Chapter Eight

First Conference

 

Two days later Roger had his first conference. Peter and Charles went into Henry’s room so that he could have the pupils’ room for the purpose.

Mrs Newent came with Mr Smith, a managing clerk from Messrs Thornton, Merivale & Co, who introduced himself and his client to Roger. He invited them to sit down. They did so. Mrs Newent was attractive in a cheap sort of way, rather overdressed and too much made-up. She had very shapely legs with sheer nylon stockings and she showed Roger much too much of them both. His eyes followed their movements, which were fairly frequent, as a rabbit’s eyes follow a snake. From time to time with an effort he would look at the ceiling or out of the window or at the bookshelves, but it was no use. Back they had to come. He had never been so close to such things before. They revolted but fascinated him, and he simply could not help himself. He cleared his throat preparatorily to opening the proceedings. But Mrs Newent got in first.

‘You’re very young, if I may say so,’ she said. She did not mean that she was in the least dismayed. Several of her friends had had divorces. One had to go through the formalities and that was all. Indeed, it was very nice to be represented by a pleasant-looking young man who couldn’t keep his eyes off one’s legs.

‘It must be an awful responsibility,’ she added.

Roger coughed. ‘That’s what we’re here for,’ he said eventually.

‘I’m so glad,’ said Mrs Newent, and recrossed her legs. ‘I feel sort of safe with you.’

Even at that early stage and even with his inexperience, Roger began to wonder whether the discretion statement constituted the full and frank disclosure which such statements are supposed to be. He remembered, too, that the statement said quite a number of things about the husband and the dance and so forth, but when it came to the adultery it was disposed of in a very few words. The reason for Mr Storrington going into her bedroom was slurred over in the words, ‘Somehow or other he came in.’

‘Now,’ went on Mrs Newent, ‘was there something you wanted to ask me?’

By this time Roger had looked again at the cases and it certainly seemed as if what he had told Sally was right. It appeared that, in spite of Sally’s doubts, the law was that, provided the adulteress was clever enough, she had the right that her husband should go on living with her. But there was just the point that it was for her to prove that her husband knew nothing about it. Roger quite rightly wanted to be sure of this.

‘It’s about your discretion statement,’ he began.

‘Mr Smith here wrote that out,’ said Mrs Newent. ‘I only signed it, you know. That’s right, isn’t it, Mr Smith?’

‘I wrote it out on your instructions, Mrs Newent.’

‘Instructions? I don’t remember giving any instructions.’

‘It’s what you told me, I mean.’

‘Oh, yes. What long words you lawyers use. If you’d said that at first I’d have understood.’

‘I take it the statement is true, Mrs Newent?’ asked Roger.

‘True?’ said Mrs Newent, recrossing her legs. ‘Of course. Mr Smith wouldn’t have written it down otherwise, would he?’

‘There was only the once and you’d had a little too much to drink.’

‘That’s right. Gin and frenches all the evening. I felt on top of the world.’

‘I thought you became dizzy and faint.’

‘That’s right.’

‘After you felt on top of the world you became dizzy and faint?’ asked Roger.

‘That’s right,’ said Mrs Newent. ‘You are a clever young man. I’m glad I’ve got you. D’you mind if I have a cigarette?’

‘Of course not,’ said Roger and offered her one and lit it for her. She guided his hand to the cigarette, much to his discomfort.

‘I think you ought to do very well,’ she said. ‘I shall remember you appeared for me when I see your name in the papers.’

Roger blushed and coughed and tried to look at the ceiling.

‘Now, there’s another thing,’ he said. ‘Are you quite sure that your husband knew nothing about this and suspected nothing?’ For answer Mrs Newent put her first finger to the side of her nose and winked.

‘Are you sure?’ repeated Roger.

‘Not a notion,’ said Mrs Newent. ‘We were discretion itself, if you’ll pardon my using the word.’

‘But,’ said Roger, ‘it only happened once and then you were faint and dizzy. How can you have been discretion itself if you were faint and dizzy?’

‘Come now, young man,’ said Mrs Newent. ‘I’m not sure you’re as clever as I thought. I go to a dance. Right?’

‘Yes,’ said Roger.

‘I drink too much. Right?’

‘Yes,’ said Roger.

‘I go out into the cold air and as every judge knows – I should hope – it hits me for six. Right?’

‘You became faint and dizzy.’

‘Exactly. So he helps me home. Now I’m home. I’m still faint and dizzy at the bottom of the stairs. Can’t get up by myself. Right?’

‘Yes.’

‘He helps me up the stairs. We get to my room. Still faint and dizzy. With me?’

‘Yes.’

‘Like the perfect gentleman he is he sees me into my bedroom. All clear so far?’

‘Yes.’

‘Right. Well, when we get into the bedroom we take a liking to each other – see, and I become less faint and dizzy. But it was too late then.’

‘How do you know your husband knows nothing about it?’

‘Because he wasn’t there and no one could have told him. As soon as we took a liking to one another I sent Bert out of the room to his own room, making enough noise that people in the next room would have heard him go away within a minute or two of his coming in. Then he comes back like a mouse. Didn’t even hear him come in myself. Didn’t hear him go, either. I was asleep then. But I know he was ever so careful.’

‘When your husband came back, did he seem to suspect anything?’

‘Not a thing. He was just the same as ever. Cold as an iceberg. A woman’s got to get a bit of warmth from someone, hasn’t she?’

‘But it was only once?’

‘It was only once,’ replied Mrs Newent with emphasis. ‘Because I know what’s nice,’ she added, ‘that doesn’t mean to say I don’t know what’s wrong. And with all the other boarders around you’ve got to be careful. People talk. Now what else d’you want to ask me? I’m getting a bit tired of this cross-questioning. I thought you were on my side.’

‘Of course I’m on your side,’ said Roger, ‘but I have to ask you these questions.’

‘Well, I can’t think why,’ said Mrs Newent. ‘It’s all plain and straightforward. I want a divorce, Mr Newent wants a divorce, what more d’you want? I don’t know why there’s all this palaver, anyway.’

‘We don’t have divorce by consent in this country,’ said Roger.

‘Well – who says it’s by consent? He left me, didn’t he? That’s desertion, isn’t it? Then you have this ridiculous business about discretion. I wouldn’t have told you if I’d known there’d be all this fuss. Was I faint and dizzy? When did I stop being faint and dizzy? And if not, why not? You wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t told you and there wouldn’t have been all this nonsense. I’ll know better another time. I thought one could trust one’s lawyer.’

‘We have a duty to the Court,’ said Mr Smith.

‘Fiddlesticks,’ said Mrs Newent. ‘A lot of old fools sitting up there, what do they care? They’re half asleep, anyway. I went with my friend the other day. No fuss about hers. All over in five minutes. She didn’t put in any discretion statement either, not on your sweet life. She couldn’t have remembered for one thing. I’m too honest, that’s my trouble. And what do I get for it? Asked a lot of intimate questions. I’d be ashamed if I were a man. It’s not as though I’d done anything really wrong.’

‘But I thought you said–’ began Roger.

‘All right, Mr Clever, not as wrong as all that. There are worse things. Murder, for instance, or blackmail. All right, I was wrong to let him in my room that night. All right. I’ve told you. There it is in black and white. You’ve got my ruddy discretion statement and I hope it chokes you both – and the judge. Now, is there anything else you want?’

The conference was very different from the one Roger had visualized and he was glad when it ended. He felt slightly sick. Mrs Newent was not quite the sort of maiden he would care to rescue, even fully clothed.