The hopeless fantasies of the Spenceans were too painful, and even the thought of saying that he was walking away made him churn with guilt. He had not been to one of their meetings in more than a fortnight, and they had doubtless assumed he was another apostate. He might as well never go back. It would have been easier not to, and therefore he went.He was greeted with a little surprise, a lot of warmth. Davidson clapped him on the back. “Good to see you again, Mason. You’re the very man we want, and just in time.”“That’s right,” Thistlewood said. “We need determination now. Steady hands and unwavering courage. We will prevail.”He didn’t look like he’d prevail. He looked ravenous, as they all did, with sunken eyes and dull skin. Unwashed, unshaved, animal, because they’d been pushed too far down to be men.Silas couldn’t stop fighting this. Nobody should stop fighting this.“And d’you see what we’ve got?” Davidson said, with an effort at enthusiasm. “See this?
