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‘Tell me, how many Jews do you number among your personal friends?’
‘According to you I don’t have personal friends, I only have business friends.’
‘Except your girl-friends of course. I’ve noticed with interest that three of your women since me have been Jewish.’
‘For God’s sake,’ said Anna. ‘I’m going home.’ And she actually got off the window-sill. Molly laughed, got up and pushed her down again. ‘You’ve got to stay. Be chairman, we obviously need one.’
‘Very well,’ said Anna, determined. ‘I will. So stop wrangling. What’s it all about, anyway? The fact is, we all agree, we all give the same advice, don’t we?’
‘Do we?’ said Richard.
‘Yes. Molly thinks you should offer Tommy a job in one of your things.’ Like Molly, Anna spoke with automatic contempt of Richard’s world, and he grinned in irritation.
‘One of my things? And you agree, Molly?’
‘If you’d give me a chance to say so, yes.’
‘There we are,’ said Anna. ‘No grounds even for argument.’
Richard now poured himself a whisky, looking humorously patient; and Molly waited, humorously patient.
‘So it’s all settled?’ said Richard.
‘Obviously not,’ said Anna. ‘Because Tommy has to agree.’
‘So we’re back where we started. Molly, may I know why you aren’t against your precious son being mixed up with the hosts of mammon?’
‘Because I’ve brought him up in such a way that - he’s a good person. He’s all right.’
‘So he can’t be corrupted by me?’ Richard spoke with controlled anger, smiling. ‘And may I ask where you get your extraordinary assurance about your values - they’ve taken quite a knock in the last two years, haven’t they?’
The two women exchanged glances, which said: He was bound to say it, let’s get it over with.
‘It hasn’t occurred to you that the real trouble with Tommy is that he’s been surrounded half his life with communists or so-called communists - most of the people he’s known have been mixed up in one way and another. And now they’re all leaving the Party, or have left - don’t you think it might have had some effect?’
‘Well, obviously,’ said Molly.
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About
The Golden Notebook is a collaboration between if:book London and Apt.
Principal funding by Arts Council England.
HarperCollins, the publisher of The Golden Notebook, digitized the book for us and generously gave permission to reproduce it here in its entirety at no cost.
Additional support from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and New York University
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