A Handful of Dust

Brenda believes that Tony is not accepting her request well; her friends promise to support her. Tony has spent three weeks living with Jock, while Brenda has spent her time with Beaver. Their friends function as intermediaries, but their mistruths and lies hinder reconciliation. They avoid any place where there is “a likelihood of their meeting” (133). Tony hires dedicated divorce lawyers. Though Brenda has been unfaithful to him, he agrees to accept the blame for the collapse of the marriage to expedite the process.

Brenda will receive £500 per year in the settlement. To satisfy the court’s demands, Tony will need to fake evidence of his “infidelity.” The law firm has dedicated detectives and a prearranged process for this, whereby Tony will take a woman to a hotel in Brighton and be deliberately seen in her company by the hotel staff. Trying to find the right woman perturbs Tony. He and Jock visit the same bar where they met Milly, and Tony recruits her for the mission. Milly would like to bring her daughter, Winnie, but Tony insists that she does not.

Tony waits for Milly at the station. He spots the detectives, noting them to be “sticklers for professional etiquette” (138). When Milly appears with Winnie at her side, the detectives are displeased by this unprofessional change to the plan. Tony cannot convince Winnie to stay behind, so she comes with them to Brighton. At the hotel, he tells people that Winnie is his niece. As Milly and Winnie sleep in the hotel room, Tony seeks out the detectives because feels “the need of male company” (140). The detectives insist that the child’s presence undermines the sincerity of the assignment. Winnie is put to bed and Tony takes Milly to dinner. There, they meet her friend and eventually accompany him to a party at a separate location. Tony struggles to adjust to Milly’s working-class expectations, comparing their evening to one he might have spent with Brenda.

The next morning, Winnie wakes Tony. Milly is still asleep, but Winnie wants to go to the beach. Reluctantly, Tony agrees to take her. They visit the beach, though it is too early. People look around at Tony and Winnie, whose behavior they view as strange. Back at the hotel, Tony must arrange for breakfast in bed so that the hotel staff can see him in a compromising position with Milly. Winnie is hidden away while Milly is roused long enough for the scene to unfold. After, when Brenda talks to her lawyer, the divorce application mentions Tony’s drinking. The lawyer assures her that this is a perfunctory inclusion “to offer evidence of general degeneracy” to ensure the passage of the claim (151).

Brenda talks about her situation with her sister Marjorie; her mother, Lady St. Cloud; and her brother, Reggie, an academic who is more interested in archeology than anything in London. Reggie is brought back from an expedition in Tunisia to talk about his sister’s situation. Reggie then meets with Tony to discuss the divorce over dinner. Reggie, like Tony, does not like Beaver “at all” but begins to hint that the agreed-upon divorce settlement may not suit Brenda. He urges Tony to be kinder and to offer Brenda a far higher amount than the original £500 per year. Reggie suggests that £2,000 would be more suitable, especially as Tony will be the party supposedly at fault in the divorce. Tony is shocked, and Reggie accuses him of being “extremely unreasonable.” To pay such an amount, Tony explains, he would be forced to sell Hetton and give up his ancestral home. Brenda must know this, he says, so he feels the need to call her and confirm the counteroffer. Brenda confirms this to Tony, meaning that she wants Tony to give up everything to fund her marriage to the unemployed Beaver. When he returns to Reggie, Tony explains that “Brenda is not going to get her divorce” (158). Since Winnie undermined the legitimacy of the evidence, he will likely win any case that comes before the courts. He offers to divorce Brenda without any settlements.