‘Go mad if they didn’t, wouldn’t they,’ snapped Jones.
Tegid leaned very close to Jones, pressed hard on the Jones knee, and seemed to spit out the observation directly into his face.
‘What’ve I ever done to offend you, Jones? And what haven’t I done to oblige you both,’ and he blew cigarette smoke into the other’s face, and then he felt a hand on his knee.
‘I was a bit upset today,’ Jones said. ‘Sorry again. Just forget it.’
‘I might, and I might not,’ Tegid said.
He saw the Jones glass suddenly empty, but did not take it, and went away and refilled his own.
‘The three apostles kept their mouths shut,’ Jones said, and drew on his cigarette.
‘The three apostles?’
‘They suffer from an excess of rectitude,’ Jones said.
‘You mean that lot that just went out?’
‘That lot that just went out,’ Jones replied.
‘Still a free country, Jones.’
‘And one of them was Pritchard.’
‘That’s right. He thinks you ought to marry Mrs Gandell. Not a bad idea either, considering,’ and Jones immediately exploded.
‘Considering what?’
Tegid gave a loud laugh, and replied, ‘Everything, and a little bit more than that.’
He heard a call from an outer room, and called back, ‘All right, Sarah, all right,’ and a door slammed, and then Tegid leaned over Jones, took the glass and asked him to have one for the road.
‘Thanks.’
‘Welcome.’
‘Having one yourself?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good,’ Jones said, ‘good.’
They drank each other’s health, then, smiling a big smile, Tegid said in a low voice, ‘I know what you’ve come for, Jones.’
‘You are clever.’
And, offering still another smile, Tegid replied, ‘And you may well think so, later.’
‘Leave riddles where they belong.’
‘Where do riddles belong then?’
And it came swiftly through Jones’s teeth. ‘To the Bards.’
And they both laughed. Tegid looked at his watch.
‘Hardly any business at all today,’ he said, ‘and yet I feel kind of exhausted.’
‘It’s the way it goes.’
‘I had that Glyn Prothero in here the other night. Talked about your place. Very damp,’ he said, ‘and the food wasn’t up to much.’
‘He said that? The swine. He was all smiles the day he left.’
‘Only telling you what he said.’
‘In the absence of anything else?’
Tegid chortled and replied, ‘If you like,’ and he again glanced at his watch.
‘All right, all right, I got the message,’ Jones said, huffily, banging his glass to the table.
‘And they cost ninepence each,’ Tegid said. He put a hand on the other’s shoulders, saying, ‘Didn’t see you at chapel Sunday, Jones.’
‘No.’
‘That’s changing, too, only about half a dozen people there, and not even his sister, Margiad.’
