with an apology, left it to Owen and sat down on another divan opposite him. The girl stirred the coffee and poured out two little cups, one for her grandfather, one for Owen.
‘Both courtesy and hospitality,’ said Owen, ‘require thanks.’
The girl smiled at him and went out to replenish the coffee.
‘A good girl,’ said the old man, watching her fondly, ‘and with a mind of her own! Just like her grandmother.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘A disappointment, though!’
‘Oh, come –’
‘No, no. It’s true. Twenty-one and not married! In no time at all she’ll be past child-bearing –’
‘Plenty of time for that, surely?’ said Owen.
‘Well, yes, you’re quite right. In theory. But the years soon go. You know that when you’re as old as I am. And you’ve got to manage more than two. Two only replaces; you’ve got to do better than that if you want to expand. Four! Four children is what we’ve got to aim for. At least!’
‘Anyone as beautiful as your granddaughter should have no difficulty.’
‘Oh, there’s plenty of men who want to marry her. That’s not the problem. The difficulty is on her side. She won’t have them. Mind you,’ the old man conceded, ‘I can’t say I blame her. A spineless lot! No spirit! I’ve been looking at younger ones,’ he said, ‘the fifteen-year-olds, but it’s hard to tell at that age. They’re all so well behaved! Maybe one of them –’
‘For heaven’s sake. Grandfather!’ said the girl, coming back with the coffee. ‘Do we have to bore the Mamur Zapt with our intimate details?’
‘She’s quite right!’ said the old man. ‘She’s right again. You ought to have been a boy, Katarina; in fact, you ought to have been your father. A nice, gentle, loving man, but he hasn’t got your spirit!’
‘Grandfather! There you go again!’
‘She’s right! I’m getting too old, that’s the trouble. I must concentrate. Now, about these soldiers –’
‘Again, I must apologize.’
‘Well, men must be men, I suppose. If they were not, where would we be? Better that than the reverse. There are too many youngsters these days –’
‘Grandfather!’ said Katarina warningly.
‘Yes, well, as I was saying, men must be men. They were soldiers, after all. I was a soldier once –’
There was a faint sigh from Katarina.
‘Not only that,’ said Owen quickly, ‘the fighting started, or so I understand, over a question of honour. National honour.’
‘Really?’ said the old man.
‘Yes. Some of these soldiers are Welsh. That is to say, they come from the Pays de Galles. It’s part of Britain, a separate country, you understand, only we were taken over by England –’
‘A separate country? Taken over?’
‘A long time ago, of course. A very long time ago. Centuries.’
‘You said “we”.’
‘Well, I have to confess, I’m Welsh myself.’
‘You are? Well, that is most interesting. Most, in fact, encouraging. And these soldiers were Welsh?’
‘Half of them. Something stupid was said, whether it was by the Welsh or by the English, I don’t know, but exception was taken to the remark – they were looking for a fight, anyway, I imagine – and then the stupid idiots –’
‘Not stupid at all! Quite proper. One must defend one’s nation’s honour. And some of these were Welsh you say?’
‘Yes –’
‘There are mountains in Wales? I heard them singing of valleys and where there are valleys there must be –’
‘Hills, rather. Yes, the Welsh are very attached to their valleys.’
‘A mountaineering race?’
‘Well, no, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.’
‘You are too modest. Mountaineers and fighting men!’
‘Look, Wales is not exactly like the Caucasus –’
‘Too modest, too modest! But then, you don’t have to assert yourselves like us. We are only a small country.’
‘Wales, actually, is not that large.’
‘A small country tool!’ The old man almost rubbed his hands. Then there are affinities between us. Language? Now what is your language?’
‘Welsh. Look –’
‘A separate language? Distinct?’
‘Yes, but –’
‘Threatened?’ the old man said significantly.
‘Well, yes, there’s a danger of it dying out –’
The old man sat back.
‘Perhaps this is the answer to our prayers,’ he said.
‘I don’t quite –’
‘So many things in common. Perhaps we could stretch a point: Mingrelians and neighbouring countries.’
‘Neighbouring? They’re about a million miles apart.’
‘I was talking spiritually. Neighbouring in spirit. It’s reasonable. Sometimes we used to go out and capture a woman from a neighbouring tribe and there was never any difficulty about that. She soon became assimilated. Of course, that was a man taking a woman. It would be different if it was a woman taking a man. Of course, times are different now. More liberated. I see no reason why a woman shouldn’t take a husband from a neighbouring tribe, neighbouring spiritually, I mean –’
‘Grandfather!’ said Katarina, scandalized. She took him by the arm. ‘Come on!’ she said. ‘It’s time you went up for your nap!’
‘Yes, yes.’ He stood up shakily. Owen realized that he was far older than he appeared. ‘I accept your apology,’ he said suddenly.
‘Thank you. I can only repeat –’
‘But I’m not withdrawing the complaint.’
‘Not withdrawing the complaint? But –’
‘We have to stand up for ourselves. Even against our friends. We must not back down.’
‘But surely an apology –’
‘No. I feel half inclined, I must say, to accept it from the Welsh but not from the English, but that would hardly be fair. Anyway, what does it matter? What is a complaint? In Egypt?’
‘Well, we don’t like to leave complaints unanswered –’
‘Think nothing of it. Now that you have apologized, we shall not take military action.’
‘Thank you. But couldn’t you withdraw your complaint as well? The fact is, well, there was another complaint too, and it’s a bit awkward –’
‘Another complaint?’
‘Yes, from the Russian Chargé, actually, and we’re a bit afraid there might be international –’
‘Russian? Did you say Russian? The soldiers insulted him as well?’
‘Well, yes, I’m afraid so –’
‘Brave men! Magnificent men! There, what did I tell you?’ he said fiercely, snatching his arm from Katarina’s hold. ‘Men of spirit! God, that’s the way to treat the Russians! Our allies! Didn’t I tell you they were our natural allies?