The Half-Made World (79 page)

The Faculty commissioned a commemorative painting. At the insistence of Agatha, Liv’s dear friend from the Faculty of Mathematics, it pictured Liv in a white dress carrying a book down the Academy’s summer lawns. They hung it in a shadowy spot at the back of the Hoffman Library, where overworked students liked to take afternoon naps.

There was a small quiet farewell service. Dr. Ekstein gave a speech, praising
that noble spirit of scholarship that knows no frontiers, that fears no peril!
Maggfrid sat with solemn dignity. Agatha, mildly sedated, muttered
good-bye, good-bye, my dear
over and over; and those colleagues who were inclined to say
well what did she expect going out there
or
I told her so
were at least able to hold their tongues until after the service, when sherry was served and decorum somewhat loosened.