Publish and be Killed by Anne Morice

Author:Anne Morice
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

Derek, with his wife and mother-in-law, were the first to arrive, which Robin’s own high standard of punctuality may have had something to do with. Personally, I am more open-minded on the subject. It can certainly be a virtue in a dentist, whose patients are trapped in his chilly waiting room, but dinner guests who have been invited for eight o’clock and arrive five minutes before the hour leave something to be desired.

However, I consoled myself for the worry of all those last-minute jobs which ought to have been done and were still undone by the thought that it would at least provide me with the chance for a little study and quizzing of Laura before other demands came crowding in.

Early signs were not propitious, for she gave the impression of a woman whose whole life had been spent in a back seat and who had ended by making herself very comfortable in it. Certainly, she was in no danger of being ousted by her daughter. Pam had entered the room ahead of the other two, had been the first to sit down and had piped up her request for a straight orange juice, whatever that might be, before Robin had completed the question. She was wearing a dark blue yoked tent for this occasion, with a white lace collar, a combination which made her look heavily pregnant and also demure and virginal, which was very touching and effective.

Another impediment to direct conversation with Laura was that, inevitably, after two or three minutes, Derek drifted over to join Robin at the bar, where they instantly fell into a deep and muffled discussion on subjects of no interest to anyone but themselves. So, stuck with a three-way conversation, I compromised by asking questions of a general nature, while watching Laura, who was watching Pam, who was answering them.

After half a dozen rounds of this I began to have the uncomfortable sensation of being out-manoeuvred at my own game and that, although Laura kept her eyes on Pam, in fact most of her attention was focussed on me. So when we had heard all about the pre-natal exercise class, which took place every Wednesday and was always so exhausting, I changed course and asked Laura, ‘Do you find yourself automatically observing people you meet and storing their characteristics away for future reference?’

‘No, never. Not consciously, that is. Why do you ask?’

‘I thought it might be a trick which authors would acquire, perhaps almost without realising it. Then one day, when it’s needed, up pops one of those recollections and comes in handy.’

‘What a charming idea! And perhaps it does apply to fiction writers. Alas, my books are largely about real people and they’re based on dull things like research. Also most of them belong to much earlier periods than our own, so contemporary speech and fashions are no use to me. In fact, I try to cut myself off from them, as far as possible.’

I could imagine that she succeeded pretty well, on the whole.

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