The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next 1)

“I haven’t agreed to it yet.”

“Why not?”

“Have you ever . . . um . . . been to Ohio?” he asked in an innocent tone of voice.

“No; I’ve been to New York several times, though.”

“It’s very beautiful, I am told.”

“A lot of America is.”

“They are offering me twice Victor’s pay.”

“Good deal.”

“And they said I could bring someone with me.”

“Who do you have in mind?”

“You.”

I looked at him, and his urgent and hopeful expression said it all. I hadn’t thought of him as a permanent boss or partner. I supposed that working with him might be like working under Boswell again. A workaholic who expected much the same from his charges.

“That’s a very generous offer, Bowden.”

“Then you’ll consider it?”

I shrugged.

“I can’t think of anything beyond Hades. After living with him all day I had hoped that I would be spared his presence at night, but he is there too, leering at me in my dreams.”

Bowden had had no such dreams, but then he hadn’t seen as much of Hades as I had. We both lapsed into silence and stayed that way for an hour, watching the river flow languidly past until the tow truck arrived.

I stretched out in my mother’s huge iron bathtub and took a swig from the large G&T I had smuggled in with me. The garage had said they would have been happier to scrap the Speedster, but I told them to get it back on the road no matter what, as it still had important work to do. As I was drifting off to sleep in the warm pine-smelling waters there was a knock at the door. It was Landen.

“Holy shit, Landen! Can’t a girl have a bath in peace?”

“Sorry, Thurs.”

“How did you get into the house?”

“Your mother let me in.”

“Did she now. What do you want?”

“Can I come in?”

“No.”

“You spoke to Daisy.”

“Yes I did. Are you really going to marry that cow?”

“I understand you’re angry, Thursday. I didn’t want you to find out this way. I was going to tell you myself but you kind of dashed off the last time we were together.”

There was an awkward silence. I stared at the taps.

“I’m getting on,” said Landen finally. “I’ll be forty-one next June and I want a family.”