"Van Rijn smiled with infinite benevolence." (p. 156)
Of course he did. His colleagues were about to agree to a scheme that, hopefully, would profit him. With their deliberations completed:
"Beaming, he clapped his hands. 'Freemen,' he said, 'we have worked hard tonight and soon comes much harder work. By damn, I think we deserve a little celebration. Simmons, prepare an orgy." (ibid.)
So Simmons' skills extend beyond fetching Brazil nuts although how he is going to prepare an orgy to include a Martian and a Centaurian eludes me. Unfortunately - correct me if I am wrong - that is the last that we see of the admirable Simmons, one of the great supporting characters of fiction, like Mrs Hudson.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Well, I can imagine Old Nick having Simmons finding obliging females of the appropriate species for that orgy! (Smiles)
An intriguing thought or implied suggestion, Simmons becoming a continuing character analogous to that of Chives for Dominic Flandry. You would have to be very patient, calm, and stolidly competent to be the butler of someone as exuberant and demanding as Old Nick!
Ad astra! Sean
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