Anton said, 'Seven.'
'What do you mean, seven? I can see eight of us.'
'One is not a member officially.'
'That's me,' Bob said.
'Only seven members, then,' Tudor said. 'Who else is missing?'
Naomi said with a strange smile, 'Basil says he has a prior engagement. He had a load of manure delivered this afternoon.'
'And Sharon has resigned,' Maurice said.
'That's no surprise,' Tudor said. 'She wouldn't have become a writer in a million years.'
'Owing to pressure of work,' Maurice said and took a letter from his folder. 'She sent this. I'd like to quote a little of it, in view of Tudor's opinion. "I heard this week that my strip has been picked up by some American guy to be syndicated (how do you spell that?) in four hundred newspapers right across the world. I won't have to do no more shampooing. I've made it, big time."'
Thomasine said, mocking Tudor's accent, 'Chew on that, boyo.'
Tudor was lost for words.
'She left a message on my answerphone about a success,' Bob said. 'I didn't think it could be this good.'
Thomasine said, 'It's nice when someone strikes it rich. Good for the circle.'
Maurice agreed. 'What do you think, Bob? Are you going to join us now?' His eyes flicked briefly towards Thomasine and then back to Bob. 'You could get lucky, too.'