第47章

Carneartherenow。Talk。Talk。Pat！Doesn’t。Settlingthosenapkins。

Lotofgroundhemustcoverintheday。Paintfacebehindonhimthenhe’dbetwo。Wishthey’dsingmore。Keepmymindoff。

BaldPatwhoisbotheredmitredthenapkins。Patisawaiterhardofhishearing。Patisawaiterwhowaitswhileyouwait。Heeheeheehee。

Hewaitswhileyouwait。Heehee。Awaiterishe。Heeheeheehee。Hewaitswhileyouwait。Whileyouwaitifyouwaithewillwaitwhileyouwait。

Heeheeheehee。Hoh。Waitwhileyouwait。

Doucenow。DouceLydia。Bronzeandrose。

Shehadagorgeous，simplygorgeous，time。Andlookatthelovelyshellshebrought。

Totheendofthebartohimsheborelightlythespikedandwindingseahornthathe，GeorgeLidwell，solicitor，mighthear。

Listen！shebadehim。

UnderTomKernan’sginhotwordstheaccompanistwovemusicslow。Authenticfact。HowWalterBaptylosthisvoice。Well，sir，thehusbandtookhimbythethroat。Scoundrel，saidhe。You’llsingnomorelovesongs。

Hedid，sirTom。BobCowleywove。Tenorsgetwom。Cowleylayback。

Ah，nowheheard，sheholdingittohisear。Hear！Heheard。Wonderful。

Sheheldittoherownandthroughthesiftedlightpalegoldincontrastglided。Tohear。

Tap。

Bloomthroughthebardoorsawashellheldattheirears。Heheardmorefaintlythatthattheyheard，eachforherselfalone，theneachforother，hearingtheplashofwaves，loudly，asilentroar。

Bronzebyawearygold，anear，afar，theylistened。

Hereartooisashell，thepeepinglobethere。Beentotheseaside。

Lovelyseasidegirls。Skintannedraw。Shouldhaveputoncoldcreamfirstmakeitbrown。Butteredtoast。Oandthatlotionmustn’tforget。Fevernearhermouth。Yourheaditsimply。Hairbraidedover：shellwithseaweed。

Whydotheyhidetheirearswithseaweedhair？AndTurkstheirmouth，why？

Hereyesoverthesheet，ayashmak。Findthewayin。Acave。Noadmittanceexceptonbusiness。

Theseatheythinktheyhear。Singing。Aroar。Thebloodisit。Souseintheearsometimes。Well，it’sasea。Corpuscleislands。

Wonderfulreally。Sodistinct。Again。GeorgeLidwellhelditsmurmur，hearing：thenlaiditby，gently。

Whatarethewildwavessaying？heaskedher，smiled。

Charming，seasmilingandunansweringLydiaonLidwellsmiled。

Tap。

ByLarryO’Rourke’s，byLarry，boldLarryO’，BoylanswayedandBoylanturned。

FromtheforsakenshellMissMinaglidedtohertankardwaiting。No，shewasnotsolonelyarchlyMissDouce’sheadletMrLidwellknow。Walksinthemoonlightbythesea。No，notalone。Withwhom？Shenoblyanswered：

withagentlemanfriend。

BobCowley’stwinklingfingersinthetrebleplayedagain。Thelandlordhastheprior。Alittletime。LongJohn。BigBenLightlyheplayedalightbrighttinklingmeasurefortrippingladies，archandsmiling，andfortheirgallants，gentlemenfriends。One：one，one，one：two，one，three，four。

Sea，wind，leaves，thunder，waters，cowslowing，thecattlemarket，cocks，hensdon’tcrow，snakeshissss。There’smusiceverywhere。Ruttledge’sdoor：eecreaking。No，that’snoise。MinuetofDonGiovannihe’splayingnow。Courtdressesofalldescriptionsincastlechambersdancing。

Misery。Peasantsoutside。Greenstarvingfaceseatingdockleaves。Nicethatis。Look：look，look，look，look，look：youlookatus。

That’sjoyfulIcanfeel。Neverhavewrittenit。Why？Myjoyisotherjoy。Butbotharejoys。Yes，joyitmustbe。Merefactofmusicshowsyouare。Oftenthoughtshewasinthedumpstillshebegantolilt。Thenknow。

M’Coyvalise。Mywifeandyourwife。Squealingeat。Liketearingsilk。

Whenshetalksliketheclapperofabellows。Theycan’tmanagemen’sintervals。

Gapintheirvoic