Von Igelfeld arose from his table, straightened his tie, and walked over to the Polish family’s table. As he approached, the mother raised her eyes, and smiled at him.
‘Excusez-moi, Madame,’ said von Igelfeld. ‘Permettez-moi de vous dire que votre fils, votre très agréable Tadseuz, est devenu un peu radio-actif.’
The mother listened, and inclined her head gravely at the information.
‘Merci, monsieur,’ she said after a short pause. ‘Vous êtes très gentil de me donner ces informations. Je vous remercie bien. J’ai des convictions bien intensives au sujet de la radio-activité parmi les enfants.’
Von Igelfeld waited for something further to be said, but it was not, and so he bowed, and returned to his table, where the Prinzels were now waiting. They passed the Geiger counter over their coffee, to negative results, and enjoyed the rest of the evening as one might enjoy an evening which was to be one’s last in Venice, ever.
It might have been a melancholy departure the next day, but as they made their farewells to the manager, who expressed great regret on their premature departure, a telegram arrived addressed to von Igelfeld. He opened it with all the sense of foreboding with which one opens telegrams when away from home, but his face lit up as he read the message.
MEDAL AWARDED BY PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT,
the telegram ran.
QUITE DELIGHTED. BEST WISHES, UNTERHOLZER.
Von Igelfeld thrust the telegram into Ophelia’s hands and turned to Prinzel.
‘Prinzel,’ he said, the dignity in his voice overlaying the emotion. ‘I have been honoured by the Portuguese Government – at last!’
They left in the hotel’s motor launch, riding over the lagoon to the fatal, exquisite, doomed city, and then on to the mainland. Thereafter they made their way slowly through the mountains and into Austria. Throughout the journey von Igelfeld was in a state of complete euphoria. What would his medal look like? By whom would it be awarded, and what would be said at the ceremony? There were so many questions to be answered.
Then, as they passed through a tiny village, with a minute, whitewashed church, Prinzel suddenly turned round and made an observation.
‘That telegram,’ he said. ‘It’s just occurred to me that Unterholzer didn’t say they’d awarded the medal to you. The wording suggests that it was really to him.’
‘What do you mean?’ said von Igelfeld angrily. ‘He said quite clearly: Medal awarded by Portuguese Government. Quite delighted . . . ’ He broke off, becoming silent; could it be . . . ?
They had passed out of the village now, and there was a long, steep mountain pass ahead. Von Igelfeld sat in silence, unable to speak. Oh! he thought. And then, Oh! again. Why have I had such bad luck in this life? Why? All I want is love, and a tiny bit of recognition from the Portuguese, and I get neither. And soon it will be too late; nobody will read my book any more, and there will be nobody to remember me.
He brought himself to order. There was no point in self-pity, which was something he invariably disliked in others. No; he would not allow himself to be discouraged. He had much to be proud of in this life; much for which he should be grateful. He was, after all, Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. That, on its own, would have been quite enough; but there was more: he was the author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs, and that was something that would forever be associated with his name, just as when people thought of Thomas Mann they thought of . . .
Von Igelfeld stopped. And then he laughed, which made Prinzel swerve the car slightly before he righted it and they continued their journey back to Germany, where they belonged.
VINTAGE CANADA EDITION, 2004
Text copyright © 2003 Alexander McCall Smith
Illustrations copyright © Iain McIntosh
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Published in Canada by Vintage Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. First published in Great Britain in 2003 by Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh. Distributed by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Vintage Canada and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House of Canada Limited.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
McCall Smith, Alexander, 1948–
Portuguese irregular verbs / Alexander McCall Smith.
(Portuguese irregular verbs trilogy)
“A Professor Dr von Igelfeld entertainment”.
I. Title. II. Series: McCall Smith, Alexander, 1948–
Portuguese irregular verbs trilogy.
PR6063.C326P’.914 C2004-904090-1
www.randomhouse.ca
www.randomhouse.com
eISBN: 978-0-307-42729-8
v3.0
Alexander McCall Smith, Portuguese Irregular Verbs
(Series: # )
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