Maynard's War Chapter 6
Back to Gordon Square
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January 2015
Vanessa was relieved that she and Bunny had arrived first at Gordon Square; it would give her time to ensure everything was in place. She knew that despite Maynard’s announcement, most of the guests would arrive before the planned 11pm start.
She was annoyed to see that the fire in the drawing room had been allowed to burn down. “Bunny,” she said, pointing to the scuttle, “be a darling and put some more coal on the fire would you? It’s freezing in here.”
“Yes, of course,” he replied.
“Thank you,” Vanessa said, watching him for long enough to be sure he knew what he was doing. Most men were useless when it came to practical tasks but Bunny was clearly cut from different cloth. She heard Clive coming up the stairs, glasses clinking in his fingers.
“So Bunny, what did you think of Maynard’s friends?” he asked as he entered the room.
“I must say I was surprised at how gossipy they were for such eminent people.”
“From what I hear, you’re rather well connected yourself,” Vanessa said.
“Not really, well, not on my own account, more through my father’s work.”
“We all have much to thank our fathers for, don’t we Clive? And of course, you’re still so young.” She was pleasantly tipsy and in the mood for some fresh male company. She also wanted to find out as much about Duncan’s new friend as she could.
“It was very kind of Maynard to invite me,” Bunny said.
“Oh, he’s always very kind,” Vanessa answered.
“Yes, well, I felt very well looked after.”
Vanessa moved towards Bunny and removed an imaginary piece of fluff from his lapel. “Good,” she said. “I hope you enjoy what remains of the evening.” She looked at Clive and was pleased to see his irritation at her flirting with the younger man.
“What can have happened to Maynard and Duncan. I thought their cab was right behind ours,” Clive said.
“I think they’ve just pulled up,” Bunny answered, looking out of the window.
“We don’t have to wait for them you know,” Vanessa said, holding out her glass.
“Sorry Darling. Here you are.” As Clive poured the champagne, Duncan came in throwing his coat onto the sofa nearest the door.
“We thought we’d lost you,” Bunny said, smiling broadly.
“I wanted a few minutes with Maynard. We asked the driver to take his time.”
“Of course you did,” Vanessa said, “now where is he?”
“He’s talking to the cabbie about something.”
“No doubt catching up on news from across the channel,” Clive said.
“Oh, let’s not talk about the war, please, not tonight. We’re supposed to be celebrating,” Vanessa begged.
“You’re quite right,” Clive said to Vanessa’s surprise. “Maynard finally has the job he’s been coveting ever since this ghastly war broke out.”
Keynes swept into the room. “I wouldn’t use the word covet, Clive. It’s true, I had been hoping for an opportunity to assist the government at this difficult time, but I did have plenty to keep me occupied in Cambridge, you know.”
“You said all the best students had gone since the war started.”
“It is true that life has become a little dull. But I was pleased to help out at the military hospital. Awful state some of those chaps are in.”
“Maynard, please, we’ve agreed not to talk about the war, just for tonight,” Vanessa said.
“Of course.”
“So what exactly will you be doing at the Treasury?” Clive asked.
“Pretty much running the place, to be honest,” Keynes answered. “Officially I’m assistant to George Paish. He’s Lloyd George’s adviser on international finance. Well, he was until he fell out with the Welsh wizard, which is why I’m back.”
“I never understood why they didn’t they keep you on last summer, after you sorted out that gold problem. You saved the day didn’t you?” Clive asked again.
“Yes, it was my memorandum that persuaded Lloyd George to alter course. And a good job too: they were shipping gold out of the Bank of England by the cartload.”
“How bad was it?” Bunny joined the conversation.
“Well, if they hadn’t heeded my advice there would have been a full-blown run on the banks. We had to shut the stock exchange as it was. It only re-opened last week, after five months.”
“Yes, but that was because of war, surely?” Clive asked.
“Actually no. It would have been necessary whether or not Germany had gone into Belgium. Europe’s economies took fright at the prospect of war some time before, and with most of them owing huge sums to our banks, a liquidity crisis was inevitable.”
“But if the country had gone bankrupt, might not Asquith have thought twice about declaring war?” Clive asked.
“I doubt it. Purely political decision. Go to war today. Work out how to pay for it tomorrow.”
“And have they worked out how to pay for it?” Bunny asked.
“No.”
“Which is presumably why you’re back. So you can tell them how they might pay for the war?”
“I thought you’d forbidden all mention of the war, Vanessa.”
“I’m happy to make an exception, so you can attempt to justify your decision to work for this dreadful government in support of its hideous war.”
Keynes sighed. “Whatever one thinks about it, the fact is we are at war. And if we are to prevail, we must ensure that the allied powers remain solvent.”
Duncan, who had been looking at the painting hanging above the fireplace, and was now rather the worse for drink, suddenly exclaimed: “And Maynard is probably the only man in the country who can do that.”
“Thank you Duncan. Let’s hope you’re right.”
“But if the prospect of war was sufficiently strong to cause such problems over there,” Vanessa asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of France, “how come we heard so little about it over here? Surely you should have known what was going on Maynard?”
Keynes thought for a moment. “Perhaps,” he began, “we were all guilty of taking life too much for granted, of happily making our way in the world. You had your painting and those wonderful exhibitions. Then there was Mr Diaghilev and his marvellous ballet. We seemed finally to have escaped the century-long Victorian winter. The world was changing, and as far as we could tell, for the better. It never occurred to us we might be on the verge of war.”
“You’re right.” Clive said. “Only last spring the world was so full of promise. Especially for people like us.”
“What do you mean, people like us?” Vanessa asked.
“We could do whatever we wanted, and we did,” Clive continued. “And there’s no reason why it shouldn’t have continued. Nothing happened to make war inevitable. It was the damn fool politicians. None was strong enough to stand up to their idiot masters: the Kaiser’s a bully, the Tsar thinks he’s God, and the King, well, the less said about him the better.”
“But Vanessa has a point, doesn’t she?” Duncan enquired, “There wasn’t a great deal in the newspapers in the run up to war?”
“It’s true, there wasn’t much in the press. But then who wants to read bad news when everything appears to be going so well.” Keynes said.
“But surely,” Bunny suggested, “they have a duty to report what’s going on the world.”
“I’m not sure they feel under a duty to anything except to sell as many copies as they can,” Keynes answered, careful not to be too brusque with Bunny.
“Which means glorifying every aspect of this horrendous war. I can’t believe the way people are lapping up the dreadful guff about patriotic duty,” Vanessa said, crossly.
“Fly the flag, demonise the enemy and celebrate our victories, even if they are largely imagined, and bury news of casualties at the back,” Clive agreed.
There was a short silence, the kind that comes when a group of people realise they’ve allowed a conversation to run out of control. It fell to Duncan to restore some order. “Oh come on,” he said, slurring slightly. “Aren’t we supposed to be celebrating? How about a toast to wish Maynard well in his new job? May his efforts ensure not only that we win the war, but that we do so quickly and with mercifully little loss of life.”
As glasses were raised, the doorbell rang. Vanessa had arranged for some musicians to play. She asked Duncan and Bunny to escort them upstairs and arrange the furniture so everyone would have a decent view. She sent Clive downstairs to check on the refreshments, so she and Keynes were left alone in the room.
“I’m sorry Maynard,” she said, “I didn’t mean to give you a hard time. I am pleased for you. You’ve seemed a bit down of late.”
“I suppose I have been. Ever since losing out to your brother for Duncan’s affections I’ve rather buried myself in work. And then the frustration of watching the government make such an unholy mess of the war.”
“Well, now you’ll be able to put that remarkable brain of yours to good use.”
“Yes, I am looking forward to it, but,” Keynes stopped mid-sentence and sighed.
“What?”
“Oh I don’t know, it’s not just work.”
“You’re still in love with Duncan.”
“I was stupid enough to think that with Adrian getting married, Duncan might find his way to having me back.”
“And he won’t?”
“Not a chance. He made that painfully clear in the taxi just now.”
“Poor Maynard. My brother certainly surprised us all with his sudden conversion.”
“Yes. I never expected all these boys to get married. Should I be doing the same do you think?”
“You, Married? I can’t see it. In any case, no good will come of all this settling down and marrying just to be seen to be doing the right thing.”
“But wouldn’t it be easier to do as convention demands.”
“Too many people settle for meaningless relationships, Maynard. It’s no way to live.”
“I’m sure you’re right. It’s funny though. If people knew what I’d been up to these last fifteen years, they wouldn’t be summoning me to the Treasury, they’d be sending me to gaol.”
“Convention has a lot of catching up to do.”
“True.”
“At least Duncan is still his old self, even it is with the wrong man.”
“And he’s not wasted any time, has he? How long as he known Bunny?”
“Not long. They got together at Lytton’s over Christmas. Things came to a head on Boxing Day apparently.”
“And do we know anything about him?”
“He’s a botanist. Good family though.”
“Isn’t he a bit young for Duncan?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Duncan can be quite young when it suits him. He is very kind, Bunny, and rather good looking,” Vanessa said, smiling.
“It sounds pathetic, but despite everything, I still want Duncan to be happy.”
“We both want Duncan to be happy.” They stood in silence for a moment. “Did I hear you say you were seeing my sister soon?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes, I ran into Leonard the other day. He invited me down to Richmond, it’ll be good to catch up.”
“You must give them my love. Virginia seems so much better. This time last year I thought she may never recover. She does look different though. You wouldn’t have thought such an illness could change someone’s physical appearance. She was always the beautiful one. Now her beauty seems hidden behind a veil of fear.”
“It must have been very difficult for you.”
“It’s always been difficult with Virginia, as you know. But Leonard has borne the brunt of it this time. I really don’t know how he copes with her on his own.”
“He’s a funny chap, Leonard.”
“He is. But he’s perfect for Virginia, and quite devoted to her.”
“Lytton remains very fond of him,” Keynes said wistfully.
“Not that anything ever came of that.”
“Oh no. Leonard has always been a ladies’ man.”
They heard the sound of violins being tuned. “I think we’d better go up,” Vanessa said. “I feel uncomfortable leaving Duncan alone with Bunny.”
“Yes, we must keep a close eye on young Garnett. You know how easily upset Duncan can be.”
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