Bella intervened for the first time. “Stay where you are, Dave.”

Dave had not moved. Woody had a bad leg from a war wound: he was not throwing anyone anywhere.

Bella turned to her husband. “Darling, twenty-one years ago you sat in this room and confronted my mother.”

“I wasn’t seventeen, I was twenty-five.”

“Mother accused you of causing the breaking-off of my engagement to Victor Rolandson. She was right: you were the cause of it, though at that point you and I had spent only one evening together. We had met at Dave’s mother’s party, after which you went off to invade Normandy and I didn’t see you for a year.”

Beep said: “One evening? What did you do to him, Mom?”

Bella looked at her daughter, hesitated, then said: “I blew him in a park, honey.”

Dave was astonished. Bella and Woody? It was unimaginable!

Woody protested: “Bella!”

“This is no time to mince words, Woody, dear.”

Beep said: “On the first date? Wow, Mom! Way to go!”

Woody said: “For God’s sake . . .”

Bella said: “My darling, I’m just trying to remind you of what it was like to be young.”

“I didn’t propose marriage right away!”

“That’s true, you were painfully slow.”

Beep giggled and Dave smiled.

Woody said to Bella: “Why are you undermining me?”

“Because you’re being just a little pompous.” She took his hand, smiled, and said: “We were in love. So are they. Lucky us, lucky them.”

Woody became a little less angry. “So we should let them do anything they like?”

“Certainly not. But perhaps we can compromise.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Suppose we tell them to ask us again in a year. In the meantime, Dave will be welcome to come and live here, in our house, whenever he can get a break from working with the group. While he’s here he can share Beep’s bed, if that’s what they want.”

“Certainly not!”

“They’re going to do it, either here or elsewhere. Don’t fight battles you can’t win. And don’t be a hypocrite. You slept with me before we were married, and you slept with Joanne Rouzrokh before you met me.”

Woody got up. “I’ll think about it,” he said, and he walked out of the room.

Bella turned to Dave. “I’m not giving orders, Dave, either to you or to Beep. I’m asking you—begging you—to be patient. You’re a good man from a fine family, and I will be happy when you marry my daughter. But please wait a year.”

Dave looked at Beep. She nodded.

“All right,” said Dave. “A year.”

• • •

On the way out of the hostel in the morning, Jasper checked his pigeonhole. There were two letters. One was a blue airmail envelope addressed in his mother’s graceful handwriting. The other had a typed address. Before he could open them he was called. “Telephone for Jasper Murray!” He stuffed both envelopes into the inside pocket of his jacket.

The caller was Mrs. Salzman. “Good morning, Mr. Murray.”