“Be as the well, bottomless, not as the pump that needs priming.” But he was the pump and the priming he needed was sight of her. He had to wait through eight and a half hours of gestures of work and then when he got home to Lilliput Lodge, Tomelty was there. She had arranged to let Ralph know – “I don’t like him,” he had said, “I don’t want to see him” – by putting Barbra-Bear in the window when Tomelty was at home. And there was the thing, lolling against the pane. “Why don’t you like Jack?” Ralph had told her, “Because he’s your husband.” He went up to his flat. When he opened the door the cat was already watching his face with its split eyes. God knew for how long and from how many miles away it had watched him. He had asked her what Tomelty said about him. Tomelty could say whatever suited his purpose and Ralph felt desperate at the idea of such opportunity. “Don’t you see?”
