The Madness Of Love | The Secret History

XXI

"And where is Edmund this morning?" said Julian in class, many days later, as we opened our grammars.

"At home, I suppose." said Henry. He and Lilith had come in late and we hadn't had a chance to talk. He seemed calm, well rested, more than he had any right to be.

The others were surprisingly calm as well. Lilith, sitting in between Henry and Francis, was nicely dressed and the only sign of anxiousness in her was how tightly she was holding Henry's hand. Even Francis and Charles were well dressed, freshly shaven. Camilla sat between them, tranquil as an orchid.

Julian arched an eyebrow at Henry. "Is he ill?"
"I don't know."
"This weather may have slowed him a bit. Perhaps we should wait a few minutes."
"I think that's a good idea." said Henry pulling Lilith closer to him and going back to his book.

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When, that night, I arrived at the twins' for dinner the were all there. They were gathered around the radio and listening to the weather forecast. "Expect cool weather on Thursday with possibility of showers, leading into warmer weather - "

Henry snapped off the radio. "If we're lucky," he said "the snow will be gone tomorrow night. Where were you this afternoon, Richard?"
"At home."

"I'm glad you're here. Could you go see those movies at the Orpheum for us?" he got quiet for a moment. "I know this is an imposition on a school night, but I really don't think it's wise for the rest of us to go back. Charles can copy out your Greek for you if you'd like."

"Thanks." I said.
"Really," said Henry "I hate to ask you this. I think they're dreadful movies."
They were pretty bad.

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Charles has done a beautiful job on my Greek, and I was looking it over before class when Julian came in. He paused in the doorway, looked at the empty chair and laughed.
"Goodness" he said. "Not again."

"Looks like it." said Francis.
"I must say, I hope our classes haven't become as tedious as all that. Tell Edmund that, should he choose to attend tomorrow, I shall make an effort to be especially engaging."

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"Where on earth is Edmund?" said Julian on Thursday morning. No one answered him. Julian glanced down at his book.
"Perhaps, before we begin, one of you should go call Edmund on the telephone? It's an important class and he ought not to miss it."

Henry and Lilith stood up at the same time. But then Camilla said "I don't think he's at home."
"Then where is he?"
"I'm not sure. We haven't seen him for a couple of days."

Julian's eyes widened. "Most peculiar." he said. "And you have no idea where he might be?"
"No." said Henry. "We're all a bit puzzled." Julian's eyes met Henry's, for a long, strange moment.

He knows, I thought, with a rush of panic. He knows we're lying. He just doesn't know what we're lying about.

After lunch, after my French class, I sat on the top floor of the library with my books spread across the table in front of me.

I put my head down on my books. Several weeks earlier, Henry had become angry when the twins expressed their moral objections at the idea of killing Bunny.

"Don't be ridiculous." he snapped.
"But how" said Charles, who was close to tears "how can you possibly justify cold-blooded murder?"
Henry lit a cigarette. "I prefer to think of it as redistribution of matter."