She had written to Mrs Crominski informing her of her decision, and suggesting at the same time that her presence at the interview was not strictly necessary. Mrs Crominski had replied. To the first, natural, she was delighted; to the second, natural she understood. She hadn’t really understood it at all, but she was still prepared to make concessions to the loser. She decided it would be Madame Sousatzka’s last fling. Madame Sousatzka was a little nervous of tackling Manders on her own, and she had asked Jenny to go with them. Marcus was up early at the piano, and Sousatzka was still in her bedroom dressing. She had tried on her entire wardrobe, trying various combinations of colours and accessories. The women’s magazine lay open on the bed with an article entitled ‘Start from Scratch’. Madame Sousatzka took everything off until she reached the scratch condition. Tabula Rasa. ‘The first thing you must do if you have an important date is to start from scratch,’ the article said.
