he had raised his voice above normal to address his friend . I would be delighted to show Mrs Egerton my collection , Theodore replied . perhaps you would all come and have tea with me this week ? perhaps - Thursday ? he looked from Sylvie to Sonia . could you then ? asked Sylvie . Sonia thought rapidly . Harold would be absent in Salonika for some days ; this made the arrangement of her own timetable much simpler . I shall look forward to it very much , she said . and bring your icon with you , added Andr&amp;eacute; . we &apos;ll pick you up on the way , said Sylvie . there was a movement behind them and Hugo , who had disappeared for a moment , reappeared carrying a chair , which he placed beside Andr&amp;eacute; and invited him to be seated . but , my dear boy - we must be going ! exclaimed Andr&amp;eacute; . very kind of you - but we &apos;re the last . of course we could stay here talking and browsing among the books all night but I do n&apos;t think we &apos;d be very popular . they looked round the room to discover that they were indeed the last there , except for the two men employed to keep an eye on the books and rearrange them after the visitors had left . they dispersed in the entrance but Sonia accepted a lift in Andr&amp;eacute; &apos;s car , which dropped her at her flat . Harold had not returned . she wondered uneasily where he could be , but since he rarely told her his plans this evening was no exception . she could not understand the nervousness that sent her wandering through the rooms , into the hall , back again into the drawing-room , out on to the terrace , until she was suddenly able to pin down its causes . Magda &apos;s face hovered against the darkness , disembodied , panic-struck ; she could not eliminate it . she was afraid and could only hope that the girl had gone home to Erich who loved her , however hopelessly . the afternoon which had begun so promisingly with the friendly laughter in Andr&amp;eacute; &apos;s flat and the new acquaintances she had made through the French archaeologist , had turned sour since Harold and Magda had put their acid into it . she had also been made restless by the sight of Andr&amp;eacute; &apos;s and Sylvie &apos;s pleasure in one another&apos;s company . envy mingled in her mind with regret for what she had missed and saw no chance of reaching in life . she wished she were old but with their security . chapter 5 . although she did not look forward to the occasion Sonia found it impossible to avoid an evening at Magda &apos;s flat , especially since Erich had pleaded with her so anxiously to do what she could to befriend the girl , who tended to shut herself away completely from society and not only made them both unhappy but also damaged his chances of promotion by doing so , social life being part of their duty . Harold was to join them straight from the office as soon as he could get away . for once she was glad that he would be with her , because she wanted a chance to observe him with Magda in order to discover what was in his mind and how far she was under his control . the few minutes at the book exhibition had seemed to show that the girl was already dominated by him and ready to submit to all he suggested . they must have been meeting fairly often and she now believed that when Magda had left them after the bathe near Cape Sunion her appointment must have been with Harold . there was still a flicker of rebellion in her , however , and Sonia hoped to encourage this tiny flame . she walked over to the flat across a patch of uneven waste land that lay neglected between two blocks of modern houses . poppies and coltsfoot grew in profusion , giving colour to the dreary area , and somewhere in the grass there must be edible leaves , for two old women bent over the ground plucking them and stuffing them into paper bags . she looked closely as she passed and saw that they were collecting dandelions and nettles . the women must have come far , for they were poorly dressed and did not belong to the prosperous neighbourhood . they looked up as she passed and , noticing her eyes , filled with curiosity , one of them said : salad ! with a grin and waved a bunch of the tough , dark-green leaves at her . were they driven by poverty alone ? by thrift ? by avarice ? she did not know , but the contrast between these two dark , bent figures collecting the hard , dusty weeds and the flowering gardens of plenty around them remained in her mind &apos;s eye for some time and put her out of humour even before she had reached Magda &apos;s flat . the young people had contrived to import some of their possessions from Germany and the flat was delightful with its golden-yellow cherrywood and ebony Biedermeier furniture and one or two modern pieces , including a rocking-chair with a high back that Magda had purchased after visiting an exhibition of pieces from Denmark some months earlier . as far as the plan of the flat was concerned Sonia felt at home in it immediately , for it had been built on the same scheme as her own and she knew exactly where kitchen , bathroom and bedroom lay , a disconcerting impression to have in a house she had never entered until that evening . an air of fussiness , however , was added by the innumerable little lace mats that covered almost every polished surface . Magda and Erich were both awaiting her . he had arranged to come home a few minutes earlier than usual and hurried forward eagerly to welcome her . his gratitude was painful and made her ashamed of her own lack of genuine warmth . it also , to her dismay , made the isolation into which Magda was gradually forcing him even more evident . Sonia and Harold coming to dinner was nothing more , after all , than a normal friendly event among neighbours , all more or less of the same age , and constantly drawn together through the various cultural and social activities in the city , but his attitude seemed to make a special occasion of it . tomato juice ? he asked . I added lemon juice to increase the vitamin content , said Magda proudly . he brought her a glass and placed it carefully on one of the little mats , then carried one over to his wife . I do n&apos;t know whether Harold will care for this , he added uncertainly . it will do him good , Magda declared decidedly . Magda does n&apos;t think alcohol good for the health , said Erich apologetically . but this stuff &apos;s delicious , is n&apos;t it ? he added eagerly . politely Sonia agreed . it was , too - ice-cool . but she could not imagine Harold drinking it . and what have you been doing since we met last time ? she asked Erich , more by way of starting a conversation with him than from a desire to know . the smile died from his face . I &apos;ve had rather a dreadful job , he said . I do n&apos;t know - . he hesitated . it will n&apos;t interest Sonia ! said Magda swiftly . if this were the only objection , Sonia felt obliged to encourage him . do tell me , she said . I know it is n&apos;t always fun having to work in an embassy - I used to think it was one long cocktail party and an occasional exchange of notes . the notes always made me see a little billet doux on mauve paper being handed over in deadly earnest by one imposing Ambassador to another , equally serious , both wearing all their decorations , of course ! it is n&apos;t quite like that , Erich smiled . no - this time I &apos;ve been working on the German war-graves on Leros and other islands . the relations - you know - they want to know where their boys are buried and then they come out to visit them to lay wreaths . and they all pass through our office or the consulate . sometimes pleasant but moving experiences and sometimes very disheartening . these are Dienstgeheimnisse ! Magda interrupted . you know you must n&apos;t talk about them . oh , I do n&apos;t think I &apos;m betraying any secrets , said Erich . no , there was even a note about the graves in one of the British papers recently , said Sonia . but in any case , my dear , do n&apos;t you think you could leave it to Erich to know what he may talk about and what not ? after all , it &apos;s his job ! she added impatiently . Erich gave her an astonished look in which gratitude and alarm were mingled . he was so comical that she almost laughed . he &apos;s not a child , she added . and it &apos;s his profession . and he must be pretty good at it or he would n&apos;t be here in Athens already , but sitting in some awful little place in south America or on a Somerset Maugham kind of island in the Pacific . you with him ! oh , but I &apos;m not so good as all that ! Erich contradicted nai&quot;vely . but my father is - er - well , rather influential in the party . now , when I hear a German say the party I always think of the Nazis , Sonia laughed , but I know it is n&apos;t that . which one do you mean ? C.D.U of course ! answered Magda . Sonia sighed . I &apos;m sorry , she said , but I do n&apos;t know what that means . Harold &apos;s tried time and again to put me wise as he calls it , to European politics , but I never could remember what all those various complicated initials stand for . it &apos;s almost as bad in England in labour party circles , though . I remember a woman who used to come to see my mother . she spoke only in initials . it was a kind of private , secret language . she would say such things as : the T.U.C will n&apos;t let the I.L.P do so and so and the G.W.R and the N.U.J have threatened to strike , and - it was all Greek to me ! she laughed . it &apos;s even worse with the French ! but I do think we could invent an abbreviated sort of shorthand-speech for everyday conversation , do n&apos;t you ? I &apos;m sure we could ! Magda and Erich were staring at her dumbfounded , incapable of knowing whether to take her seriously or not . for instance , she went on mischievously , when I arrive you &apos;re bound to say , how do you do ! and I &apos;m bound to reply , very well , thank you . now we could shorten all that . you &apos;d say , H.D.Y.D and I &apos;d reply , V.W.T.Y . think what a lot of time we &apos;d save in the course of our lives ! we could shorten sentences such a lot - for instance , if I now say , is n&apos;t it a lovely evening ? you know , before I &apos;ve finished , from my eyes and intonation , what I &apos;m going to say . so I &apos;d only need , really , to begin , is n&apos;t it &amp;hellip; ? and you could imagine the rest . people talk far too much and say the same things over and over again . I do n&apos;t mean they &apos;re boring - the lovely evening is n&apos;t - but we could take them for granted , could n&apos;t we ? we could have two languages - a cypher one , and then the proper language for our few , occasional original thoughts . they &apos;d stand out on their own like jewels , then . what do you think of my idea ? I think it &apos;s very silly and impracticable , said Magda . what would we do without all those formal aids to talk ? perhaps the tomato juice has gone to your head , Sonia ! Erich laughed . would you like some more ? maybe it has . lightening their tone was not easy , she thought to herself . she wondered what would do it . then , suddenly , as she noticed the many flowers in the room , she remembered that she had not brought any herself but had something else as a gift for Magda . she bent over to pick up her handbag . I did n&apos;t bring you flowers , Magda , because I know you always have so many - we all do . but I did find this little book I thought you might like . Magda flushed . it was not necessary - . of course it was n&apos;t ! it &apos;s the not-necessary things that are the nicest ! open it , Magda , said Erich . it was a small book about birds , with many illustrations showing their various types of nests , from the clumsy casual untidy heaps set together by storks on roof-tops to the exquisite feather-lined , moss-bedecked enclosure of warmth and security made by the wren . 