aWait a momenta"a aI donat want to argue,a Ruth said. aI didnat come to argue. I didnat even come to make comparisons. I came to tell you about the babya.

Edie looked up. She stared at Ruth as if she was seeing her properly for the first time.

aOh, my God,a Edie said. aA babya.

Russell looked at the glasses of wine Rosa had already carried to the table from the bar.

aNo wish to be churlish,a he said, abut this immediately makes me suspiciousa"a aYou like red winea.

aI do indeed. But usually I have to buy the red wine I like. In the case of my children, I invariably buy the red winea. aWell,a Rosa said, athings are changinga. Russell sighed. aThatas what I was afraid ofa.

aDada"a aYou ask me to have a drink with you, you soften me up by getting the drinks in first and then you ask me for ten thousand pounds. Thatas the forma.

aNo,a Rosa said.

Russell picked up his glass.

aThen Iall just have a quick swallow before I know what it really isa.

Rosa said carelessly, aIam being promoteda. Russell put his glass down again. aI thought it was a crap job and only temporary and you hated ita.

aIave been asked,a Rosa said, ato run the branch in Holborn. I get a thirty per cent rise in salary and my uniform will no longer have sunburst buttonsa.

Russell eyed her.

aSo I congratulate youa.

aYes, pleasea.

aAnd why couldnat you tell me this at home?a aHomeas difficult,a Rosa said. Russell looked away.

aI mean,a Rosa said, aI probably help to make it difficult but itas not, well, itas not really working, is it, us all living together? Itas not very successfula.

Russell said, still looking away, aI never thought it would bea.

aWell, you were right. Youare right about lots of thingsa.

He said tiredly, aDonat try to placate me, Rosa. Iam beyond all thata. aI mean ita. aWell, thank youa"a aAnd I donat mind going to Holborn and I donat mind working in a travel agency. I donat minda.

aAh,a Russell said. He turned to look at her. aWhy donat you?a aBecause,a Rosa said, spreading her fingers flat on the table and regarding them, aanother avenue has opened upa.

aNot a work avenue, I take ita"a aNoa.

Russell took a swallow.

aLazlo?a aYes. I didnat know you knewa.

aI didnat know,a Russell said, abut I guessed. It would be hard to live in the same house and not guessa. Rosa smiled down at her hands. aItas very early daysa.

aYesa"a aAnd heas terribly shy. Iam not sure a" heas ever had a real girlfriend beforea.

aHeas a nice boy,a Russell said. aAn honest boya. aSo you donat minda"a aMind?a aYou donat mind if Lazlo and I move out to live together?a Russell leaned forward.

aNo, Rosa, I donat mind. Iam very pleased for youa. She eyed him.

aWill Mum be?a aI should think soa"a aWill you tell her?a Russell shook his head.

aNoa.

aDada"a aYou must tell her. Lazlo must tell hera. Rosa made a little gesture. aI really donat like toa.

What do you mean?a Russell demanded, sitting upright. aWhat do you mean, you donat like to? After all sheas done for youa"a aIt isnat thata.

aWell, thena"a aItas just,a Rosa said, athat I know how much sheas done. I know how tired she is, I know how disappointed she is about the play not transferring, and I just donat want to add to everything, add to the feeling of losing thingsa. She paused and then she said in a rush, aI mean Iam worried sheall really feel it, with Matt going and now usa"a aMatt?a Russell said sharply.

Rosa put her hand over her mouth.

aOh, my Goda"a aRosaa"a aI didnat mean,a Rosa said, aI didnat mean to say anything abouta"a Russell leaned across the table and grasped Rosaas wrist. aWhat,a he said, aabout Matthew?a Vivien sat in her hall beside her telephone table. On it lay a list of all the people she was going to telephone, one after another, in a calm and orderly fashion, and when the list was completed she was going to go upstairs with a new roll of heavy-duty dustbin bags and begin, without hysteria, to fill them with Maxas possessions.

The first person on the list was Edie. She had planned to ring Edie first and tell her what had happened and reassure her that she was, strangely and slightly light-headedly, perfectly all right. Then she intended to ring her solicitor and bank manager and Alison at the bookshop to tell her, in the phrase beloved of old-fashioned crime novels that didnat need to trouble themselves with too much inconvenient reality, that something had come up, something that would prevent her coming in to the shop tomorrow, but that she would be in as usual on Wednesday. However, on reflection, she thought she would ring Edie after she had spoken to her solicitor and bank manager, rather than before, so that she could sound reassuring about having everything in hand and being composed and controlled.

She had been extraordinarily composed when she discovered, by asking Max outright about the amount of money he had received for the flat in Barnes, that he had never actually sold it. She had been rather less composed when it became evident that, not only was the flat not sold, but it wasnat even on the market since it was still inhabited by Maxas last girlfriend, who was both refusing to leave and refusing to pay the bills. And she had, to her subsequent regret, lost all control when Max fell on his knees on her bedroom floor and told her that only she could save him from the rapacious harpy who was bleeding him dry, and that was why head wanted to come home, to a real, warm, loving woman whose sole aim wasnat to castrate him as well as bleed him dry.

She had, of course, cried all night after that episode. She had expected to. What she hadnat expected was, despite the dispiriting sensation of having a tremendous hangover, to feel such a relief the next day. It was unmistakable, this relief, a feeling that she was at last emerging from something that had beguiled her for too long in a profoundly unsettling way, and obscured her sense of purpose into the bargain. When Max, haggard in his lavish velour dressing gown, had stared into his coffee the next morning and said, aI need you, doll. I want you, I love you. Please, please forgive me,a shead been able to say, to her amazement, aOf course I forgive you, but Iam afraid I donat want you any morea.

Sitting now on her telephone chair, she carefully tested her feelings as she had done a hundred times a day since Maxas revelations. Did she still love him? Did she even still want or need him? No, quite decidedly. Could she face the thought of all the days and months and years ahead without him? Yes, not quite so decidedly, but that was more, she thought, the prospect of no man at all rather than no Max. And, even that possibility, the possibility of being on her own really meaning being on her own, was less unpalatable than seeing herself sliding back into being the person she seemed to be around Max, the anxious, appeasing, uncertain person who dealt with his unreliability with either silence or screams.

She looked again at her telephone list. She was going to rehearse very carefully what she was going to say to the solicitor because, although she obviously wasnat going to blurt it all out before she actually saw him, it was important, she felt, to give him an idea, in a dignified way, of what she wished to see him about. Perhaps she wasnat quite ready for that yet. Perhaps she wasnat quite ordered enough in her mind to talk about it as distantly as she wanted to. Perhaps it would be better to ring Edie first, after all, and ask her advice about how she should tell Eliot. It was only when she thought of Eliot, she told herself, that she felt remotely unsteady.

She picked up the receiver and dialled Edieas number. It would be an hour or two before Edie needed to go to the theatre, a time when Edie could be expected to give even half her attention to her sister, a time when a aHello?a Edie said. aItas mea"a aVivi,a Edie said, ayou are just brilliant at picking the very moment when I really canata"a aNo,a Vivien shouted. aNo!a aWhat?a aListen to me!a Vivien shouted. aListen to me!a And burst into tears.

Now that he had switched off even the television, the house was eerily quiet. Even the perpetual hum of London seemed to have withdrawn itself to a distance. The only sound, really, was Arsie who, having leaped on him the moment he lay down on the sofa, was now extended up his chest with languorous purpose and purring loudly. He had his eyes closed, but in a way that indicated to Russell that he could remain, at the same time, exceedingly watchful.

Beside them, on a padded stool, lay the evening newspaper, an empty wine glass and the plate that had borne Russellas unsatisfactory supper. There had been nobody at home when Russell returned, and no indication as to where anybody was, or what they intended, except that the stack of Benas possessions behind the sofa appeared, Russell thought, slightly diminished. He had cleared up the kitchen in a perfunctory way against Edieas return, made himself an unsuccessful omelette over too high a flame, finished the last third of a bottle of red wine, done the crossword in the paper and was now prone on the sofa wondering why an empty house should feel so peculiarly unrelaxing.

aIs it waiting?a he said to Arsie. aIs it just waiting for them all to come in?a Arsie yawned. The inside of his mouth was as immaculate as the rest of him. He stretched one paw upwards and laid it, claws only just sheathed, on the skin of Russellas neck, just above his shirt collar.

aDonat,a Russell said.

Arsie took no notice.

aPlease oblige me,a Russell said. aPlease take pity on how weary I am. Please donat behave like all the othersa.

Arsie unfolded his second paw and stretched it up to join the first one. Then he slowly curled his claws over the edge of Russellas shirt and into his skin.

aGet off!a Russell yelled, flinging himself upright.

Arsie flew in a neat semicircle and landed lightly on the rug. He composed himself at once into a tidy sitting position, with his back to Russell, and began to wash.

aIam sorry,a Russell said, abut that was the limit. You had been warneda.

He swung his legs off the sofa to the floor, and put his elbows on his knees. In an hour, Edie would be home and, however tempting it was to think of going to bed, it was a temptation he must resist. He got stiffly to his feet and picked up the plate and glass. Part of the hour might be beguiled by making some very strong coffee.

aArenat you in bed?a Edie said from the doorway.

Russell swam dizzily through half-sleep to consciousness.

aNo, Ia"a aIsnat Ben in?a aNoa.

aLazloas having supper with Rosa, Mattas out somewhere with Ruth and I thought at least Bena"a Russell began to struggle out of his armchair. aI think some of his stuffas gonea. Edie looked sharply at the sofa.

aHas it?a Russell went across to the doorway and bent to kiss her.

aWould you like a drink?a She thought for a moment. aNot mucha.

aWhy donat you,a Russell said, awhy donat you just be accommodating for once and have a drink while we talk?a Edie hesitated.

aTalka"a aYes,a Russell said, aunless youad like to make an appointment for the purpose on Sunday?a He moved past her and went across the hall to the kitchen.

aCoffee? Wine? Whisky?a Edie went slowly after him. aWine perhapsa"a He glanced at her, then jerked his head towards one of the chairs by the table. aSit downa. aIam going toa"a aWhite? Red?a aAnything,a Edie said, aanything. I feel too stunned after this week to make decisions that sizea. She pulled her arms out of her jacket and let it slump on the chair behind her. Then she leaned them on the table and let her head fall forward. aMatt, Rosa, Lazlo, Ruth, Vivia"a She paused and then she said, aPoor Vivia.

Russell put a glass of white wine on the table in front of her. She looked at it without enthusiasm.

aI thought you couldnat stand Maxa.

aI canat. Itas not Max, itas the situation, Vivienas situation. Divorce and everything. Sheas going to have to sell the housea.

There was a short pause and then Russell, standing at the other side of the table with the wine bottle in his hand, said with emphasis, aYesa.

Slowly, Edie raised her eyes to look at him.

He said, aMay I say something?a aGo ona.

aWell,a he said, aif the children are all branching out like this, if they really are going to do the things they seem to be doing, well, it would a" it would be nice to help them, wouldnat it?a Edieas gaze didnat waver from his face. He put the bottle down on the table, and leaned on his hands.

He said, in a different tone, aI know how hard this might be for you even to contemplate, heaven knows, it isnat very easy for me, but Iave been thinking and the thought Iave come up with, the thought that wonat somehow go away, is that, in order to give the children a bit of help and rearrange our own lives, we ought, really, if you think about it, to a" to sell up too. We ought to sell this housea.

Edie went on looking at him.

There was a silence that seemed to go on for a disconcerting length of time, and then she said, aI knowa.

Chapter Twenty.

The estate agent had said that, on the plus side, it was very rare for a house of this size and quality, and still unconverted, to come up in this particular area. However, he said a" and he was quite difficult to take seriously, Edie thought, because of looking rather younger than Matthew and wearing a childishly terrible tie a" the minus side, which was quite a significant minus, was that the house was so very unconverted that most buyers with the kind of cash they were envisaging would find it difficult to visualise it in an improved and modernised state.

They had both looked at him when he finished speaking as if he must be about to say more.

After a silence, head said, aYou get my drift?a Edie had looked at Russell.

Russell said politely, aNo. Actuallya.

The agent had taken a breath. Perhaps, Edie thought, we remind him of his own parents, and how he has to talk to them.

She said, to try and help him, aAre you saying itas good or bad?a He took another breath, and then he said what he had already said, only more elaborately.

aI see,a Russell said. aThe house is in too bad a state to sella.

aNo, no, itas a very desirable house in a good area. Itas just thata a" he glanced round the kitchen a" aitas just that, the way it is, just now, the way it looks, because it looks so a" very much of, um, well, itas time, of course, itas family life and all that, that the kind of purchaser we have in mind, well, we would like to have in mind for this kind of property, might, you see, have difficulty in, well, in seeing the potentiala.

Edie had leaned forward.

She said, in a very kind voice, aYou think we should tidy it upa.

The agent had stared at her with something approaching violent relief.

aYesa.

aWell, thatas easya"a aNo,a he said, suddenly desperate again. aNo. Not tidy up. Empty. Just a" almost empty ita. He waved his arms. This rooma"a He gestured out of the window. aThat sheda"a aEmpty ita"a aYesa.

Edie said tolerantly, aYouave watched too many television makeover programmesa.

He looked at her. He was almost glaring.

aItas not me,a he said, aitas thema.

And so, because of them, because of all those unknown, feared but longed-for people who would tramp round the house as if it belonged to no one but possibly to their futures, Edie was in Benas bedroom on a Saturday afternoon, with a roll of black bags and a bucket of water in which floated a new green pot scourer. If she looked out of the window a" which she did a great deal as if trying to imprint the view from it on her mind as a kind of talisman a" she could see the piles of peculiar objects that were growing at the end of the garden as Russell emptied the shed. Sometimes he stopped and gazed at the house and, if she was looking out of the window, he waved at her. She waved back, but she didnat smile. This was, she felt, no moment, no time in their lives, for smiling.

She had expected to be taken over by emotion. She had relied upon the fact that every great event in her life so far had swept her up on a huge wave of blazing feeling, feeling so strong in essence and operatic in effect that she didnat have to decide how to behave, she just surrendered and was swept away. But, for some reason she couldnat fathom, this event, this business of moving house and thereby moving everything in their lives a" except, Russell had pointed out, hopefully each other a" wasnat knocking her out, bowling her over. It was instead presenting her with a whole range of reactions, some of which were painful in a way she had anticipated, and some of which were extremely surprising. She could feel something close to anguish at the thought of, perhaps, not going up and down those stairs in six monthsa time, but she could also feel that not having to go up and down the stairs might simultaneously spring her from years of habit which had, over time, quietly and insidiously become a prison.

aNot an actual prison,a she said to Russell. aOf course not. Just a prison of me going on and on being mea.

If she thought about people coming round the house and staring speculatively at the pale blotches on the walls that she was making by scrubbing the adhesive gum off so hard, she felt a dislike of them that almost amounted to loathing. But if, on the other hand, she turned that idea around and thought of nobody coming, nobody even wanting the house, she felt worse. She felt, she supposed, close to something Vivien had said, crying down the telephone one night after Edie had returned from her last but one night in Ghosts.

aWhen I think,a Vivien had said between sniffs, awhen I think of Max deceiving me again, leaving me again, I feel awful. But when I think of him coming back, what it would be like if I had to have him back, I feel really, really terriblea.

Edie moved Benas bed away from the wall in order to attack the gum marks left by his Kate Moss poster. There were several socks nesting furrily against the skirting board and a gold-coloured earring like a flower and a sticky teaspoon. She picked them up gingerly and flung them across the bed on to the carpet. Ben was buying new socks now, new socks and bedlinen and a screwdriver for this little flat head found in Walthamstow, two streets away from the flat Naomi shared with her mother. It wasnat much of a place, he said, but it had a sitting room and a bedroom and he was going to paint it with the help of another photographeras assistant and then he was going to lay siege to Naomi.

aWhat do you mean, lay siege?a aIam going to make it really nice and then Iam going to waita.

aWait? For what?a Head been filling his rucksack with possessions from behind the sofa. aWait for her to seea.