Hippopotamus, The by Fry Stephen

Author:Fry, Stephen [Fry, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Literary
ISBN: 9780099633716
Google: 2vV4vau4818C
Amazon: 009963371X
Publisher: Hutchinson
Published: 1994-04-07T05:00:00+00:00

'Ted1/ she cried. Tm so glad to have caught you.'

210

The Hippopotamus

'Have a coffee/ I said, a little frigidly. I find it difficult to treat a girl who has recently called me a wart-hog with any real warmth of manner, however much I may want to jam my cock up her funnel.

She was not much interested in coffee, however. She had something on her chest. Lucky something.

Ted, I want you to forget everything I said to you yesterday afternoon.'

Ah.'

Tm just so terribly sorry. I really don't know what came over me. I was quite unbearably rude.'

'Not at all, not at all.'

'And I talked such a great deal of nonsense.'

At this point, Simon loomed in looking for Logan, a worried look on his customarily vacant face.

'I think he's working in his study,' said Patricia. 'Anything wrong?'

'Oh, not really. Well, it's Lilac, actually. Dad's hunter. She seems no better. Just wanted to let him know, that's all.'

And off he lumbered, leaving Patricia and me alone once more. She continued with her rather strained apology.

'I can't think why I was so horried to you. I've been under a lot of pressure lately. I think that must be it. You've probably heard that my . . . that Martin, the man I've been living with, he left me. I get very . . .'

211

Stephen Fry

'My dear old girl/ I said. 'Please. Think no more about it/

'I suppose I imagined at that dinner that you were getting at me. All your talk about therapists. Fve been seeing one, you see, and I thought you must have known and were mocking me.'

'Patricia, I would never for a moment . . /

'Well, of course I realise that, now. I lay awake last night thinking what a brute Fd been to you. You were just talking in general. How could you possibly have known?'

'It was entirely my fault for jabbering on in such a thoughtless fashion. I should be apologising to you/

She smiled. I smiled back. Somewhere deep in the trouser region the neglected old worm twitched and wriggled in his sleep.

She kissed me on the cheek. 'No hard feelings?'

'Of course not, my dear/ I lied.

I watched that magnificently constructed arse swing out of the room and allowed those hard feelings to subside in my lap. A high arse, ledging out from the coccyx; the kind of arse you can stand a tea-pot on.

But Jane, what the deuce had she been talking about? Didn't fool me for a second. The smile was too bright, the kiss on the cheek too theatrical. I recognise pride thwarted when I see it. She was apologising because she had been told to. Hm. Thinks.

212

The Hippopotamus

I return now to my schedule and address Proclamation the Sixth:

You have talked only about the guests. The house is full of other men and women. There are indoor and outdoor servants, there is Podmore. I have heard nothing of them.

What do you want, blood? I am not one of those easy aristocratic types who can walk with kings nor lose the common touch.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.