He took a swallow of beer. He had a scrawny neck; I could trace the progress of the drink. He hadn’t the physique or the com­plexion to wear a red sports shirt; I wondered jealously what Norah saw in him. I imagined his sallow blue jowled face next to hers in bed: when I answered him it was difficult to keep the anger from my voice.

“If it were absolutely necessary,” I said. “Or rather if the Coun­cil decided it were absolutely necessary. Though as you’re aware, my Party isn’t exactly enamoured of the device.”

“We’ll see,” Graffham said. “But if I were a betting man . . .”

Norah shook her head slightly. He stopped.

“Norah’s reminding me,” he said. “We promised to have supper with the Hewleys.”

It was quite easy to work out. Hewley was the leader of the Labour group on the Council. And Graffham had been talking to him. And Hewley thought that the compulsory purchase wouldn’t go through. Hewley was the sort of person who was always on the look-out for sinister Tory plots, he liked to feel that nothing was hidden from his keen and fearless Left Wing eyes. He couldn’t believe that our promise to build the swimming baths was anything but an election trick and in consequence his imagination had enlarged a rumour into fact.

It would give him great pleasure to show off in front of Graffham and Norah; when I came to think of it, about the only kind of pleasure the poor devil ever enjoyed. His family had lived a long time in Warley but had never accumulated any money; and his wife, who didn’t share his love of the underprivileged, made it a constant reproach that at forty-five he was no more than a senior assistant at Warley Secondary Modern and was evi­dently never going to be. She was bitter and twisted. Bitter and twisted; why did that phrase so often recur to me?

“I’m going that way,” I said to Graffham. “I can give you a lift if you like.”

“I’ve got transport,” he said.

“Fine. Give my regards to Councillor Hewley. I’m sorry he couldn’t be here tonight. Tell him not to worry about the swim­ming baths.”

To my surprise Norah looked angry.

“You sound a little patronizing,” she said.

“I’ve an enormous respect for Councillor Hewley,” I said. “I know how much this project means to him. I know that he didn’t want the Palace there in the first place. He wanted the site for a public baths. And now that the Palace has closed down, he nat­urally can’t think of any other site. It’s absolutely understand­able.”

“Is there another site?” she said.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you, but it’s possible that there could be.”

“That’s the answer I’d expect,” she said. “You’re very clever, Councillor Lampton.”