I replied in the affirmative and made suitable preparations. Indeed I determined to do him proud; partly from genuine family affection and partly from a desire to show him that his young brother was now a knowledgeable and sophisticated person, able to steer his way through the London deeps. I saw to the drinks, laid in some of the cigars which, following the line of Uncle Alfred, John sometimes smoked, booked a table at one of the small restaurants then fashionable (I forget its name) and secured a couple of stalls for a revue. I met John at Kings Cross. He looked tired, I thought. I put on an act of gaiety and welcome, determined to make him think I was enjoying his company. He did not make any of those crushing comments which I was accustomed to receive from my family, indeed he did not say much of any kind, but looked around him silently with an air of interest in my flat and in the restaurant, where he drank a good deal but seemed apathetic about the excellent food. To my dutiful enquiries about the family he replied shortly: father was not too well, Edie was pretty fair, Muriel and Joyce were training as nurses and Anne was taking a course in secretarial work.
