CHAPTER SIXTEENAntony left Latter End before anyone was up. His step rang as hollow in the hall as if the house were empty. When he drew back the bolts and turned the key in the lock it seemed as if someone must wake. He came out into the early morning—dew on the grass, and a light breeze blowing. He got out his car and took the road with a sense of escape.
During the next two days he was kept extremely busy. He lunched with Latimer, got on better than he expected, and was dragged off by him to his cottage on the Thames. Latimer would take no denial. His manuscript was there, they could go through it together—‘Your partners are damned old women, but I can’t be bothered to fight them.’ And, most unexpected of all, ‘It’s no good saying no—you must come down and meet my wife.’
Latimer the m
