Absolute Truths Part I

Charles is very hard working and he is devoted to his wife and 2 sons, one of whom is not his biological son. Neville has tried to get over his romance with Venetia and commit himself again to his marriage to Dido.. He also works very hard and is currently engaged in raising money to maintain the cathedral's structure. Charles has had problems with his 2 boys, Charley, the elder has become a clergyman and he is something of a prig. Charles soemtimes finds him hard going, prone to moralise and to tell tales on his brother. Michael however is a womaniser who likes to drink. He started off studying medicine but was thrown out of medical school for wild behaviour, and has now just gone into the BBC where he is a trainee TV producer. Charles worries about him, as the 2 of them are always having rows. but he has Lyle to turn to for comfort, they had a rocky start to their marriage but have grown closer as they got older. He has had a visit from Michael, to tell him and Lyle that he is engaged to an American girl he has been dating. Both Lyle and Charles are horrified, as she is silly, vulgar, and clearly marrying him for his money. She also takes drugs. Lyle has a chat with her and hints that the Ashworths are not as well off as she thinks, and that Charles does not have any private money. Dinkie is not pleased to hear this and clearly wants to break off the engagement if she's not going to be marrying a wealthy man. Lyle feels gratified that she has sorted things out, but a bit resentful that she is always being called on to solve practical problems. She and Charles sigh with relief. Then, after Charles has had a very busy day at his work, he goes home and Lyle collapses and dies, in front of him. He has now lost the wife who was his friend and who was a buffer between him and the boys.