The Stranger Came (18 page)

She
wandered
round
the
corner
and
found
the
kitchen.
A
frying
pan
with
a
lining
of
white
grease
lay
beside
a
pile
of
unwashed
dishes;
and,
though
she
tried
to
tighten
it,
the
tap
wouldn't
stop
dripping
into
the
sink.
In
the
corridor,
the
flat
was
held
in
mid-morning
stillness
apart
from
the
murmur
of
Maitland's
voice.
Obviously
it
was
empty.
She
took
hold
of
the
handle
of
the
nearest
door.
Fractionally
slowly,
she
began
to
turn
it;
so
intent
upon
making
no
noise
that
her
tongue
crept
out
from
the
corner
of
her
lips
as
it
had
done
when
she
was
a
child.

A
man
lay
on
a
bed
with
his
hands
behind
his
head staring
at
her.
The
room
was
full
of
paintings,
standing
against
the
walls
and
leaning
on
the
furniture
and
propped
up
on
the
solitary
chair
like
an
easel;
the
odd
thing
was
that
none
of
them
were
hung,
and
she
looked
back
and
forward
and
from
side
to
side
at
them
and
the
man
said
nothing,
watching
her,
and
she
drew
the
door
shut
just
as
quietly
as
before.

Then
her
heart
began
to
shake
her
with
its
beating
and she
fled
on
tiptoe,
and
would
have
hidden
but
couldn't
go
into
the
room
for
Norman
was
still
dressing.
She
leaned
against
the
wall,
trembling,
panting
for
breath,
pressing
the
tips
of
her
fingers
hard
into
her
temples,
waiting
for
the
man
to
come
into
the
corridor
while
behind
her
through
the
crack
of
the
door
Maitland's
voice
flowed
on.
'Henney
Low
would
make
a
splendid
chairman
for
a
prorabotka
.
That's
a
Russian
word
for
a
very
Stalinist practice.
They
stood
some
poor
devil
up
to
have
his
faults
exposed
and
criticised
by
a
series
of
colleagues
and
quondam
friends.
None
of
them,
of
course,
with
any
real
choice
if
word
had
come
down
from
on
high,
say
from
the
Provincial
Committee
of
the
Party.
It
could
happen
to
factory
managers
or
office
clerks.
Or
University
professors

I
could
imagine
Henney
chairing
one
of
those,
mauling
some
potential
rival
who'd
made
the
mistake
of
having
a
thought
of
his
own.
Henney's
a
born
apparatchik
.
'

'I
see.’

'Prorabotka
–
comes
from
the
verb
rabotat
,
to
work.
But
when
you
add
the
pro
on
in
front
it
changes
into
something
like
to
give
someone
a
going
over.
Like
the
pro
in
propustit
when
it's
used
in
the
phrase
"to
put
through
the
mincer"
.’

'I
didn't
know
that,'
she
heard
Norman's
voice
saying.

There
was
a
pause
and
then
the
sound
of
Maitland's laughter.

In
the
car,
Maitland
asked,
'How
do
you
find
your
room?
Comfortable
enough?'
And
went
on
without
waiting
for
an
answer,
'It
isn't
ideal,
but
it
is
a
berth
for
the
moment.’

'I
take
my
comforts
where
I
find
them,'
Norman
said from
the
passenger
seat
behind
her.

'It's
a
base,'
Maitland
said.
'Lucky
I
heard
about
it.
How
are
you
getting
on
with
your
neighbours?
Like
I
said,'
he
explained
to
Lucy,
'all
these
places
are
in
multiple
occupation.’

'It
was
a
help
knowing
Miss
Lindgren,'
Norman
said.

'She
works
for
the
Trust.’
Lucy
understood
Maitland
was
explaining
again
for
her
benefit.
'That's
how
I
heard
there
was
a
room
coming
vacant.’

Lucy
nodded
but
could
not
find
anything
to
say.
She watched
the
crowds
hurrying
in
and
out
of
the
shops.
'You
met
her,'
he
persisted,
'you
told
me
you
met
her when
you
went
to
the
office
on
Monday.’

'No,'
Lucy
said,
'I
didn't
tell
you.’

'Suddenly,'
Maitland
said,
glancing
back
over
his shoulder,
'my
wife
has
decided
to
take
an
interest
in
the
Trust.
So
that
gives
you
two
votes.’

Not
that
her
vote
made
any
difference.
Julian
Chambers,
who
had
spent
an
hour
on
the
phone
to
Maitland
the
previous
evening,
took
it
upon
himself
to
explain
the
need
for
a
new
appointment
to
co-ordinate
and
initiate
fund
raising
by
the
Trust.
He
reminded
the
committee
of
the
problems
caused
by
inflation
and
turned
his
thoughts
back
to
the
nineteen
fifties
when
income
from
their
holdings
in
tenemental
properties
had
declined
almost
to
nothing.
'For
a
period,
the
rights
of
tenants
were
so
well
protected
that
the
needs
of
owners
were
lost
sight
of.
It
was
a
time
to
sell,
but
…
a
lack
of
foresight
…
there
were
difficulties.’