Such Men Are Dangerous by Stephen Benatar Read Free Book Online

voice that sounded strained. “Have you decided?”
    “Yes. I believe these two have been quite amazingly blest.”
    “You mean…?” she said. “You mean…?”
    Then after a second she clapped her palms together, stood up, sat down, leant over and kissed Michael on the cheek, squeezed William’s hand. There were quick tears running down her face.
    “Oh, how silly I am! I feel so happy!”
    She stroked her husband on the arm.
    The boys just grinned and seemed uncertain where to look. In the end they both gazed warm-cheeked at the floor.
    Their father stared at Simon. “You—must—be—joking!”
    “No. I promise you I’m not.”
    “Oh, you mustn’t mind Josh,” said Dawn, tolerant, laughing as she wiped her eyes. “Sometimes I can’t think how we stay together!”
    Simon remembered wondering, on that other occasion he had met her husband, how they had ever got together in the first place.
    He still wondered it.
    “But please tell us, what made you change your mind?” In her excitement she even touched him now, briefly, on the knee.
    “I don’t know, Dawn. It wasn’t exactly that I changed my mind. Let’s simply say—conviction didn’t arrive at once.”
    The truth was, there’d been a moment during the previous evening when sudden euphoria had spread like wildfire round the group. (Comparable to what had taken place at Pentecost?) Smilingly, he had ascribed it to a form of mass hysteria but if so it was one to which he himself had finally succumbed. He had experienced a warm feeling of love for those eleven people; and, along with it, a sense of deep tranquility. Enjoyable, of course—though he had warned himself it couldn’t last.
    And had been proved wrong. Had been attempting all day to talk himself out of an attitude which he believed to be so very weakly based. It was a transference of responsibility from mind to heart and he was by no means sure he could respect it. But it had happened.
    Dawn nodded, reverently.
    “Yes,” she breathed. “Part of the miracle.”
    “Part of the hogwash,” said her husband, agreeably.
    She frowned at him and shook her head.
    “Oh, but very entertaining hogwash,” he conceded. “In fact, I’m totally enthralled. So tell us, vicar. What’s the next step?”
    “The next series of steps? Why, working out how best to spread the message.”
    “But surely that’s more straightforward than you make it sound? Here’s what to do. You contact the Sun .”
    They held each other’s gaze. “A nine days’ wonder wasn’t wholly what I had in mind.”
    “I follow. You want to prolong it a little, find yourself some laid-back guy who could start outside Binn’s in the morning, with a megaphone and a soapbox and a sandwich board?”
    “Well, certainly that would be one approach. Though of course when you read about the Old Testament prophets, what interesting fact always occurs to you?” (Josh looked instantly ready to reply but Simon didn’t give him the opportunity.) “That they never spoke out in the market place. They went to the king and the courtiers.”
    “What a relief, then, we still have a monarchy?”
    “Or an Archbishop of Canterbury.”
    “ Mit courtiers?”
    “Certainly mit courtiers. With two, indeed, right here at home: the Bishops of Lincoln and Grimsby. Naturally, I shall go to them first.”
    William said: “It’s likely to be a slow business, then?”
    “You see, he told us it was urgent.” Michael sounded similarly disappointed.
    “I realize that. But rest assured: this matter will receive priority. From all concerned. And just remind yourselves of something. God knows about bureaucracy. A message would be pointless, Bill, if we weren’t going to have the time in which to spread it.”
    “But you’re sure he doesn’t mean us simply to go to the papers, like Dad suggested?”
    “Yes. Quite sure.”
    “Why would it be a nine days’ wonder?”
    “Because it wouldn’t have the authority of the Church behind it. And if