The Complete Short Stories by Muriel Spark Read Free Book Online

boots.
    Soon, then, she made no
reply to his specific requests and suggestions, but merely gave him an account
of her parties, pepping them up for his benefit. He seemed not to read her
letters properly, for he never referred to the parties.
    Greta came back to the
fiat one afternoon with a toy poodle. ‘He’s yours,’ she said to Daphne.
    ‘How utterly perfect!’
said Daphne, thinking it was a gift, and wanting to express her appreciation as
near as possible in the vernacular.
    ‘I had to have
him for you,’ said Greta, and went on to demand a hundred and ten guineas.
Daphne ducked her face affectionately in the pet’s curly coat to hide her
dismay.
    ‘We were so terribly
lucky to get him,’ Greta was saying. ‘You see, he’s not just a miniature — they’re
slightly bigger — he’s a toy.
    Daphne gave her a
cheque, and wrote to Chakata to say how expensive London was. She decided to
take a job in the autumn, and to cut out the fortnight’s motoring tour of the
north with Molly, Rat, and Mole which she had arranged to share with them.
    Chakata sent her the
money as an advance on her next quarterly allowance. ‘Sorry can’t do more. Fly
has had a go at the horses, and you will have read about the tobacco crops.’
She had not read about the blight, but a bad year was not an uncommon
occurrence. She was surprised at Chakata’s attitude, for she believed him to be
fairly wealthy. Shortly after this she heard from friends in the Colony that
Chakata’s daughter and her husband who had gone to farm in Kenya, had been
murdered by the Mau Mau. ‘Chakata implored us not to tell you,’ wrote her friend,
‘but we thought you should know. Chakata is educating the two boys.’
    It was the middle of
May. Daphne had engaged to be Mrs Casse’s lodger till the end of June. However,
she telephoned to Linda that she was returning to the country. Greta was out.
Daphne packed and sat down courageously with Popcorn (the poodle) on her lap to
await her return, and explain her financial predicament.
    Michael came in first.
He was carrying an empty birdcage and a cardboard box with holes in it. On
opening the box a bird flew Out in a panic.
    ‘A budgerigar,’ said
Michael. ‘I expect they fly about wild where you’ve come from. They talk, you
know. It’s frightened at the moment, but when they get used to you, they talk’
He giggled.
    The bird was perched on
a lampshade. Daphne caught it and put it in the cage. It had a lavender breast.
    ‘It’s for you,’ Michael
said. ‘Mummy sent me home with it. She bought it for you. It says “Come here,
darling” and “Go to hell”, and things like that.’
    ‘I really don’t want it,’
said Daphne in despair.
    ‘Peep, peep, peep,’ said
Michael to the bird, ‘say halo, say halo. Say come here darling.’
    It sat on the floor of
the cage and moved only its head from side to side.
    ‘Really,’ said Daphne, ‘I
have no money. I’m hard up. I can’t afford your mother’s birds. I’m just waiting
to say goodbye to her.’
    ‘No,’ said Michael.
    ‘Yes,’ said Daphne.
    ‘Listen,’ he said. ‘Take
my advice and clear out now before she comes back. If you tell her this to her
face there’s bound to be hell.’ He giggled weakly, poured himself a drink of
brandy which his mother had watered, and said, ‘Shall I get you a taxi now? She’ll
be back in half an hour.’
    ‘No, I’ll wait,’ said
Daphne, and ran her hand nervously through the poodle’s curls.
    ‘There was nearly a
court action one time,’ said Michael, ‘about another girl. Mummy was supposed
to have given two balls for her, but she didn’t or something, and the girl’s
people got worked up. I think Mummy spent the money on something else, or
something.’ He giggled.
    ‘Oh, I see.’ Daphne went
and telephoned to Mole and asked him to call for her when he left his office.
    Greta arrived, and when
she had taken in the situation she sent Michael from the room.
    ‘I must tell you,’