Dialogues of the Dead

'I did mention the rhyming rule, didn't I?' he said. 'Cross one of your opponent's words with a rhyming word and you score both words and also win the right to remove your opponent's tiles for your own use, if so desired.' 'But that means you could put my azalea back down on your next go,' she said with pretended indignation. 'Just so. It might be wise therefore to seek a way to block my genitalia. 'Oh, I shall, never fear. If I'd known you invited me here to ; deflower me, I would never have come.' In fact she almost hadn't. ' After Percy Follows' funeral, when Dick Dee had told her he was going to clear out Stangcreek Cottage, she'd said, 'You're' giving it up? Trouble with the new lord?' •' 'As they're having difficulty establishing who it might be, no, j not yet. Just trouble with my relationship with the place. I've only f been back once since it happened and I got straight back in the car and returned to town. I no longer feel at ease there.' 'I'm sorry,' she said. 'You seemed so much at home. Have you got a lot of stuff?' 'Enough. Even camping out, it tends to accumulate.' A, pause, then, 'Look, you wouldn't care to come along and give ' me a hand? Two hands, in fact, and an extra car, would be very , useful.' She would have said no straight off if he hadn't gone on in a rush, 'And to tell the truth, I'm not very keen on going back there by myself.' Now she hesitated, but still with the odds on refusal, till sud denly he said, 'Oh hell! Rye, of course, you've got even more reason than I have for being reluctant to go out there again. My fears are all associative. You actually found the poor devil. It was i crass of me to ask you. I'm sorry.' Which worked better than any persuasion. ; 'And it's craven of me to hesitate,' she said. 'Of course I'll j come.' s He looked at her doubtfully. ; 'You're sure? Please don't feel you've got to.' 'Because you're my boss?' She laughed. 'I don't believe I've ever done anything I didn't want just because you were my boss.' 'I'm glad to hear it. What I meant was, because you're my friend.' She thought about this then smiled and said, 'Yes, I am. And yes, I shall come. But first I'll have to go home and get out of these sad rags. It's the only outfit I've got fit to wear at funerals, and they seem to be the big social occasion this season.' 'That's OK. I want to change too. Do we need to make our apologies for skipping the meats?' 'Who to? I think we just go, and them as miss us will miss us, and them as don't, won't.' 'I couldn't have put it better myself.' And now, an hour later, here they were at the cottage and so far Rye had felt none of the feared oppression, nor so far as she could see, had her companion. They hadn't made much progress with the packing up. It had felt damp and chill in the cottage and Dee had riddled the ashes in the grate, lit a whole packet of firelights and tossed on a couple of logs. 'I chopped 'em,' he said. 'We might as well benefit from them.' 'Good idea.'-She warmed her hands at the rapidly blazing fire and drew in the smell of the burning wood. 'I love that smell,' she said. The too. Ash, I think. The best. Ashes to ashes makes more sense if you view it as a process rather than rubbish disposal. To burn and die, giving off warmth and sweet odour, is not a bad image of life, don't you agree?' 'Does that still include sure and certain hope of resurrection?' asked Rye, smiling. 'You're asking whether I'm comfortable with the notion that poor Percy might return to us?' he said, returning her smile. 'We shall be changed, remember?' 'In that case .. . But enough of metalinguistics. To work. I've got plenty of bin liners and some cardboard boxes. Just shove the stuff in. Nothing to worry about, except the paintings, and they're not exactly Old Masters.' 'The young master's maybe?' said Rye. 'Thank 'ee kindly, miss,' he said. They'd started the packing but had been at it only a few minutes

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