I thought I'd split this off into its own comment, topic-wise: I remain delighted by the many discomforts of Archie having to recruit Lily to make out with Wolfe. It's just all so distressing to Wolfe and Archie, but not to Lily, who has a great time and praises Wolfe's technique.
Archie is possessive for a tout, disparaging everything about Roeder's appearance, ending with, "You will have to fight down the feeling that you're having a nightmare". And Wolfe seems personally piqued:
"You overdid it a little, perhaps? Nightmare, for instance?"
"Yes, sir," I agreed. "I get too enthusiastic."
I glared at him, and he glared back.
And Lily, besides having a good time, demonstrates not only just how well she understands Archie, but how perfectly she understands his relationship with Wolfe. She guessed right away that it was Wolfe, and Archie tries to brush that off and still pretend it isn't, but Lily says to Wolfe:
"Don't be upset, Pete. I wouldn't have known you from Adam, no one would; that wasn't it. It's my hero here. Archie's an awful prude. He has been up against some tough ones, lots of them, and not once has he ever called on me to help. Never! A proud prude. Suddenly he calls me away from revelry--I might have been reveling for all he knew--to get into a car and be intimate with a stranger. There's only one person on earth he would do that for: you."
Her high spirits, and her glee at being "The only woman in America who has necked with Nero Wolfe--my God, I'll treasure it forever," leaves Wolfe sitting with silently gritted teeth. And Archie tries to joke him out of it, but immediately gets Serious Warning Signs and stops:
"Marry her. She wouldn't betray her own husband. And apparently in that one short ride uptown with her--"
I stopped abruptly. The face as a whole was no longer his, but the eyes alone were enough to tell me when I had gone far enough."
It's like the bit when Archie starts to call Wolfe greedy--there are serious minefields all around these issues, and no room for flippancy (and Archie, as we've seen so often before, does stop when he realizes it's hitting a wound).
Edited To Add: I forgot about the even later bit, actually, where Wolfe goes to Lily's in the guise of Roeder going to get laid, and meets Archie there. And for the sake of disguise, Archie has to spray Wolfe with Lily's perfume (why Wolfe doesn't do it himself I don't know, but it's a striking image). And then:
"Now the other side," I said gently. "What's worth doing--"
But he opened his eyes, and their expression was enough.
I am struck by the "gently" here--but even Archie being gentle with his humor is too much for Wolfe in this situation, and Archie gets the message and stops instantly.
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Date: 2015-09-25 03:37 pm (UTC)Archie is possessive for a tout, disparaging everything about Roeder's appearance, ending with, "You will have to fight down the feeling that you're having a nightmare". And Wolfe seems personally piqued:
And Lily, besides having a good time, demonstrates not only just how well she understands Archie, but how perfectly she understands his relationship with Wolfe. She guessed right away that it was Wolfe, and Archie tries to brush that off and still pretend it isn't, but Lily says to Wolfe:
Her high spirits, and her glee at being "The only woman in America who has necked with Nero Wolfe--my God, I'll treasure it forever," leaves Wolfe sitting with silently gritted teeth. And Archie tries to joke him out of it, but immediately gets Serious Warning Signs and stops:
It's like the bit when Archie starts to call Wolfe greedy--there are serious minefields all around these issues, and no room for flippancy (and Archie, as we've seen so often before, does stop when he realizes it's hitting a wound).
Edited To Add: I forgot about the even later bit, actually, where Wolfe goes to Lily's in the guise of Roeder going to get laid, and meets Archie there. And for the sake of disguise, Archie has to spray Wolfe with Lily's perfume (why Wolfe doesn't do it himself I don't know, but it's a striking image). And then:
I am struck by the "gently" here--but even Archie being gentle with his humor is too much for Wolfe in this situation, and Archie gets the message and stops instantly.