To set the scene - Maggie, the wife of William's oldest friend, has suddenly admitted to William that she's been in love with him for years. Nonplussed, he now confides in another friend, Marcia, and asks her advice on how to handle the situation:
"Now what do I do? She's written to me and announced - announced, mind you, not asked - that she's coming to see me on Friday so that we can go out for dinner. What on earth can I do - tell her not to come? Not open the door to her?"
"No, you can hardly do that," said Marcia. "Just picture this ... this harridan pounding on the front door of Corduroy Mansions. Think of the gossip."
"She's no harridan," said William. "She's an extremely attractive woman. She's not a harridan at all."
"Trollop, then," said Marcia.
William looked incensed. "And she's not that either!"
"Well," countered Marcia, "here she is, a married woman, trying to start an affair. How do you know that she hasn't tried it with any number of men?:
"Don't be ridiculous!" snapped William. "She's an expert on Iris Murdoch."
From A Conspiracy of Friends
Yay! Romance (sort of) for William! (I had high hopes of reading this one in real time, but I didn't...looking forward to it).
Posted by: Audrey | 17 July 2011 at 10:48 PM