddie de la Hay run off or something?”

William shook his head. “No. Freddie de la Hay was a model dog—as always. No, our walk was not all that long. It was that young woman.”

Marcia arched an eyebrow. “You met a young woman?” It was her constant fear: William would meet somebody and go off with her. It was her nightmare.

“One of the downstairs girls. You know, the tall, good-looking one.”

Marcia did not like to hear William use the term “good-looking,” especially in relation to young women. She remained silent.

“Yes,” William went on. “Jenny. She worked for that oleaginous MP, Snark. Apparently he sacked her today. Sent her a text telling her. Can you believe it?”

Marcia relaxed. “Oh, I can believe anything of politicians,” she said. “I cater for them from time to time. You should see them! Quite a few of them exist entirely on free food, you know. They go to meetings and presentations and the like where there’s free food and they stuff themselves with whatever’s available. They’re real shockers.”

“I can well believe it,” said William. “And free drink too. I provide the wine for a lobbyist. Gets through gallons.”

“So he sacked her? Just like that? Can you do that these days?”

“If you have grounds,” said William. “Or if somebody’s not worked long enough for the legislation to apply. Your people—those students you take on—have no protection. They’re casuals.”

“I wouldn’t sack even one of them by text,” said Marcia. “It’s really unkind.”

William nodded. “Of course you wouldn’t. No decent person would. This chap Snark must be a real shocker. She was in floods of tears, poor girl. Her mascara had run all the way down her cheek. She looked so … so vulnerable.”

Marcia stiffened. “I’m sure she did.”

“I did my best to comfort her,” William continued.

Marcia’s eyes narrowed. “Good,” she said. “That was kind of you.”

“Well, I could hardly do anything but,” said William. “And Freddie de la Hay was marvellous. I swear he knew that she was upset. He went up on his back legs to try to lick her face. And he nuzzled her as if he was trying to make it better for her.”

“Dogs can tell,” said Marcia. “They can always tell. And so … what happened?”

“Well, I spent about fifteen minutes with her in the flat. I saw her in—we saw her in, Freddie and I. Her flatmates were out, but I managed to see that she was all right. And then … well, then I had a brilliant idea.”

Maria looked puzzled. “A way of getting her job back?”

William said no. That would not have been a good idea at all, he explained. “She said that she had no desire to go back to Snark. She seemed determined, in fact, to get her own back in some way.

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