Atdtda31: Nothing to wear, 872-873

[Paul Nightingale]

The pas de deux with Theign in 60.3 has Cyprian appear, then disappear; if
as he says he "haunt[s]" Theign here, the subsequent section sees
Cyprian--if indeed it is he--haunted in turn by a no less elusive meaning.
At the start of 60.5 he has a much more mundane (or "everyday") encounter
with the Prince, albeit one "furtive as an assignation", the Prince an
apparatus, perhaps, that used to be Theign and no less "inconvenience[d]" by
the meeting.

Given Cyprian's presence/absence in both 60.3 and 60.4, one fixes on the
Prince's words here: "You have every right to be present". On 871, Cyprian
had insisted on presence: "I must kill this evil bastard, really I must".
Yet here he responds to the Prince by saying "it is best now to step out of
the way" in favour of the Ottician brothers (872). At the bottom of 871
Cyprian "became invisible"; over on 872 he is choreographing the action,
"hover[ing] unobserved within mischief-making distance, hiring pickpockets
..." etc. Now it seems he has misled the Prince, who in turn has to "conceal
his contempt" (873) at Cyprian's lack of, well, ambition. In 60.3 Theign is
mistaken: "We thought you were dead" (872). Here, the Prince is taken by
surprise: "... incredible as he would once have imagined it ..." etc (873).

Consequently an unscripted coda, forced upon the Prince by the need to say
something, perhaps: "You will come out to the island next week ..." etc. At
the bottom of 869 we find Cyprian "hoping [Yashmeen] would at least not play
at salon sociability" when he mentions Vlado; here, the Prince performs
"salon sociability" when plotting has run its course.