Welcome to Barcelona The air so fun main straight sector quite a quite a long straight line And then turn one super late braking Just before 50 meters going in fifth scare Get a lot of speed. It's it's also one of the only place you can really overtake in Barcelona But that means you need to have a really good exit of the chicane Turn to flat out and qualifying just on the limit using everything soft track again turn three flat Made a big mistake there in 2018 at the start a Spun and then kept going unprotected too. Yeah, I wasn't wasn't pretty And for here, I can remember the both Mercedes Louis Hamilton and Nico Osberg colliding you carry a lot of spin going into the corner So you really need a good confidence on your red rear end and then release the brake and gently go on throttle More confidence you have more open you can use the line and earlier you can go on throttle then turn five It's actually quite blind when you go in and Then that's that's always a corner where you pick up understeer always always always loads of understeer And you just want the car to turn turn turn, but you have to wait on exit You can actually use that kerb a lot And then we go through turn seven here Fours gear in the race fifth gear and quality So late on the break. I mean you need to be so confident. I've been one winter testing a spot on the break here I'm finishing the gravel, but you need to carry so much momentum into it And then use as much as you can exit here But make sure that you're back on track before the sausage kerb because that that gives a big hit on the chassis On your back and for sure it's gonna destabilize the car a lot turn nine flat flat out corner amazing to See that that corner can be flat flat out corner that Brings you onto the back straight so gone the Arizona And the slowest bit corner the track big braking hundred meters Same thing here We always use some different mappings on the brake shape the migration of brake balance Towards the rear the differential and the engine braking so that corner requires a lot of front end so you go aggressive on the maps and Then you go out and throttle and you've got very very little time before you get to turn 12 here and that corner requires completely the opposite So you try to play with your toggle that here you stabilize the entry by closing the diff pushing the brake balance forward And so on and so on so that means between turn 10 and 12 you've got to do a lot of stuff Here you go early on throttle use the kerb on exit and That corner it's also very tricky because you don't want to apply too much brakes the tires are obviously very hot from low-speed section here and And you don't want to overheat them because the next corner is completely key. So You decide how much how wide you can exit Really good car can go can exit wide and come back very easily here the slower car They're struggling a little bit more. So you kind of do alph alph and Here here the chicane You need to use as much inside kerb as you can without touching the sausage on that one and On this one is the same thing and here you really want to have the best carbons as possible because that's gonna that's gonna clearly You know go on to the straight line and carry the momentum towards here and that corner is completely flat So yeah, basically you want that chicane to be key for you To get a good lap and also to get any chance to overtake anyone towards turn one


Yeah, thank you move to our next lecture, which will be given by yaga rector. Yaga is a scientist in the climate and global dynamics laboratory at anchor yaga is also a member of our scientific organizing committee for this ASP colloquium. Yaga graduated from the University of Washington studying gravity waves and their impacts on the climate system. Yaga has since been at anchor she joined and car as an ASP postdoctoral fellow and has spent majority of her scientific career at anchor with a brief stint as an education outreach fellow at the University of Colorado. Yaga colleagues the earth system prediction working group for the CSM modeling system. And Yaga's expertise and scientific interests include gravity waves and their parameterizations in global climate models, middle atmospheric dynamics, QBO, whole atmosphere climate modeling, s to s forecasting and geo engineering. Yaga was has developed the first source of spectrum parameterization of convectively generated gravity waves in the climate model has contributed to development both in the anchor community atmosphere model as well as is contributing to the DOE's earth system model currently. Thank you, Yaga for accepting orientation to give a lecture. Thank you for having me and Asian thanks Amy for giving a great introduction to the stratosphere. I will try not to repeat anything that Amy has said, but I'll focus on the QBO the quasi biennial oscillation and then also focus on the experiments with anchors model that we've done to try to address the role of the stratosphere in s to s prediction. But yes, I have one introductory slide a little summarizing what Amy talked about so Amy focused on the stratosphere polar vortex, and I will spend the introduction talking to you about the QBO which is the quasi biennial oscillation. And this is an oscillation as most visible in the stratosphere zonal mean wind. So what I have here on the right is just a time series from observations and you see these alternating easterly and westerly winds in the tropics, and you see that this oscillation is pretty regular, what it means, and the regular means also that it's very predictable, and the period of the QBO ranges from about 24 to 32 months so it's not exactly 28 months all the time but as you will see later the predictability of this oscillation is very good compared to other features in the stratosphere for example like sudden warmings which can only be predicted about two weeks ahead of time. Why do we care about the QBO, and it's because it has teleconnections to the troposphere. It also has impacts on the stratosphere but for the purpose of this talk I'll focus on how it affects the troposphere and there are three routes of this and this is a nice summary figure from 2018. So first there is the polar route so when you have alternating easterly and westerly winds in a stratosphere, they change the propagation of planetary scale waves into this polar vortex. And by then what we call the Holtantan mechanism is when we have a stronger polar vortex, it happens to be mostly in QBO West and QBO by QBO West we mean that either 30 or 50 hectopascal the winds are westerly. And when the winds are easterly at this altitude so that would be around here so 30 to 50 hectopascal the polar vortex tends to be easterly. And by if you followed Amy they would have implications for the predictability of the NAO. Then there is also a tropical route. So when there is a strong oscillation and winds in the lower stratosphere this is associated with changes in temperature, and there's also an induced meridian circulation. And what we believe is that these changes in temperature near the tropopause they affect the MGO and they affect the deep convection. And then there's the subtropical route. So again when we're changing the meridian circulation will change the medium from by which the planetary scale waves are propagating through and then we can affect the subtropical jet. So I'll talk about a little bit about what we know about the QBO NAO connection and most of this evidence has been on seasonal time scales. And again the QBO is very well predicted. So the red line here shows you the analysis over a few years. And the blue line shows you the model prediction of the QBO from the UK mid-office system and you see this is quite good of a prediction of the QBO so more or less they're getting the right phase of the QBO. And there are some composites on the right here of DJFC level pressure. On the left here we have the forecast and on the right we have the observations. And what you particularly see is this area of high sea level pressure just west of Europe here, and this is captured in the forecast, however the amplitude of this pattern is much weaker than observed. And here's another picture from another study by Scaffidol 2014. Again we're looking at anomalies of sea level pressure. And on the left here is observational analysis showing this negative NAO pattern and the seasonal prediction system does show a similar pattern, however it's much weaker in amplitude. But a lot of the UK mid-office studies have really highlighted that for seasonal prediction the QBO has shown quite the influence at the surface. Now for the QBO MGO, the story has been a little bit more complicated. So in observations there is a very strong relationship between the QBO and MGO. So if we correlate, well let me start here. So what I'm showing here in this top panel is the standard deviation of the MGO filtered OLR anomalies for all winters and focusing on DJF. And if you pick out West QBO winters, so again winters for which 50 hectopascal winds are westerly, so you're just picking those years out. It turns out that the MGO is far less active, and for easterly QBO winters the MGO is more active. And what these observational studies have found that MGO convection is stronger and more organized and propagates most slowly doing easterly QBO. And this is one of the things we don't fully understand, but the hypothesis is that the influence from the QBO comes via the temperature perturbations near the triple pause in the upper triple sphere. So here is another QBO MGO relationship, this one in S2S studies, and this is by Abik and Hendon and based on two Australian models, Axis S1 and Poamah 2. And what they do find and hence predictability of the MGO under QBO East conditions. So in particular, you can see this in these right panels here for strong MGO events that under QBO East the predictability of the MGO is out to 31 days. For example, for the Axis model and out to 30 days for the Poamah 2 model, and it's only at 10 days for QBO West in this model and only 21 days in the Axis model. So in this modeling system, there is quite a robust relationship in terms of enhanced predictability. However, from the same study, if you look at their comparison of RMM percent amplitude difference between QBO East and QBO West in observations versus the models, you see that the amplitudes are underestimated. So the red lines here are the model and the gray lines are observations. So the relationship is sort of there in their model, but it's much weaker than what we see in observations. So Amy Cam also took a look at this in other S2S models, and what she's looking at the relationship, again, of East QBO and West QBO on the RMM skill of the MGO. At the top here, this is averages over the whole entire season from October through March. And bottom is only for DJF. For some of these are US sub seasonal models and there's also ECMWF. And the first thing you see is that if you look at the entire season from October to March, the relationship is not even the same as in DJF. So for ECMWF, it seems that for RMM skill of .5 and you get greater skill in East QBO compared to West QBO, but it's opposite if you look at the entire season. And for some models, there is a significant relationship. So these green triangles indicate statistical significance and you do see that West QBO gives you a little bit higher skill than East QBO. So this relationship in that model is not significant in DJF. So again, the message is that there is a relationship, but it's mostly insignificant or somehow not the same as what we see in observations. Okay, so I'm going to move on to NCAR models and the stratosphere and how we've addressed some of these questions trying to find out what is the role of the stratosphere. And NCAR is a primary research organization. So we really focus on understanding the sources of predictability. And the main question we ask is how much improvement in S2S prediction can be gained from including a well resolved stratosphere. NCAR S2S systems are based on our Earth system model used for climate prediction. So this model was not developed for S2S. It was developed for long time scale simulations. So the simulations basically fuel the IPCC projections. And between 2016 and 2020, we're looking at S2S with CSM1, which is the community Earth system model version one that was developed for the AR5 part of CEMIP. And since 2020 we're using CSM2 and CSM2 with the whole atmosphere model as the atmosphere component. I'll explain it in a little bit. And that's the model that's being used for the AR6. Okay, so let's start with CSM1 and what we've done to isolate the role of the stratosphere. So our system includes the atmosphere and interactive land, ocean and sea ice. And our basic CEMIP type model is a 30 layer model, which has a very poor representation of the stratosphere. So our top is about two hectopascals and there's very few levels in the stratosphere. And that configuration does not have a QDO. And it has a relatively poor representation of sudden stratospheric warmings. So the tropical winds are always easterly. And that's not a model that's 50% more expensive and keep that in mind because it has 46 vertical levels. However, if we actually resolve the stratosphere and now we can have a QDO, it's not perfect. If you compare to observations that are deficiencies, it doesn't quite go down to 100 hectopascals. So compared to what the low top model has, it is significantly improved. And I'm not showing this but this model also has a much better climatology of sudden stratospheric warmings and we know from Amy's work that that is really important for that coupling to the troposphere. So my expectation was that this model will outperform this basic model for sub seasonal prediction. So we've reran the entire subjects protocol, exactly with both systems. So we just follow the subjects protocol hind cast from 1999 to 2015, 10 ensemble members with both systems 45 day runs. We initialize from era interim and we also initialize land and ocean. So there is nothing different in these models in the troposphere, it's really an apples for apples comparison. You can say that the model physics was different and that's why you're having skill. They're really the only difference between these is initially in the stratosphere. So both the stratosphere prediction between the systems, and as expected, for example for the QBO, the 46 level model does a lot better, and especially does a lot better during the West QBO West phase because it doesn't capture it at all. However, note that the scale on these the correlation between observations is still very high. So, even at the end of the forecast period. This model still has a correlation skill of about point eight seven, which is really quite good. And similarly for the polar vortex so we look at the normal correlation coefficient of the 10 hectobascals winds at 60 North, and as expected the higher top model with a better stratosphere, it predicts the polar vortex better, and the 30 level model a little worse. I don't figure, but there was no notable difference in prediction of SSWs, and mainly because SSWs are rare so in this 20 year record I think there's only 11 events are a hind cast were always started on Wednesday so it's also hard to get a clear picture because we're not starting the exact the same amount of these before each sudden warming, but nevertheless we didn't from the statistics that we had we didn't really note a different skill and prediction of sudden warmings between these two systems. Okay, so we have better stratospheric predictability. How much difference does it make to surface prediction. The answer sadly is very little. So the good news is, and the performance of our model is very good so what I'm showing is here is surface temperature for different seasons. So DJF, DJ, etc. These are the two and car systems. So comparing that to other subjects models here is the no SCFS V2, there's FIM, GS and other models. So what you see is that overall predictive prediction skill of the income models is quite high which indicates that we are doing something right that it's a good modeling system for S2S. So if we compare the bars for the 30 level model and the 46 level model there is very small differences between them and they're not statistically significant. So the overall prediction skill from the system that has 50% more cost because that's what we're paying for the stratosphere is not translating to an improvement at the surface. And here's another skill score diagram. The 46 level model 30 level model and what these bars are showing is the percent chance model will have a more skillful forecast and CFS V2 based on the Briar skill score. And yeah, there is a slightly better skill from the 46 level model, but again it's there when we do any statistical analysis it doesn't show up as anything better. What we do find is that if you actually combine all the models and use the skill from all the modeling system that you do get a much better forecast. So if you include the information from all of the models that you have a 78% chance of being more skillful than just using one single modeling system in particular here the CFS V2. And you may say well what about the NAO and what about the NGO because those are the two likely things there are to be affected by the stratosphere. And again in our study we did not find any significant difference so the 30 level and the 46 level model have the exact same NAO predictability and the same NGO predictability. I was a little bit disappointing but I think that is the part of research, and it doesn't mean that the stratosphere is not important, and I will come back to it in a little bit. Why I think we're not seeing this difference at the surface and again it's not because the stratosphere it's not important so. So we move on to talking about CSM to and CSM to Wacom. So we did a similar study with our latest model, and again CSM to is just this low top model, we have now 32 levels, but it has the lid in the same place at about two hectopascals. It has no interactive chemistry. It's a very fast model compared to the CSM to Wacom Wacom stands for the whole atmosphere community climate model. And this is the most complicated model that I think is being ran for S to S prediction it has a top at 140 kilometers. It includes parametrizations of nonographic gravity waves. In addition, it has fully interactive tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry. And this is where a lot of the cost of the model is. So the computational cost of this models is eight times the cost of CSM to so not only 50% were expensive this is eight times. It's part of the reason we can only run the hind cast from October to March, and we can only right run five ensemble members because just the cost is prohibitive. And we looked again, what is the skill of this model compared to our low top model and compared to the previous versions of the model. In parentheses here you see the number of ensemble members that we compare because with Wacom we're only able to run five members, but we know that if we run 10 members we should get higher skills so for example, the green bars are for CSM one and you see that the with 10 members you get a little higher skill than with five members. So if you look at all the bars that include five members of pink, blue and this light green for any week for surface temperature, you see that the skill is very similar. And same for precipitation on the bottom right here there are small differences but none of them are statistically significant. So more or less, all of these systems are giving you the same surface prediction skill. And here is a more detailed view of that for DJF to meter temperature, just so you see if there's any regional differences. And in particular, in weeks three and four between Wacom and CSM two, there is virtually no difference. And this is partly interesting to us because I didn't mention our Wacom system and see the low top system are not started the same way. One of them is started from CFS to the other one is starting from Mira two analysis that we nudge to and they also have different ocean initializations. So in addition about the role of the stratosphere it's also taught us that how exactly we initialize the atmosphere and the ocean is also really not making much difference for week three for prediction and least for surface temperature. In weeks five six you see a little bit more difference. These are the areas shown here are the ones that are statistically significant, but at this time it's difficult to pin these down to any particular aspect of the model, for example, because there are so many differences are rather small, which indicates that there's just some inherent things in the predictability from the initial conditions that are really driving that and the details, whether we use CFS V to Mira naging etc they're making much smaller difference. And again here's the NAO and the MJO, and there are a little bit more differences in the NAO for Wacom system so with five ensemble members, there is higher skill than for the other modeling systems. However, due to the small number of years so high cast over 20 years these numbers are not showing up to be significant so more or less we're finding that the we have really good NAO skills up to weeks three for all of the systems are almost at a CC of point five, but they're more or less just have the same predictability and the same thing for the MJO there's very little difference between these model versions. Now the question you're wondering why is there so little impact from the stratosphere or at least from better resolving stratosphere is maybe the better way to phrase the question. And one thing is that global models don't capture teleconnexions very well so we're utilizing here a global model that's used for climate projections. And this is a study by NC at all on teleconnexions of the cubio to the NAO utilizing a whole bunch of different models with actually good cubios. And what you see here the stick line here is the observe correlation. And these individual bars, you see are the correlations of the cubio to the NAO from other models. And you see only one model even reaches the observe correlation and the other models even have the opposite sign. So the models are bad at capturing this relationship. There are even worse at capturing the connection of the cubio to the MJO. Here's another study by Kim at all. And similarly here the observed cubio the observed cubio East minus cubio Westline is here. So this is where observations are falling. And this is every circle here is an ensemble member of these models here so for example ECM E3S1.0 there's only five members. But what you see that the correlation in these models does not even come close to what we see in observations. So most of the semip type models the global models are simply not capturing the cubio to the MJO teleconnexion. And it's difficult to expect that they will actually capture this really well when you run it as a sub seasonal to seasonal prediction model. And here's the other reason I think largely we're not seeing these huge differences on sub seasonal timescale is the stratospheric initial conditions they basically hold on to their initial state. So for example if you look at the zonal mean wind between 10 south to 10 north and observations, and in the 46 level model, and in the 30 level model over this forecast period. You see yes that the low top model degrades a lot more than the 46 level model, however more or less the phase of the cubio is kept, and you probably getting a bulk of the effect. Now if you take in this out to a seasonal timescale I don't think that would be the same situation you can see that the, especially if you were in the cubio. West face that the sturdy level model will have really poor predictability as you get out to few months because it's rapidly declining. But if you initialize a model with a poor stratosphere with a particular phase of the cubio it actually holds on to it fairly well through this short sub seasonal timescale. And here is a figure from limit all 2019 to showing cubio correlation at one month. And you see some of the models which have good cubios for example UK MO the correlation there is 1.0 which is super high. The model with the worst stratosphere BOM still has a pretty high correlation of point eight fives. So I think the messages that on this sub seasonal timescale if you initialize a model even with a poor stratosphere, it's going to hold on to that initial condition and that's why we're not seeing the drastic results. So, so that doesn't mean that stratosphere is not important, it actually is. And so in this study led by Lantau Sun from CSU. We combined our CSM one ensembles with the 30 level and the 46 level model to just to create a 20 member ensemble. And then we looked at NAO predictability from different stratospheric vortex states. So here's the initial zone on mean wind at 10 hectobascals 60 north. And you see the vortex is highly variable, and we separated into strong vortex states weak vortex states in states where the vortex was neutral. So we're starting to see how the stratosphere matters so especially in week five and week six. There is much better predictability from weak and strong vertex events as compared to the neutral vertex events. However, there is no difference between a low top and a high top model because they both seem to represent that similarly. Alright, so research always brings surprises, and if I have time, I'm going to give you one more example of this. So Amy mentioned a lot about sudden warmings and she showed you how they cause surface anomalies about one month after. So you have this cooling pattern over Eurasia and warming pattern over the northeastern United States. And we just happened to a we have a recent financial spirit warming on January 5 2021. We were super excited by that because we were running our CSM to welcome system in real time. So we could actually make a forecast and see how it verified. And here is the CPC verification so about for weeks before after the event. And you see a pattern very similar to what's in Amy's plot over here so you see a lot of cooling over Eurasia and a little bit warming here on the eastern United States. So we were excited to see how Wacom did for this event. And it was actually one of the two models who did really great so this is the Eurasia square so correlation coefficient square against the CPC verification and out of all the subjects models ECC GM and the NCOR system seemed to perform really well so they both showing this cooling over Eurasia and here you have warming over Labrador C this is what you were saying. So we said oh my gosh this is great we finally seeing an impact of sudden stratospheric warming and this must be from the sudden stratospheric warming right the pattern is almost exactly the same. However, we took our research system and decided then to take out the sudden warming. How did we do that. Well because to start our model we nudged the stratosphere to mirror reanalysis, we just backed out for two weeks. And we nudged, we stopped nudging the stratosphere to observations but just let it go to climatology, but we nudged the stratosphere perfectly. Basically we scrambled the stratosphere, and we kept the realistic troposphere so in these simulations there was no sudden stratospheric warming. We also scrambled the troposphere and did other configurations but I'll focus on this case. So here's the regular forecast. And the bottom panel is we scrambled the stratosphere so there is no sudden warming there is only we kept the initial state from the troposphere only. So we see that the correlation between these is very high and the correlation between this scrambled stratosphere forecast is also very close to the observations. So our study shown for week three four and we didn't look closely for week one two and the weeks beyond. It actually showed that if the warming didn't happen that we also would predict the same surface pattern so perhaps the stratosphere. The stratosphere contributed a little but not a whole lot as much as we thought to this pattern. Excuse me to the last slide that we've developed this as to a system with CSM to to enable the wider community to do these experiments and to do other similar experiments to really get at the sources of predictability. So since April 2020 we have the earth system prediction working group within CSM. And again the goal is just to advance fundamental understanding of these sources of predictability. And CSM is a community model so you welcome to download it we're still don't have the initial conditions available for larger use but if you ask we can get them to you. And we already have just basic hindcast sets. We also have smile which is a similar seasonal to multi year large ensemble that Steve Yeager has been leading that is two year predictions and therefore starts per year so we can look at the longer models. And there's also smile x in production which is extending those forecasts to 10 years just from the November start dates. So, and here and take any questions you might have. Yeah, this really comprehensive overview of influence of QB or maybe lack of influence of the stratosphere on short timescale.


This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Diana Keisner's. He would talk about anything she wished, if only he might be with her for a while and see her and hear her. But he knew very little of the droid witches and their friends, really. Beyond meeting them at those bigger functions where literature is also represented, and amusing them at luncheons and dinners, he knew very little of them, really. To them he had always remained Mr. Arundel. No one called him Ferdinand? And he only knew the gossip also available to the evening papers and the frequenters of clubs. But he was, however, good at inventing. And as soon as he had come to the end of first-hand knowledge, in order to answer her inquiries and keep her there to himself, he proceeded to invent. It was quite easy to fasten some of the entertaining things he was constantly thinking on to other people and pretend they were theirs. Scrap, who had that affection for her parents which warms in absence, was a thirst for news, and became more and more interested by the news he gradually imparted. At first it was ordinary news. He had met her mother here and seen her there. She looked very well, she said, so and so. But presently the things Lady Droitwich had said took on an unusual quality. They became amusing. Mother said that, Scrap interrupted, surprised. And presently Lady Droitwich began to do amusing things as well as say them. Mother did that? Scrap inquired, wide-eyed. A rundle warmed to his work. He fathered some of the most entertaining ideas he had lately had on to Lady Droitwich, and also any charming funny things that had been done, or might have been done, for he could imagine almost anything. Scrap's eyes grew round with wonder and affectionate pride in her mother. Why, but how funny! Fancy mother! What an old darling! Did she really do that?  And did she really say? But how wonderful of her to think of it! What sort of a face did Lloyd George make? She laughed and laughed and had a great longing to hug her mother, and the time flew and it grew quite dusk, and it grew nearly dark, and Mr. Arundel still went on amusing her. And it was a quarter to eight before she suddenly remembered dinner. Oh, good heavens! she exclaimed, jumping up. Yes, it's late, said Arundel. I'll go in quickly and send the maid to you. I must run, or I'll never be ready in time. And she was gone up the path with the swiftness of a young, slender deer. Arundel followed. He did not wish to arrive too hot, so had to go slowly. Fortunately he was near the top, and Francesca came down the pergola to pilot him indoors. And having shown him where he could wash, she put him in the empty drawing-room to cool himself by the crackling wood fire. He got as far away from the fire as he could and stood in one of the deep window recesses looking out at the distant lights of Metzago.  Briggs, in his room, was throwing away spoilt tie after spoilt tie. Scrap, in hers, was hurrying into a black frock with a vague notion that Mr. Briggs wouldn't be able to see her so clearly in black. Mrs. Fisher was fastening the lace shawl, which nightly transformed her day-dress into her evening-dress with the brooch Ruskin had given her on her marriage, formed of two pearl lilies tied together by a blue enamel ribbon, on which was written in gold letters, esto perpetua. Mr. Wilkins was sitting on the edge of his bed, brushing his wife's hair. Thus far in this third week had he progressed in demonstrativeness, while she, for her part, sitting on a chair in front of him, put his studs in a clean shirt, and Rose, ready-dressed, sat at her window considering her day. Rose was quite aware of what had happened to Mr. Briggs. If she had any difficulty about it, Lottie would have removed it by the frank comments she made while she and Rose sat together after tea on the wall. Lottie was delighted at more love being introduced into San Salvatore, even if it were only one-sided, and said that when once Rose's husband was there she didn't suppose, now that Mrs. Fisher too had at last come unglued, Rose protested at the expression and Lottie retorted that it was in Keats, there would be another place in the world more swarming with happiness than San Salvatore. Your husband, said Lottie, swinging her feet, might be here quite soon, perhaps tomorrow evening if he starts at once, and there'll be a glorious final few days before we all go home refreshed for life. I don't believe any of us will ever be the same again, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Caroline doesn't end up getting fond of that young man Briggs. It's in the air. You have to get fond of people here. Rose sat at her window thinking of these things, Lottie's optimism, yet it had been justified by Mr. Wilkins, and look to it, Mrs. Fisher, if only it would come true as well about Frederick. For Rose, who between lunch and tea had left off thinking about Frederick, was now between tea and dinner, thinking of him harder than ever. It had been funny and delightful that little interlude of admiration, but of course it couldn't go on once Caroline appeared. Rose knew her place. She could see as well as anyone the unusually the unique loveliness of Lady Caroline. How warm, though, things like admiration and appreciation made one feel. How capable of really deserving them. How different, how glowing. They seemed to quicken unsuspected faculties into life. She was sure she'd been a thoroughly amusing woman between lunch and tea, and a pretty one, too. She was quite certain she'd been pretty. She saw it in Mr. Briggs' eyes as clearly as in a looking-glass.  She still buzzed. She still tingled, just at the remembrance. What fun it had been, having an admirer, even for that little while. No wonder people liked admirers. They seemed in some strange way to make one come alive. Although it was all over, she still glowed with it and felt more exhilarated, more optimistic, more as Lottie probably constantly felt than she had done since she was a girl. She dressed with care. Though she knew Mr. Briggs would no longer see her. But it gave her pleasure to see how pretty, while she was about it, she could make herself look.  She did hold it there for a minute, and it looked almost sinfully attractive, and was exactly the colour of her mouth. But she took it out again with a smile and a sigh, and put it in the proper place for flowers, which is water. She mustn't be silly, she thought. Think of the poor. Soon she would be back with them again. And what would a chameleon behind her ear seem like then? Simply fantastic. But on one thing she was determined. The first thing she would do when she got home would be to have it out with Frederick. If he didn't come to San Salvatore, that is what she would do, the very first thing. Long ago she ought to have done this. But always she'd been handicapped when she tried to, by being so dreadfully fond of him, and so much afraid that fresh wounds were going to be given her wretched soft heart. But now let him wound her as much as he chose, as much as he possibly could. She would still have it out with him. Not that he had ever intentionally wounded her. She knew he never meant to. She knew he often had no idea of having done it. For a person who wrote books, thought Rose, Frederick didn't seem to have much imagination. Anyhow, she said to herself, getting up from the dressing-table, things couldn't go on like this. She would have it out with him. This separate life, this freezing loneliness. She'd had enough of it. Why shouldn't she too be happy? Why on earth? The energetic expression matched her mood of rebelliousness. Shouldn't she too be loved, and allowed to love? She looked at her little clock. Still ten minutes before dinner. Tired of staying in her bedroom, she thought she would go on to Mrs. Fisher's battlements, which would be empty at this hour, and watch the moon rise out of the sea. She went into the deserted upper hall with this intention, but was attracted on her way along it by the fire-light shining through the open door of the drawing-room.  The fire transformed the room.  It was transformed, just as she had been transformed by the warmth of... No, she wouldn't be silly. She would think of the poor. The thought of them always brought her down to sobriety at once. She peeped in. Fire-light and flowers. And outside the deep slits of windows hung the blue curtain of the night. How pretty!  And that gorgeous lilac on the table. She must go and put her face in it. But she never got to the lilac. She went one step towards it, and then stood still. For she had seen the figure looking out of the window in the farthest corner. And it was Frederick. All the blood in Rose's body rushed to her heart and seemed to stop its beating. She stood quite still. He had not heard her. He did not turn round. She stood looking at him. The miracle had happened, and he had come. She stood holding her breath. So he needed her, for he had come instantly. So he too must have been thinking, longing. Her heart which had seemed to stop beating was suffocating her now, the weight raised along. Frederick did love her then. He must love her, or why had he come? Something, perhaps her absence, had made him turn to her, want her. And now the understanding she had made up her mind to have with him would be quite, would be quite easy. Her thoughts would not go on. Her mind stammered. She could not think. She could only see and feel. She did not know how it had happened. It was a miracle. God could do miracles. God had done this one. God could, God could, could. Her mind stammered again and broke off. Frederick she tried to say, but no sound came. Or if it did, the crackling of the fire covered it up. She must go nearer. She began to creep towards him, softly, softly. He did not move. He had not heard.  She stopped a moment unable to breathe. She was afraid.  She went on again, close up to him. And her heart beat so loud that she thought he must hear it. And couldn't he feel, didn't he know? Frederick, she whispered. Hardly able even to whisper, choked by the beating of her heart. He spun round on his heels. Rose, he exclaimed, staring blankly. But she did not see his stare. For her arms were round his neck, and her cheek was against his. And she was murmuring, her lips on his ear, I knew you would come. In my very heart I always, always knew you would come. End of Chapter 20 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Diana Keisner's. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnhem. Chapter 21 Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it. Besides he was completely bewildered. Not only was his wife here, here of all places in the world, but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him. If she welcomed him she must have been expecting him. Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident. That and the softness of her cheek against his.  Frederick was bewildered. But not being the man to hurt anything if he could help it, he too put his arms round her. And having put them round her he also kissed her. And presently he was kissing her almost as tenderly as she was kissing him. And presently he was kissing her quite as tenderly. And again presently he was kissing her more tenderly. And just as if he had never left off. He was bewildered. But he still could kiss. It seemed curiously natural to be doing it. It made him feel as if he were thirty again instead of forty. And Rose were his rows of twenty. The Rosie had so much adored before she began to weigh what he did with her idea of right, and the balance went against him. And she had turned strange and stony, and more and more shocked and, oh, so lamentable. He couldn't get at her in those days at all. She wouldn't, she couldn't understand. She kept on referring everything to what she called God's eyes. In God's eyes it couldn't be right, it wasn't right. Her miserable face. Whatever her principles did for her they didn't make her happy. Her little miserable face, twisted with effort to be patient, had been at last more than he could bear to see. And he had kept away as much as he could. She never ought to have been the daughter of a low church rector, narrow devil. She was quite unfitted to stand up against such an upbringing. What had happened, why she was here, why she was his rose again, passed his comprehension. And meanwhile, and until such time as he understood, he still could kiss. In fact, he could not stop kissing. And it was he now who began to murmur, to say love things in her ear, under the hair that smelt so sweet, and tickled him, just as he remembered it used to tickle him. And as he held her close to his heart, and her arms were soft round his neck, he felt stealing over him a delicious sense of, at first he didn't know what it was, this delicate, pervading warmth. And then he recognized it as security. Yes, security. No need now to be ashamed of his figure, and to make jokes about it, so as to forestall other peoples and show we didn't mind it. No need now to be ashamed of getting hot going up hills, or to torment himself with pictures of how he would probably appear to beautiful young women, how middle-aged, how absurd, and his inability to keep away from them. Rose cared nothing for such things. With her he was safe. To her he was her lover, as he used to be, and she would never notice or mind any of the ignoble changes that getting older had made in him, and would go on making more and more. Frederick continued therefore, with greater and greater warmth and growing delight, to kiss his wife, and the mere holding of her in his arms caused him to forget everything else. How could he, for instance, remember or think of Lady Caroline, to mention only one of the complications with which his situation bristled? When here was his sweet wife miraculously restored to him, whispering with her cheek against his in the dearest, most romantic words how much she loved him, how terribly she had missed him. He did for one brief instant. For even in moments of love there were brief instance of lucid thought. Recognize the immense power of the woman present, and being actually held compared to that of the woman, however beautiful, who is somewhere else. But that is as far as he got towards remembering Scrap, no farther. She was like a dream, fleeing before the morning light. When did you start, murmured Rose, her mouth on his ear? She couldn't let him go, not even to talk she couldn't let him go. Yesterday morning, murmured Frederick, holding her close, he couldn't let her go either. Oh, the very instant then, murmured Rose. This was cryptic, but Frederick said, yes, the very instant, and kissed her neck.  Didn't it? said Frederick, who felt like shutting his eyes himself. So there had been a letter. Soon, no doubt, light would be vouchsafed him. And meanwhile, this was so strangely touchingly sweet, this holding his rose to his heart again after all the years, that he couldn't bother to try to guess anything. Oh, he had been happy during these years, and it was not in him to be unhappy. Besides, how many interests life had had to offer him, how many friends, how much success, how many women only too willing to help him to blot out the thought of the altered, petrified, pitiful little wife at home, who wouldn't spend his money, who was appalled by his books, who drifted away and away from him. And always, if he tried to have it out with her, asked him with patient obstinacy what he thought the things he wrote and lived by looked in the eyes of God. No one, she said once, should ever write a book God wouldn't like to read. That is the test, Frederick. And he had laughed hysterically, burst into a great shriek of laughter, and rushed out of the house away from her solemn little face, but this rose was his youth again, the best part of his life, the part of it that had had all the visions in it and all the hopes, how they had dreamed together he and she before he struck that vein of memoirs, how they had planned and laughed and loved, they had lived for a while in the very heart of poetry. After the happy days came the happy nights the happy, happy nights with her asleep close against his heart with her when he woke in the morning still close against his heart for they hardly moved in their deep happy sleep. It was wonderful to have it all come back to him at the touch of her, at the feel of her face against his. Wonderful that she should be able to give him back his youth. Sweetheart. Sweetheart, he murmured, overcome by remembrance, clinging to her now in his turn. Beloved husband, she breathed, the bliss of it, the sheer bliss. Briggs, coming in a few minutes before the gong went, on the chance that Lady Caroline might be there, was much astonished. He had supposed Rosar Bethnot was a widow, and he still supposed it, so that he was much astonished. Well, I'm damned, thought Briggs, quite clearly and distinctly, for the shock of what he saw in the window startled him so much that for a moment he was shaken free of his own confused absorption. Allowed, he said, very red, oh, I say, I beg your pardon. And then stood hesitating and wondering whether he oughtn't to go back to his bedroom again. If he had said nothing they would not have noticed he was there. But when he begged their pardon, Rose turned and looked at him, as one looks who is trying to remember. And Frederick looked at him too without at first quite seeing him. They didn't seem, thought Briggs, to mind or to be at all embarrassed. He couldn't be her brother. No brother ever brought that look into a woman's face. It was very awkward. If they didn't mind, he did. It upset him to come across his Madonna forgetting herself. Is this one of your friends? Frederick was able, after an instant to ask Rose, who made no attempt to introduce the young man standing awkwardly in front of them, but continued to gaze at him in a kind of abstracted, radiant goodwill. It's Mr. Briggs, said Rose, recognizing him. This is my husband, she added. And Briggs shaking hands just had time to think how surprising it was to have a husband when you were a widow before the gong sounded and Lady Caroline would be there in a minute. And he ceased to be able to think at all and merely became a thing with its eyes fixed on the door, through the door immediately entered in what seemed to him an endless procession. First Mrs. Fisher, very stately in her evening lace shawl and brooch, who when she saw him at once relaxed into smiles and benignity, only to stiffen, however, when she caught sight of the stranger. Then Mr. Wilkins, cleaner and neater and more carefully dressed and brushed than any man on earth. And then, tying something hurriedly as she came, Mrs. Wilkins, and then nobody. Lady Caroline was late. Where was she? Had she heard the gong? Aught in it to be beaten again? Suppose she didn't come to dinner after all. Briggs went cold, introduced me, said Frederick, on Mrs. Fisher's entrance, touching Rose's elbow. My husband, said Rose, holding him by the hand, her face exquisite. This, thought Mrs. Fisher, must now be the last of the husbands, unless Lady Caroline produces one from up her sleeve. But she received him graciously, for he certainly looked exactly like a husband, not at all like one of those people who go about abroad, pretending they are husbands when they are not. And said she supposed he had come to accompany his wife home at the end of the month and remarked that now the house would be completely full. So that, she added, smiling at Briggs, we shall at last really be getting our money's worth. Briggs grinned automatically, because he was just able to realize that somebody was being playful with him. But he had not heard her, and he did not look at her. Not only were his eyes fixed on the door, but his whole body was concentrated on it. Introduced in his turn, Mr. Wilkins was most hospitable and called Frederick, sir. Well, sir, said Mr. Wilkins heartily, here we are, here we are. And having gripped his hand with an understanding that only wasn't mutual because our bath-knot did not yet know what he was in for in the way of trouble, he looked at him as a man should, squarely in the eyes, and allowed his look to convey as plainly as a look can that in him would be found staunchness, integrity, reliability. In fact, a friend in need. Mrs. our bath-knot was very much flushed, Mr. Wilkins noticed. He'd not seen her flushed like that before. Well, I'm their man, he thought. Lottie's greeting was effusive. It was done with both hands. Didn't I tell you? She laughed to rose over her shoulder while Frederick was shaking her hands in both his. What did you tell her? Asked Frederick in order to say something. The way they were all welcoming him was confusing. They had evidently all expected him, not only rose. The sandy but agreeable young woman didn't answer his question, but looked extraordinarily pleased to see him. Why should she be extraordinarily pleased to see him? What a delightful place this is, said Frederick, confused, and making the first remark that occurred to him. It's a tub of love, said the sandy young woman earnestly, which confused him more than ever. And his confusion became excessive at the next words he heard. Spoken these by the old lady who said, We won't wait. Lady Caroline is always late. For he only then, on hearing her name, really and properly remembered Lady Caroline. And the thought of her confused him to excess. He went into the dining-room like a man in a dream. He had come out to this place to see Lady Caroline, and had told her so. He had even told her in his fatuousness. It was true, but how fatuous, that he hadn't been able to help coming. She didn't know he was married. She thought his name was a rundle. Everybody in London thought his name was a rundle. He had used it and written under it so long that he almost thought it was himself. In the short time since she had left him on the seed in the garden, where he told her he had come because he couldn't help it, he had found Rose again and had passionately embraced and been embraced and had forgotten Lady Caroline. It would be an extraordinary piece of good fortune if Lady Caroline's being late meant she was tired or bored and would not come to dinner at all. Then he could... No, he couldn't. He turned a deeper red even than usual. He'd been a man of full habit and red anyhow at the thought of such cowardice. No. He couldn't go away after dinner and catch his train and disappear to Rome. Not unless, that is, Rose came with him. But even so, what a running away. No, he couldn't. When they got to the dining-room Mrs. Fisher went to the head of the table. Was this Mrs. Fisher's house? he asked himself. He didn't know. He didn't know anything. And Rose, who in her earlier day of defying Mrs. Fisher, had taken the other end as her place. For after all, no one could say by looking at a table which was its top and which its bottom. Led Frederick to the seat next to her. If only he thought he could have been alone with Rose just five minutes more alone with Rose so that he could have asked her that probably he wouldn't have asked her anything and only gone on kissing her. He looked around. The sandy young woman was telling the man they called Briggs to go and sit beside Mrs. Fisher. Was the house then the sandy young woman's and not Mrs. Fisher's? He didn't know. He didn't know anything. And she herself sat down on Rose's other side so that she was opposite him, Frederick, and next to the genial man who had said, here we are when it was only too evident that there they were indeed. Next to Frederick and between him and Briggs was an empty chair. No more than Lady Caroline knew of the presence in Frederick's life of Rose was Rose aware of the presence in Frederick's life of Lady Caroline. What would each think? He didn't know. He didn't know anything. Yes, he did know something and that was that his wife had made it up with him suddenly, miraculously, unaccountably, and divinely. Beyond that he knew nothing. The situation was one with which he felt he could not cope. It must lead him whether it would. He could only drift. In silence Frederick ate his soup and the eyes, the large expressive eyes of the young woman opposite were on him he could feel with a growing look in them of inquiry. They were he could see very intelligent and attractive eyes and full, apart from the inquiry of goodwill. Probably she thought he ought to talk but if she knew everything she wouldn't think so. Briggs didn't talk either. Briggs seemed uneasy. What was the matter with Briggs? And Rose too didn't talk but then that was natural. She never had been a talker.  How long would it be on it after Lady Caroline's entrance? He didn't know. He didn't know anything. But the genial man on Mrs. Fisher's left was talking enough for everybody. That fellow ought to have been a parson. Pulpots were the place for a voice like his. It would get him a bishopric in six months. He was explaining to Briggs who shuffled about in his seat. Why did Briggs shuffle about in his seat? That he must have come out by the same train as our bath-naught. And when Briggs, who said nothing, wriggled in apparent dissent he undertook to prove it to him and did prove it to him in long, clear sentences. Who's the man with the voice? Frederick asked Rose in a whisper. And the young woman opposite whose ears appeared to have the quickness of hearing of wild creatures answered, He's my husband. Then by all the rules said Frederick pleasantly pulling himself together. You oughtn't to be sitting next to him. But I want to. I like sitting next to him. I didn't before I came here. Frederick could think of nothing to say to this. So he only smiled generally. It's this place, she said, nodding at him. It makes one understand. You've no idea what a lot you'll understand before you're done here. I'm sure I hope so, said Frederick, with real fervour. The soup was taken away and the fish was brought. Briggs on the other side of the empty chair seemed more uneasy than ever. What was the matter with Briggs? Didn't he like fish? Frederick wondered what Briggs would do in the way of fidgets if he were in his own situation. Frederick kept on wiping his mustache and was not able to look up from his plate. But that was as much as he showed of what he was feeling. Though he didn't look up, he felt the eyes of the young woman opposite raking him like searchlights. And Rose's eyes were on him too, he knew. But they rested on him unquestioningly, beautifully, like a benediction. How long would they go on doing that once Lady Caroline was there? He didn't know. He didn't know anything. He wiped his mustache for the twentieth unnecessary time and could not quite keep his hand steady. And the young woman opposite saw his hand not being quite steady, and her eyes raked him persistently. Why did her eyes rake him persistently? He didn't know. He didn't know anything. Then Briggs leapt to his feet. What was the matter with Briggs? Oh, yes, quite. She had come. Frederick wiped his mustache and got up too. He was in for it now. Absurd, fantastic situation. Well, whatever happened, he could only drift.   Well, as for what he would look like to his rose, when Lady Caroline introduced him to her, when Lady Caroline introduced him as her friend, whom she had invited in to dinner, well, God alone knew that. He therefore, as he got up, wiped his mustache for the last time before the catastrophe. But he was reckoning without scrap. That accomplished and experienced young woman slipped into the chair Briggs was holding for her. And on laudies leaning across eagerly and saying before anyone else could get a word in, just fancy Caroline, how quickly Rose's husband has got here. Turned to him without so much as the faintest shadow of surprise on her face and held out her hand and smiled like a young angel and said, and me late your very first evening. The Daughter of the Droit Witches End of Chapter 21 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Reading by Diana Keisner's The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnhem Chapter 22 That evening was the evening of the full moon. The garden was an enchanted place where all the flowers seemed white.  You could see these as plainly as in the daytime. But the coloured flowers existed only as fragrance. The three younger women sat on the low wall at the end of the top garden after dinner. Rose a little apart from the others and watched the enormous moon moving slowly over the place where Shelley had lived his last months just on a hundred years before. The sea quivered along the path of the moon. The stars winked and trembled. The mountains were misty blue outlines with little clusters of lights shining through from little clusters of homes. In the garden the plants stood quite still straight and unstirred by the smallest ruffle of air. Through the glass doors the dining room with its candle-lit table and brilliant flowers the stirchums and marigolds that night glowed like some magic cave of colour. And the three men smoking round it looked strangely animated figures seen from the silence. The huge, cool, calm of outside. Mrs. Fisher had gone to the drawing-room and the fire. Scrap and lauddy their faces upturned to the sky said very little and in whispers. Rose said nothing. Her face too was upturned. She was looking at the umbrella pine which had been smitten into something glorious silhouetted against stars. Every now and then Scrap's eyes lingered on Rose. So did Lauddy's. Her rose was lovely. Anywhere at that moment among all the well-known beauties she would have been lovely. Nobody would have put her in the shade blown out her light that evening. She was too evidently shining. Lauddy bent close to Scrap's ear and whispered. Love, she whispered. Scrap nodded. Yes, she said under her breath. She was obliged to admit it. You only had to look at Rose to know that here was love. There's nothing like it. Whispered Lauddy. Scrap was silent. It's a great thing. Whispered Lauddy after a pause during which they both watched Rose's upturned face to get on with one's loving. Perhaps you can tell me of anything else in the world that works such wonders. But Scrap couldn't tell her and if she could have what a night to begin arguing in. This was a night for her. She pulled herself up. Love again. It was everywhere. There was no getting away from it. She had come to this place to get away from it and here was everybody in its different stages. Even Mrs. Fisher seemed to have been brushed by one of the many feathers of love's wing and at dinner was different. Full of concern because Mr. Briggs wouldn't eat and her face when she turned to him all soft with motherliness. Scrap looked up at the pine tree motionless among stars. Beauty made you love and love made you beautiful.  She didn't want to grow sentimental. Difficult not to here. The marvellous night stole in through all one's chinks and brought in with it whether one wanted them or not. Enormous feelings. Feelings one couldn't manage. Great things about death and time and waste. Glorious and devastating things. Magnificent and bleak at once rapture and terror and immense heart-cleaving longing. She felt small and dreadfully alone. She felt uncovered and defenceless. Instinctively she pulled her wrap closer With this thing of chiffon she tried to protect herself from the eternities. I suppose, whispered Lottie Rose's husband seems to you just an ordinary, good-natured middle-aged man. Scrap brought her gaze down from the stars and looked at Lottie a moment while she focused her mind again. Just a rather red, rather round man whispered Lottie. Scrap bowed her head. He isn't, whispered Lottie. Rose sees through all that. That's mere trimmings. She sees what we can't see because she loves him. Always love. Scrap got up and winding herself very tightly in her wrap moved away to her day-corner and sat down there alone on the wall and looked across the other sea the sea where the sun had gone down the sea with the faraway dim shadow stretching into it which was France. Yes, love worked wonders and Mr. Arundel she couldn't at once get used to his other name was to Rose love itself but it also worked inverted wonders. It didn't invariably, as she well knew transfigure people into saints and angels grievously indeed did it sometimes do the opposite. She had had it in her life applied to her to excess. If it had let her alone if it had at least been moderate and infrequent she might, she thought have turned out a quite decent, generous minded kindly human being. And what was she? Thanks to this love Lottie talked so much about Scrap searched for a just description she was a spoilt, a sour a suspicious and a selfish spinster the glass doors of the dining room opened and the three men came out into the garden Mr. Wilkins voice flowing along in front of them he appeared to be during all the talking the other two were saying nothing perhaps she'd better go back to Lottie and Rose it would be tiresome to be discovered and hemmed into the cul-de-sac by Mr. Briggs she got up reluctantly for she considered it unpardonable of Mr. Briggs to force her to move about like this to force her out of any place she wished to sit in and she emerged from the Daphne bushes feeling like some gaunt, stern figure of just resentment and wishing that she looked as gaunt and stern as she felt so would she have struck repugnance into the soul of Mr. Briggs and been free of him but she knew she didn't look like that however hard she might try at dinner his hand shook when he drank and he couldn't speak to her without flushing Scarlett and then going pale and Mrs. Fisher's eyes had sought hers with the entreaty of one who asks that her only son may not be hurt how could a human being thought scrap frowning as she issued forth from her corner how could a man made in God's image behave so and befitted for better things she was sure with his youth his attractiveness and his brains he had brains she'd examined him cautiously whenever at dinner Mrs. Fisher forced him to turn away to answer her and she was sure he had brains also he had character there was something noble about his head about the shape of his forehead noble and kind all the more deplorable that he should allow himself to be infatuated by a mirror outside and waste any of his strength any of his peace of mind hanging round just a woman thing if only he could see right through her see through all her skin and stuff he would be cured and she might go on sitting undisturbed on this wonderful night by herself just beyond the Daphne bushes she met Frederick hurrying I was determined to find you first he said and he added quickly I want to kiss your shoes do you said scrap smiling then I must go and put on my new ones these aren't nearly good enough she felt immensely well disposed towards Frederick he at least would grab no more his grabbing days so sudden and so brief were done nice man agreeable man she now definitely liked him clearly he had been getting into some sort of a tangle and she was grateful to Lottie for stopping her in time at dinner from saying something hopelessly complicating but whatever he had been getting into he was out of it now his face and Rose's face had the same light in them I shall adore you forever now said Frederick scrap smiled shall you she said I adored you before because of your beauty now I adore you because you're not only as beautiful as a dream but as decent as a man when the impetuous young woman Frederick went on the blessedly impetuous young woman blurted out in the nick of time that I am Rose's husband you behaved exactly as a man would have behaved to his friend did I said scrap her enchanting dimple very evident it's the rarest most precious of combinations said Frederick to be a woman and have the loyalty of a man is it smiled scrap a little wistfully these were indeed handsome compliments if only she were really like that and I want to kiss your shoes won't this save trouble she asked holding out her hand he took it and swiftly kissed it and was hurrying away again bless you he said as he went where is your luggage scrap called after him oh lord yes said Frederick pausing it's at the station I'll send for it he disappeared through the bushes she went indoors to give the order and this is how it happened that Domenico for the second time that evening found himself turning into Metzago and wondering as he went then having made the necessary arrangements for the perfect happiness of these two people she came slowly out into the garden again very much absorbed in thought love seemed to bring happiness to everybody but herself it had certainly got hold of everybody there in its different varieties except herself poor Mr. Briggs had been got hold of by its least dignified variety poor Mr. Briggs he was a disturbing problem and he's going away the next day wouldn't she was afraid to solve him when she reached the others Mr. Arundel she kept on forgetting that he wasn't Mr. Arundel was already his arm through roses going off with her probably to the greater seclusion of the lower garden no doubt they had a great deal to say to each other something had gone wrong between them and had suddenly been put right San Salvatore, Lottie would say San Salvatore working its spell of happiness she could quite believe in its spell even she was happier there than she had been for ages and ages the only person who would go empty away would be Mr. Briggs poor Mr. Briggs when she came inside of the group he looked much too nice and boyish not to be happy it seemed out of the picture that the owner of the place the person to whom they owed all this should be the only one to go away from it unblessed compunction seized scrap what very pleasant days she had spent in his house lying in his garden enjoying his flowers loving his views using his things being comfortable being rested recovering in fact she had had the most leisured peaceful and thoughtful time of her life and all really thanks to him oh she knew she paid him some ridiculous small sum a week out of all proportion to the benefits she got in exchange but what was that in the balance and wasn't it entirely thanks to him that she had come across Lottie never else would she and Lottie have met never else would she have known her compunction laid its quick warm hand on scrap impulsive gratitude flooded her she went straight up to Briggs I owe you so much she said overcome by the sudden realization all she did owe him an ashamed of her churlishness in the afternoon and at dinner of course he hadn't known she was being churlish of course her disagreeable inside was camouflaged as usual by the chance arrangement of her outside but she knew it she was churlish she had been churlished everybody for years any penetrating I thought scrap any really penetrating I would see her for what she was a spoiled a sour a suspicious and a selfish spinster I owe you so much therefore said scrap earnestly walking straight up to Briggs humbled by these thoughts he looked at her in wonder you owe me he said but it's I who I who he stammered to see her there in his garden nothing in it no white flower was whiter more exquisite please said scrap still more earnestly won't you clear your mind of everything except just truth you don't owe me anything how should you I don't owe you anything echoed Briggs why I owe you my first sight of of oh for goodness sake for goodness sake said scrap and treatingly do please be ordinary don't be humble why should you be humble it's ridiculous of you to be humble you're worth fifty of me unwise thought Mr. Wilkins who was standing there too while Lottie sat on the wall he was surprised he was concerned he was shocked that Lady Caroline should thus encourage Briggs unwise very thought Mr. Wilkins shaking his head Briggs condition was so bad already that the only course to take with him was to repel him utterly Mr. Wilkins considered no half measures were the least use with Briggs and kindliness and familiar talk would only be misunderstood by the unhappy youth the daughter of the droid which is could not really it was impossible to suppose it desire to encourage him Briggs was all very well but Briggs was Briggs his name alone proved that probably Lady Caroline did not quite appreciate the effect of her voice and face and how between them they made otherwise ordinary words seem well encouraging but these words were not quite ordinary she had not he feared sufficiently pondered them indeed and indeed she needed an advisor some sagacious objective counselor like himself there she was standing before Briggs almost holding out her hand to him Briggs of course ought to be thanked for they were having a most delightful holiday in his house but not thanked to excess and not by Lady Caroline alone that very evening he had been considering the presentation to him next day of a round robin of collective gratitude on his departure but he should not be thanked like this in the moonlight, in the garden by the lady he was so manifestly infatuated with Mr. Wilkins therefore desiring to assist Lady Caroline out of this situation by swiftly applied tact said with much heartiness it is most proper Briggs that you should be thanked you will please allow me to add my expressions of indebtedness and those of my wife to Lady Caroline's we ought to have proposed a vote of thanks to you at dinner should have been toasted there certainly ought to have been some but Briggs took no notice of him whatever he simply continued to look at Lady Caroline as though she were the first woman he had ever seen neither Mr. Wilkins observed did Lady Caroline take any notice of him she too continued to look at Briggs and with that odd air of almost appeal most unwise most Lottie on the other hand took too much notice of him choosing this moment when Lady Caroline needed special support and protection to get up off the wall and put her arm through his and draw him away I want to tell you something Malerche said Lottie at this juncture getting up presently said Mr. Wilkins waving her aside no now said Lottie and she drew him away he went with extreme reluctance Briggs should be given no rope at all not an inch well what is it he asked impatiently as she led him towards the house Caroline ought not to be left like that exposed to annoyance oh but she isn't Lottie assured him just as if he had said this aloud which he certainly had not Caroline is perfectly all right not at all all right that young Briggs is of course he is what did you expect let's go indoors to the fire and Mrs. Fisher she's all by herself I cannot said Mr. Wilkins trying to draw back leave Lady Caroline alone in the garden don't be silly Malerche she isn't alone besides I want to tell you something well tell me then indoors with reluctance that increased at every step Mr. Wilkins was taken farther and farther away from Lady Caroline he believed in his wife now and trusted her but on this occasion he thought she was making a terrible mistake in the drawing room sat Mrs. Fisher by the fire and it certainly was to Mr. Wilkins who preferred rooms and fires after dark to gardens and moonlight more agreeable to be in there than out of doors if he could have brought Lady Caroline safely in with him as it was he went in with extreme reluctance Mrs. Fisher her hands folded on her lap was doing nothing merely gazing fixedly into the fire the lamp was arranged conveniently for reading but she was not reading her great dead friends they did not seem worth reading that night they always said the same things now over and over again they said the same things and nothing new was to be got out of them anymore forever no doubt they were greater than anyone was now but they had this immense disadvantage that they were dead nothing further was to be expected of them while of the living what might one not still expect she craved for the living the developing the crystallized and finished wearied her she was thinking that if only she had had a son a son like Mr. Briggs a dear boy like that going on unfolding alive, affectionate taking care of her and loving her the look on her face gave Mrs. Wilkins heart a little twist when she saw it poor old dear she thought all the loneliness of age flashing upon her the loneliness of having outstayed one's welcome in the world of being in it only on sufferance the complete loneliness of the old childless woman who has failed to make friends it did seem that people could only be really happy in pairs any sorts of pairs not in the least necessarily lovers but pairs of friends pairs of mothers and children of brothers and sisters and where was the other half of Mrs. Fisher's pair going to be found Mrs. Wilkins thought she had perhaps better kiss her again the kissing this afternoon had been a great success she knew it she had instantly felt Mrs. Fisher's reaction to it so she crossed over and bent down and kissed her and said cheerfully we've come in which indeed was evident this time Mrs. Fisher actually put up her hand and held Mrs. Wilkins cheek against her own this living thing full of affection of warm racing blood and as she did this she felt safe with the strange creature sure that she who herself did unusual things so naturally would take the action quite as a matter of course and not embarrass her by being surprised Mrs. Wilkins was not at all surprised she was delighted I believe I'm the other half of her pair flashed into her mind I believe it's me positively me going to be fast friends with Mrs. Fisher her face when she lifted her head was full of laughter too extraordinary the developments produced by San Salvatore she and Mrs. Fisher but she saw them being fast friends where are the others asked Mrs. Fisher thank you dear she added as Mrs. Wilkins put a footstool under her feet a footstool obviously needed Mrs. Fisher's legs being short I see myself throughout the years thought Mrs. Wilkins her eyes dancing bringing footstools to Mrs. Fisher the roses she said straightening herself have gone into the lower garden I think love making roses the Fredericks then if you like they're completely merged and indistinguishable why not say they are both knots my dear said Mr. Wilkins very well Malerche they are both knots and the carolines both Mr. Wilkins and Mrs. Fisher started Mr. Wilkins usually in such complete control of himself started even more than Mrs. Fisher and for the first time since his arrival felt angry with his wife really he began indignantly very well Malerche the breezes then the breezes cried Mr. Wilkins now very angry indeed for the implication was to him a most outrageous insult to the entire race of dusters dead dusters living dusters and dusters still harmless because they were yet unborn really I'm sorry Malerche Mrs. Wilkins pretending meekness if you don't like it like it you've taken leave of your senses why they've never set eyes on each other before today that's true but that's why they're able now to go ahead go ahead Mr. Wilkins could only echo the outrageous words I'm sorry Malerche said Mrs. Wilkins again if you don't like it but her grey eyes shone and her face rippled with the light and conviction that it's so much surprised rose the first time they met it's useless minding she said I shouldn't struggle if I were you because she stopped and looked first at one alarmed solemn face and then at the other and laughed her as well as light flickered and danced over her I see them being the Briggs's finished Mrs. Wilkins that last week the syringe came out at San Salvatore and all the acacias flowered no one had noticed how many acacias there were till one day the garden was full of a new scent and there were the delicate trees the lovely successors to the wisteria hung all over among their trembling leaves with blossom to lie under an acacia tree that last week and look up through the branches at its frail leaves and white flowers quivering against the blue of the sky while the least movement of the air shook down their scent was a great happiness indeed the whole garden dressed itself gradually towards the end in white pinks and white Banksy roses and the syringes and the jessemen and at last the crowning fragrance of the acacias when on the first of May everybody went away even after they'd got to the bottom of the hill and passed through the iron gates out into the village they still could smell the acacias End of Chapter 22