Maynard's War Chapter 24
None of these men deserve you
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March 1917
Keynes had enjoyed seeing Virginia and Duncan. It occurred to him that the benefits of friendship were more obvious when enjoyed individually or in small groups. They had all known each other for so long that things could get a little fractious when, as was usually the case, they all got together over lunch or dinner. Duncan would always be complicated but he looked forward to spending more time with Virginia and Vanessa, and even with Leonard and Clive, once the war was over.
His return to work this Monday morning was not going well, however. Nearly three months into Lloyd George’s Prime Ministership, not just the policies, but also the tone of government had changed completely. Any possibility of a negotiated peace had evaporated when, in response to an invitation from President Wilson to both sides to state their minimum conditions for an end to the war, Lloyd George presented a list of demands which amounted to nothing less than total German capitulation. The war was going to be won on the Allies’ terms, though without the Americans, Keynes could not see how.
At his first meeting with the new Prime Minister, Keynes had been obliged to explain the extent to which Britain was underwriting the war efforts of the French and the Russians. Lloyd George couldn’t believe what he was hearing, although he stopped short of blaming Keynes for the parlous state of affairs. Despite their history, Keynes had been impressed by the manner in which Lloyd George had taken control.
Asquith had been an exceptional Prime Minister, but he could lack decisiveness. Lloyd George never stalled over an important decision, but he did hold grudges. Keynes had been in line for an honour at New Year until Lloyd George had his name removed from the list. Keynes drew consolation from the fact that nobody could remember a Prime Minister intervening in such a fashion. If Lloyd George had to resort to such pettiness, then Keynes could be confident in his position at the Treasury.
Despite the abject failure of the Somme offensive, Lloyd George’s plan was still to go all out for a quick victory. He accepted Keynes’ warnings about funding but was determined to carry on, calculating that the problem of finance would disappear once victory was achieved. It was not a strategy Keynes thought likely to succeed. He was left with no choice but to manage the nation’s spending by slightly exaggerating the extent of the financial crisis during January and February. He never lied, and he never committed to paper anything that wasn’t accurate.
He found an ally in his new boss, Bonar Law, and although they never spoke about it, he and Law knew exactly what they were doing. Keynes hoped that by delaying the inevitable, at least he would buy some time. Some Treasury colleagues were arguing, once again, that Britain should come off the gold standard, but even Lloyd George recognised this would send a message to the Germans that the allies were in dire straits.
Then, just as the Government’s hand was about to be forced, the Germans began submarine action against US merchant shipping bringing supplies to Britain. Keynes was summoned to a meeting with the American ambassador, Walter Page, who asked him for an honest appraisal of the financial situation. The two men agreed that time was up. Page would write to Washington urging Wilson to declare war on Germany. It was the only way the United States could insulate itself from the financial crisis enveloping Europe. Once again Keynes found himself torn: had the Germans not increased their U-boat operations, the allies would have been forced into negotiations and the war might have been over within weeks. But if the President heeded his ambassador’s advice and America did enter the war, it would likely go on for months with further heavy casualties on both sides.
Vanessa wasn’t entirely sure she was still in control. On the face of it her plan to secure Duncan by ensuring his relationship with Bunny could continue was working. The three of them were living under the same roof and both men were safe from military service. But they were fighting endlessly, with Vanessa stuck firmly in the middle. Bunny disappeared up to London whenever he had a day off. She knew he was conducting a series of affairs with women and Duncan suspected the same. Whenever he left, Duncan was distraught. When he returned, they argued. Bunny was indignant that Duncan didn’t trust him, and their arguments would regularly leave him in tears and Vanessa to patch things up.
Both of them took her into their confidence: it was bad enough counselling the man you loved in respect of his relationship with another man. It was even harder counselling the other man, knowing the only thing keeping him here was the sanctuary it provided from military call up. Duncan’s inability to complete a full day of physical work inevitably meant Bunny having to do more than his share, and he was fed up with it. It wasn’t just the lack of gratitude, Bunny was exhausted.
Nonetheless, with no end to the war in sight, he had no option but to stay. If he were to leave for good, Farmer Hecks would likely terminate Duncan’s employment. She couldn’t face the prospect of another move, especially as she had fallen in love with Charleston.
At least she had the days to herself: each morning she would supervise the cleaning, washing and meal planning before heading into Lewes on her bicycle for whatever provisions they needed, were available and could be afforded. Her domestic duties were usually complete by mid-morning at which point she would head to up to her studio to paint. Despite everything, she was getting more satisfaction from her work than at any time previously. She was about to return to it when there was a knock on the kitchen door and Virginia entered.
“Hello stranger,” she said, as Virginia removed her coat.
“Hello to you,” Virginia said. “Is it convenient?”
“I’m hardly going to send you away. You’re my sister.”
“Good. Are you going to ask me how I got here?”
“Did you walk? I assume you came from Asheham not Richmond?”
“Yes, we came down yesterday. Thought we’d take advantage of the warmer weather to open the place up and let some air in.”
“How has the house survived the winter?”
“Not too badly according to Leonard. He found evidence of only one new leak in the roof, so he’s not unduly worried.”
“Don’t tell me, he’s gone into Lewes to buy a bucket?”
“Among other essential provisions.” They both laughed. “So how are you? Did Duncan tell you we ran into each other?”
“He did. He said you had a very pleasant day together.” Vanessa knew not to repeat what Duncan had actually said: that Virginia seemed much better.
“And you saw Maynard as well?”
“Yes. He looked rather tired, I thought.”
“I’m happy to accept his poor behaviour is largely a consequence of overwork. He must be exhausted. But it doesn’t make things any easier when he comes down here creating mayhem. I have enough of that to deal with during the week.”
“Poor Vanessa. You need to stand up for yourself. Don’t let people take you for granted.”
Vanessa bit her tongue. “If you’re talking about Duncan, you needn’t worry. I know what I’m doing and I’m getting what I want from the relationship.”
“But having Bunny under the same roof, and sharing Duncan’s bed?”
“That’s not strictly true. Duncan moves between Bunny’s bed and mine. He does have his own bed of course, but he’s never in it.”
“And you really don’t mind this arrangement?”
“To be quite honest Virginia, I’d be happy still to have a proper marriage with Clive, but that turned out not to be possible. Yes, I’d be happier having Duncan all to myself, but that too is not possible, for the time being at least. But he’s here. I see him every day. He loves me. It’s not perfect, but it’s the way things are.”
Vanessa was shocked at what Virginia said next: “Well I think you are a remarkable woman. And none of these men deserve you.”
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