fiction

"The elements of the dinner-parties which Mrs Lennox gave, were beauty, men, and pedantic conversation. They talked in a sensuous way outside, lashed themselves when they were alone, and squandered their capabilities in the drawing-room."

"The Bank of England. I've never actually seen it before. Monolithic building, like a ziggurat. Staring blank walls, fortress-like. Two grey-haired bearded men in black overcoats, polished black shoes, pacing the pavement, side by side, both smoking cigars, deep in conversation. Incredible: like something out of the 1920s. Grey-haired men with cigars, controlling the economy."

The fourth part of a hyperfiction based on visits to churches in the City of London. Part 4 takes in the following:

St Stephen Walbrook

"They heard Dixon's foot. A stern thought compressed her brows, and set her teeth. It was Dixon's measured tread. They heard her walk."

Continuing the abridged version of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South - abridged on the principle of leaving out all the important bits. The sinister Dixon may or may not be dead. The long-awaited Frederick arrives at last, only to be no more spoken of. Margaret fancies porters.

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- Edward Picot

http://edwardpicot.com - personal website