Chapter 36 Chapter Thirty-Five

The grooms of the Bel-Air Riding School were tending a considerable number of horses that neighed and kicked, but the only riders present at the moment were Madeline and Byron.Madeleine's entire outfit was brand new just out of the cardboard box: buff breeches, soft aluminum shiny brown riding boots, and a man's hat with feathers.Byron wore a Warren's Annapolis Naval Academy sweatshirt, faded dungaree overalls, and espadrilles.A dirty groom looked him over, and brought in a horse named Jack.Frost's tall horse with pure black fur.Byron adjusted the stirrups on both sides and got on the horse.Jack.Frost immediately stuck his ears together, rolled his red eyeballs, and ran like crazy towards the canyon.This horse has a lot of horsepower, but it runs smoothly and smoothly. Byron Thorxing let go of the rein and let it run happily.When he passed a white millstone that was in the way on the path, Jack.Frost kicked his hooves into the air, hunched his back, hissed loudly, and snorted, performing a Hollywood thriller.Byron struggled to keep himself from being thrown from the saddle.The horse evidently came to the conclusion that the man was a good rider, and fell silent, turning his head and giving him a questioning look.Byron saw Madeline also follow the path a long way behind, passing Jack.The dust that Frost raised and is now sinking. "Well, you like to run, so run, horse," he said, clamping his legs. "keep going."

Jack.Frost hurriedly started again, jumped up a steep winding mountain path, and went straight to the top of the mountain along the slope of the canyon with lightning speed, which made people's hair stand on end.When it reached the top of the mountain, it stood still, bowed its head and gasped, making a sound like a whale spouting water.After this shock, Byron felt refreshed physically and mentally. He immediately got off his horse, tied it to a tree, and sat on a big rock to rest by himself.After a while, he heard the hooves of the horses below, and Madeleine came up, covered in dust. "What happened to your horse?" she asked aloud.

"I guess it needs to be active." She giggled and asked Byron to help him off the horse. "I thought it might be an appointment to go to San Francisco for a breakfast." They sat side by side on a broad, flat rock, looking across the canyon to the sunlit range of rough mountains.Birds chased food on the rocks, and goshawks circled in mid-air below them, screaming sharply.Both horses were puffing and kicking, clinking their saddle harnesses.This sound made the silence on the mountain top even more. Byron waited for her to speak.She begged him for this horseback riding trip, and she didn't explain why.After a while he said, "No trouble, Maddy?"

"Oh, Braney, I've been in a lot of trouble. No! No!" She couldn't help laughing. "Look at your face! As sharp as a teletype, dear brother. My God, did I get a bad one that time! I'm not pregnant, Blaney. Don't point the gun at anybody." He scratched his scalp and forced a smile. She waved a finger at him angrily. "Look at you thinking such bad things about your sister! No, I'm trying to change jobs, but"—she quickly lit a cigarette with a gold lighter—"I can't Talk to you about it in front of Mom." "Is it okay for you to smoke here? I saw a sign saying this canyon is fire prone."

She shrugged and took a deep breath. "You remember Lenny. Spreleggen?" "certainly." "Universal asked him to be a producer. He asked me to be his assistant." "What does Cleveland say?" "Furious! Furious." She smiled at Byron.A flush came to her cheeks, and her eyes shone eagerly. "I can't help but think about it, can't I? From one hundred and fifty a week to two hundred a week, that's a pretty big upgrade, you see." "No, what a generosity, Med. It would be better to take this opportunity to get rid of Cleveland."

Her face was still gentle and lovely, but the firm tone peculiar to the Henry family could already be heard. "Well, you always underestimate Hugh, don't you? The audience loves him. Of course, making movies is better than selling soap and laxatives, but I've got a solid job right now. Hugh even gave me money from his company. A small stake. It's a really nerve-wracking choice." "Madeline, you should seize Universal's opportunity." "Tell me one thing. Has Hugh offended you in any way? If so, it must have been unintentional. He thinks you are terrible."

"He doesn't know me." "You want me to? I bet you kissed me at Janice's because of him. Did you?" She grinned at him mischievously. "I bet it's still on your mind. My God, you had that murderous look in your eyes when you told me you'd seen us both." Byron was still willing to expunge this from his memory: the fat, slender, married man holding Madeleine in his arms, her skirt turned up to reveal pink thighs and snow-white garter belt. "Well, you want me to give you an idea. I've done that." "Brani,"—her voice softened—"Hugh Cleveland offered to marry me." Byron's face was blank.She went on hastily, flushing, "That's the trouble. So I've got to talk to someone. Ma's all about seriousness, and she's going to be pissed off about it. Besides, she's got enough questions." Why—why, you don't look happy for being so silent, good brother! But you don't know Hugh. He's just like us, my dear, and he's a very sensible, soft-hearted, lonely man. Single people."

"Isn't it enough to have a wife and three children?" Madeline smiled wryly. "It seems to me that it has to be done." "Did he propose to you?" "Oh, honey, there's no such thing as a proposal these days." She waved her hand contemptuously. "Have you proposed to Natalie?" "Of course, a lot of talking." "Well, you're a rare curio. We're all Henry's. Divorce is going on." "Is he working on it?" Byron stood up, paced up and down, and stepped on the mud full of small stones, making a creaking sound. "You should talk to Dad."

"Papa? Don't mention it. He'll get Hugh with the whip." "Did he leave his wife for you?" "Oh, Clare, his wife, is a monster, totally insane, a stupid woman, and he married at twenty-one. Scared like crazy of losing him, and yet trying to crush him Excuse me. All she knows is to run to the psychoanalyst. Spend money like a duchess. But no, a year ago she went around crazy, talking nonsense, slandering me, and saying so many threats. Had to buy a mink coat to beg her to appease her. She's such a shameless thing, Blaney, and I'm telling the truth. Of course, she's got the kids to torture him."

"Listen to me. Go find Universal today." He stopped, standing in front of her. "Tell that guy to work at his place on Monday." "I guess you would say that." She looked up at him solemnly, but her voice was trembling. "I'm not sure I can do it." A surge of disgust and heartbreaking sympathy for his sister surged into Byron's heart, and he said, "That's very true, then." "yes." His voice trailed off. "How true is it?" "I told you." Her tone became irritating again. "There's no need for a horsewhip and a shotgun for this one. But it's very real."

He looked at her face carefully and sighed deeply.The girl's gentle and frank face was as impenetrable as a leather mask. "How old is he?" "Thirty-four." She glanced at her watch. "Brother, you've got to pick up Mom in the car and take her to meet us at the Warner Bros. Studio lunchroom. Let's just ride back." "Maybe I'll talk to him in the studio." The Peugeot leather mask showed a slight look of longing, as if he was relieved. "You? What are you talking about?" "Just talk about it." She curled her lips. "Will you take a shotgun, my dear brother?" "No. If he's going to marry you, he should be willing to talk to me." "I can't keep you from talking. Do as you please." She put a foot in the stirrup. "Get my feet up, Blaney, we're late." In the spacious, full, and sunny cafeteria on the grounds of the Warner Bros. studio, Rhoda opened his eyes wide, stretched his neck, and stared intently. Said, "Look, Maddy, isn't that Humphrey Bogart?—my favorite star, and Betty Davis! She looks so young off the screen." stop.Cleveland explained to her that the big stars had their own fancy dining rooms, but sometimes they liked to stop by the staff lunchroom for a sandwich and a glass of milk.Like a movie star, Cleveland came to lunch in a dressing gown, with his movie makeup on his face.Byron saw him in this way and hated him again, but his smug conversation clearly amused Rhoda, and he impressed her with his tactful, breezy air.Both radio broadcasts—the original "After Hours" and the Military Broadcast—are appealing, and a short film in production looks set to do even more.Madeline's one hundred and fifty dollars a week was about double Byron's salary on the submarine; if she accepted Universal's offer, she could make more than her father's salary as the captain of a heavy cruiser. What's going on here?After lunch, he visited the filming of the short film, and Byron was very disgusted.Soldiers and sailors became cheap fodder for Cleveland's pretended off-the-cuff jokes, printed on large cardboard blocks high up out of the camera's reach.Not an audience.Madeline later explained that the director would splice in shots of the audience rapt, laughing, and applauding.Byron felt that even if all these fake tricks were successful, such a film might not be comfortable to watch.Just a radio broadcaster and nothing else, pretending to be casual and making fun of some mediocre kids in military uniform that he has no airs.The sights and sounds of the entertainment industry, though very low-grade, clearly fascinated his mother.Byron was glad that she had this chance of forgetting her grief for a while; as for himself, he was bored and bored, yawn after yawn, until his jaws ached. When it was time for a break, and the filming was suspended, Cleveland came to them with a big smile on his face, and brought two paper cups of coffee. "You seem to need this more than I do, Admiral." Madeline hurried over. "Mother, Byron! Humphrey. Bogart is making a sound picture in the next room. Want to see it?" "Is that okay?" Rhoda asked eagerly. "Of course." "I'm so dazzled," Rhoda said after her. Byron couldn't sit still, and Cleveland asked him, "Not interested?" "Can Mr. Cleveland talk to you?" "What's up?" "Madeline told me Universal wanted to hire her." "Oh, come on." Byron walked with him into a laminated dressing room, and they sat down together on chairs facing a mirror framed with lights. "Byron, don't make her take that job." "Why not? People give a lot of money." "Lenny Spreleggen is a passable screenwriter, he's not an executive. He got there by being a gab. He's a communist, and not only that, he's a disreputable communist. He can't stay at Universal. Long, once he's gone—Madeline won't be able to stand up in Hollywood, she'll have no one to rely on, she'll have to go." "She said you were going to marry her." "Oh, hehe!" Cleveland smiled all over his face, and stroked the hair on the back of his head. "Well, just call me Hugh, okay?" He looked at a cheap alarm clock on the dressing table, drank his coffee, stood up, and said haha, "Drink coffee for a while, Let's not open that can of beans, hey, Admiral? How long have you been fruiting here?" "I'm on leave until tonight." Byron also stood up and blocked the small door.This was an unintentional move, but in this way, Cleveland couldn't get out. "She said you were getting a divorce." Cleveland gestured politely, and was about to walk towards the door.Byron ignored his gesture.To get out, the submarine officer had to be pushed aside.His plump face became gloomy, but in a blink of an eye he showed a cheerful and attentive smile again.He sat on the dressing table with half of his buttocks, stretched out his hand to touch his chin, and followed Byron's serious face with his eyes.As he tousled his hair with both hands, he let out a soft moan. "Well, Byron. To give you a brief introduction, this is what it is. Clare, my wife, is a very miserable and unfortunate woman. I will not say anything bad about her. We have three wonderful children. But We have nothing in common other than that. Sexual demands are zero - not on my side. On her side. It's a hell of a life, I hope it never happens to you. The two of us I have talked to a lawyer, but this type of procedure is cumbersome and time-consuming. Marriage is easy, but Christ is so powerful, my child, it is difficult to get out." "Do you love my sister?" "Your sister is amazing. She's telling you the truth. I believe I can pull this off, but it's a hell of a thing. That's what it is, Byron." Cleveland made a radio broadcast. The most affectionate giggle inside, stood up and patted him on the shoulder lightly. "Now time to get back to business. Maybe the three of us can have a drink together later. Tell her not to take the Sprelegan job. That's no good." Madeline was too busy outside, running around with a speech board, turning around to talk to this person for a while, and turning around to talk to that person for a while.She rushed to Byron, who was standing against the wall next to the doorway surrounded by wires and lights. "Huh?" From the tone of her voice, it seemed that she was deliberately playing some tricks. "Hey, what's the matter? Where's Mom?" "Oh, she won't move a step. The director asked her to stay and meet with Bogart. Have you talked to Hugh?" "We talked about it." "Tell me quickly. What's going on?" She seemed worried, excited, and wanted to get to the bottom of it. "Is he mad?" "No." she laughed. "Then it looks like you didn't use the knife or the gun. He'd have to be very angry if that was the case." "Madeline, tell him you're quitting. Tell him today. Take my word for it. Tell him I can't be bothered. Use any bad words you want." She scowled. "Did he not admit that he wanted to marry me?" "He falters. I tell you, resign immediately. If you really want him, maybe that will motivate him to act quickly." "Yes, Byron. Henry." She narrowed her eyes slyly. "That's the girl's heart. Or it should be the girl's heart." "If he wants to play with you, then you will see through." She tossed her head away, wiggling her nimble, skirted ass away. A few hours later, in the villa, Byron hadn't woken up from his nap when a soft knock on the door woke him up. "Brani!" Madeline's voice was soft and excited. "Are you wearing clothes?" The slanting sun casts great patches of light on the drawn red curtains: time for cocktails.He sat up and stretched, naked except for a pair of shorts. "Oh, passable." She came in as soon as she opened the door, standing with her back against the closed door. "Christ knows, I did as you said!" "Very well. Where's Ma?" "I don't know. Not here. Blaney, I never dreamed I could do this. It's unbelievable. I just feel like a fugitive from Altraz and swimming to shore." Via The red light from the curtains into the room accentuated the excitement and frenzy on her face. "How he reacted to it! I never expected him to be so good in a hundred years. Byron, he's as good as a pie! What a beauty! Not a bad word! I'm confused. Can I have a drink?" Byron put on a dressing gown, and they entered the sitting room together.He was lazily sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette, and she was walking around the room talking with a glass of whiskey and soda, her yellow dress kept swinging.She'd talked to him in the dressing room, just an hour ago, after they'd finished prepping the next day's lines.It was no surprise that Cleveland was gentle and considerate. "Oh, he's such a smart guy! You know what he said when he came up? 'Yes, boy, you did the right thing by talking it over with your brother. That means you already want to quit. ' But, Byron--and you may have to throw in the towel at this point--he says you're right. It's much better for me to run away while he's pressing for a divorce. Otherwise, Claire's going to be on my side. Getting in trouble. Thank you Christ, you're here." "Is it all decided? Surely it will be done? You quit?" "Exactly. Don't you think it's too good?" "When did you go to work for that deadbeat guy and what's his name?" Madeleine tried to keep on putting on a scowl, but her lips tightened and she finally broke out into a big laugh. "Damn it! Seriously, Byron, you're a jerk. What's wrong with Spreleggen?" "I'm sorry. When are you going to work with him?" She was still giggling, "Next month. I called Lenny, and he agreed, and—" "Wait a minute. Next month?" Byron sat up straight, and his hairy, bare calves dropped to the floor. "Good brother, of course. I have to give a month's notice to resign. I can't just leave with a slap on my ass and become a child." Byron slammed his fist on the coffee table, and books and ashtrays jumped up.Madeleine was startled, and raised her throat too. "Oh, I can't bear it! Why are you so unreasonable? Could it be that you and Dad can leave the warship without someone taking over, and just go away?" Byron stood up. "Damn you, Madeline, do you want to compare Cleveland's tricks to the work I do? To the work Papa does? To Warren's work? I'll go find this guy." "No! I don't want you to go!" Madeline began to cry. "Oh, I didn't expect you to be so rough! So cruel! Did I mention Warren?" "Damn it, no, you haven't mentioned it since I got here." "I can't take it!" Madeleine screamed, shaking her fist at him and bursting into tears. "You can't stand it either! Oh my God, why are you bringing him up? Why?" The gust of wind and rain overwhelmed Byron, and he muttered "I'm sorry" and tried to reach out his arms to comfort her. She recoiled, wiping away tears with one trembling hand.Her voice was still sobbing, but it was strong and determined. "My work is important to me, Byron, and it is important to millions of people. Millions! It's honest work. You try to overwhelm me, but you have no right to do so. You don't Dad. Even he doesn't have that right anymore. I'm not a sixteen-year-old kid anymore." The door opened and Rhoda walked in.Holding big bags of things. "Oh boys, I bought the whole Beverly Hills store! It's blowing through Wilshire Avenue like a typhoon! They'll spend weeks cleaning up the debris! Byron is dying of thirst, give me a good tune Big gin and soda, will you, dear?" She went into her bedroom. "Oh, God," Madeline said softly, wiping her eyes.She turned her back on her when her mother entered. "Go wash your face, Meddy." "Yes. Make me another glass of wine. It should be strong." Rhoda changed into a new brightly printed morning dress, and immediately went to talk to Byron in the small kitchen, where he was mixing drinks. "Darling, are you really going back to submarine school tonight? That's going to be awful. I haven't had a good look at you yet." "I'll be here with you tonight and drive away early tomorrow morning. I'll be back next Sunday." "Oh, great! You and Maddy brought me back to life, for sure. In Washington I felt like I was in my grave. I bought a bunch of these California clothes, nice and light, style It's all different. The people here make lovely stuff, war or non-war. I got a closet full of clothes to wear in Hawaii. I was trying to show Papa's eyes." "Do you think you can get there?" "Oh, sure. Sure. There's a way, dear, I've made up my mind—oh, thank you, sweet boy. I think I'll go to the pool before I have this drink." The two of them were left alone in the room sipping wine together, so Madeleine said in a conciliatory tone, "Byron, do you really plan to go to Switzerland after completing your submarine training? Will the navy allow it?" "I don't know. It depends on what I can find out from the State Department and the embassy in Rome. I won't deal with the Navy unless I have to ask it." She went to his armchair, sat down on the armrest, and stroked his face. "Look, don't be so cruel to me." "Can't you work another two weeks and go?" "Trust me, Byron. You've been a great help to me. It's going to work out, I can swear it." Her mother came out in a bathing suit with a big towel, and Madeline's voice immediately Get loud and happy. "Hey Mom, great news! Can you guess? I'm going to work at Universal Pictures!"