第38章

MissDunnehidtheCapelstreetlibrarycopyofTheWomaninWhitefarbackinherdrawerandrolledasheetofgaudynotepaperintohertypewriter。

Toomuchmysterybusinessinit。Isheinlovewiththatone，Marion？

ChangeitandgetanotherbyMaryCecilHaye。

Thediskshotdownthegroove，wobbledawhile，ceasedandogledthem：

six。

MissDunneclickedonthekeyboard：

16June1904。

FivetallwhitehattedsandwichmenbetweenMonypeny’scornerandtheslabwhereWolfeTone’sstatuewasnot，eeledthemselvesturningH。E。L。Y。’S

andploddedbackastheyhadcome。

ThenshestaredatthelargeposterofMarieKendall，charmingsoubrette，and，listlesslylolling，scribbledonthejottersixteensandcapitalesses。

Mustardhairanddaubycheeks。She’snotnicelooking，isshe？Thewaysheisholdingupherbitofaskirt。Wonderwillthatfellowbeatthebandtonight。IfIcouldgetthatdressmakertomakeaconcertinaskirtlikeSusyNagle’s。Theykickoutgrand。Shannonandalltheboatclubswellsnevertookhiseyesoffher。Hopetogoodnesshewon’tkeepmeheretillseven。

Thetelephonerangrudelybyherear。

Hello。Yes，sir。No，sir。Yes，sir。I’llringthemupafterfive。

Onlythosetwo，sir，forBelfastandLiverpool。Allright，sir。ThenI

cangoaftersixifyou’renotback。Aquarterafter。Yes，sir。Twentysevenandsix。I’lltellhim。Yes：one，seven，six。

Shescribbledthreefiguresonanenvelope。

MrBoylanlHello！ThatgentlemanfromSportwasinlookingforyou。MrLenehan，yes。Hesaidhe’llbeintheOrmondatfour。No，sir。

Yes，sir。I’llringthemupafterfive。

Twopinkfacesturnedintheflareofthetinytorch。

Who’sthat？NedLambertasked。IsthatCrotty？

RingabellaandCrosshaven，avoicereplied，gropingforfoothold。

Hello，Jack，isthatyourself？NedLambertsaid，raisinginsalutehispliantlathamongtheflickeringarches。Comeon。Mindyourstepsthere。

Thevestaintheclergyman’supliftedhandconsumeditselfInalongsoftflameandwasletfall。Attheirfeetitsredspeckdied：andmouldyairclosedroundthem。

Howinteresting！arefinedaccentsaidinthegloom。

Yes，sir，NedLambertsaidheartily。WearestandinginthehistoriccouncilchamberofsaintMary’sabbeywheresilkenThomasproclaimedhimselfarebelin1534。ThisisthemosthistoricspotinallDublin。O’MaddenBurkeisgoingtowritesomethingaboutitoneofthesedays。TheoldbankofIrelandwasoverthewaytillthetimeoftheunionandtheoriginaljews’templewasheretoobeforetheybuilttheirsynagogueoverinAdelaideroad。Youwereneverherebefore，Jack，wereyou？

No，Ned。

HerodedownthroughDamewalk，therefinedaccentsaid，ifmymemoryservesme。ThemansionoftheKildareswasinThomascourt。

That’sright，NedLambertsaid。That’squiteright，sir。

Ifyouwillbesokindthen，theclergymansaid，thenexttimetoallowmeperhaps。

Certainly，NedLambertsaid。Bringthecamerawheneveryoulike。

I’llgetthosebagsclearedawayfromthewindows。Youcantakeitfromhereorfromhere。

Inthestillfaintlighthemovedabout，tappingwithhislaththepiledseedbagsandpointsofvantageonthefloor。

Fromalongfaceabeardandgazehungonachessboard。

I’mdeeplyobliged，MrLambert，theclergymansaid。Iwon’ttrespassonyourvaluabletime……

You’rewelcome，sir，NedLambertsaid。Dropinwheneveryoulike。

Nextweek，say。Canyousee？

Yes，yes。Goodafternoon，MrLambert。Verypleasedtohavemetyou。

Pleasureismine，sir，NedLamberta