Bill cast a tolerant look in his general direction and appeared to be about to enlarge on Willie Henry's thesis when Jim spoke: "It's not going to last, is it?"

What was this anyway? They'd been getting ready to drink Bill's blood before the priest came in and now it was all sweetness and light. I wasn't exactly in the right condition to get to the bottom of the new dispensation and of course I'd missed a few instalments but it nearly seemed in my tender state of mind as if Hourigan had been maybe sent in by God Himself. For behold, every mountain and hill shall be made low and the something shall be made straight? And the something something smooth?

"What's not going to last?" said Bill. "The war?"

"No, I mean America," said Jim. "Sure it's an empire isn't it? And empires all end, right?"

Bill was in his element now. I saw him throw one or two darting looks at my pyjama bottoms but he was on a roll and not inclined to be sidetracked. "It is. It's been an empire for well over a hundred years now and as for lasting I'd give it another couple of hundred years at most. No, you have to remember that the founding fathers had this thing in their heads called manifest destiny. That meant they thought they'd got approval from God Himself to invade any country they wanted if it was for America's good. This is what makes them so dangerous you see. It's the sense of entitlement that they have."

The scullery door swung open and there was Mammy with a steaming teapot in one hand and a plate of Madeira in the other. I didn't buy Madeira. Somebody must have brought it in. The rest of the caterers, four in number, stood in a row behind her carrying trays of cups and saucers, milk and sugar and platefuls of spring-sprongs and sandwiches.

I actually don't know what they'd been at out in the scullery all that time unless it takes five women to make a pot of tea. Because every single salad sandwich had been prepared by me and it was me that bought the spring-sprongs in Strains. Bonding probably, that's what women do isn't it? Strange mysterious people, I'll never understand them. Hurrying me to tighten the bonds and her still wet from the shower that time and the halter neck plastered to her skin and the deep dark hollows underneath, mother of God, and the Flower Duet playing above the beating, louder than her squeals even.