And all the while this masked drama, played upon stilts as tall as trees and upon a lake that reflected not only the progress of the performers, but the moon over whose liquid image the monstrous Horse would invariably stumble as though he had been tripped – all the while the silence continued unbroken. For although a strong strain of the ridiculous ran through everything, this was not the dominant impression. When the Horse-creature tripped or waved its parasol; when the Wolf was thwarted and its lower jaw fell open like a drawbridge; when the Lamb cast its eyes to the moon, only to be distracted in the throes of its sanctity by the whisking of the Lion’s mane – when these things happened there was no laughter but only a kind of relief, for the grandeur of the spectacle, and the godlike rhythms of each sequence were of such a nature that there were few present who were not affected as by some painful memory of childhood.
At last, the time-hallowed ritual drew to its end, and the lofty creatures stepped from the shallow lake, and turning before they disappeared into the deep woods, bowed across the shallows to Titus, as might the gods of Poetry and Battle bow to one another, as equals across enchanted water.
The Four, as they departed, took the silence with them. The rest of the night was by way of being a release from perfection, and was given over to every kind of scattered activity.
Between the bonfires that surrounded the lake and warmed the air above the chestnut forest, fresh fires were being lit, and under the lake-ward boughs hampers and baskets of provisions were being unpacked.
The Countess of Groan, who had remained throughout the masque as immovable as the log on which she sat, now turned her head over her shoulder.
But Titus was no longer on the platform, nor was Fuchsia at her side.
She rose from the log, the traditional place of honour, and moved abstractedly down to the lake’s edge between lines of functionaries, who on seeing her rise knew that they were now free for the rest of the night to disport themselves as they wished.
Against the shimmering lake her massive form loomed darkly save for the moonlight on her shoulders and her dark red hair.
She gazed about her but seemed to be unaware of the crowds that thronged the water’s edge.
A giant picnic was piecing itself together as the fish and fruit and loaves and pies were laid out beneath the trees, and it was not long before the lake was surrounded by an unbroken feast.
And while all these preparations were going on, shrill packs of urchins raced through the chestnut woods, swarmed among the branches, or streaming out of the trees, pranced or cart-wheeled to the centre of the lake, their reflections flying beneath them, and the film of water spouting from their feet. And when a pack would meet its rival pack, then hand to hand, a hundred watery combats would churn the shallows, as scattered over the aqueous arena the children grappled, the moonlight sliding on their slippery limbs.
And Titus watching longed with his whole being to be anonymous – to be lost within the core of such a breed – to be able to live and run and fight and laugh and if need be, cry, on his own. For to be one of those wild children would have been to be
Fuchsia had signalled him to jump from the platform, and together they had raced into the chestnut woods immediately behind, and for a moment or two, in the darkness, they had held each other in the deep shadows of the trees and had heard one another’s hearts beating.
‘It was wicked of me,’ said Fuchsia at last, ‘and dangerous. We are supposed to have our midnight supper at the long table, with mother. And we must go back soon.’
‘You can if you like,’ said Titus, who was trembling with a deep hatred of his status. ‘But I’m leaving.’
‘Leaving?’
‘Leaving for ever,’ said Titus. ‘For ever and ever. I am going into the wild, like … Flay … and like that …’
But he could think of no way to describe that wisp of a creature who had floated through a forest of gold oaks.
‘You can’t do that,’ said Fuchsia. ‘You would die and I wouldn’t let you.’
‘You couldn’t stop me,’ cried Titus. ‘Nobody could stop me –’ and he began to tear off the long grey tunic, as though it were in his path.
But Fuchsia, her lips trembling, held his arms to his sides.
‘No! no!’ she whispered passionately. ‘Not now, Titus. You can’t …’
But with a jerk he freed himself, but immediately tripped in the darkness and fell upon his face. When he raised himself, and saw his sister above him he pulled her down, so that she knelt at his side. In the distance they could hear the cries of the children by the lake, and then, suddenly, the harsh ringing of a bell.
