Why is Patrick an Only Child?

[geebengrrl.livejournal.com]

Pam and Geoff Marlow are remarkably fecund; but Helena and Anthony Merrick only have one child. Anthony Merrick seems to be a fairly strict Catholic, so why is it that Patrick is their only child?

I wonder whether Helena Merrick, being a rather pragmatic Catholic (see Patrick's remark about fish on fridays in Attic Term, for example), was secretly using some form of contraception. Or perhaps they were playing Vatican Roulette and were just lucky...

I guess from AF's point of view, Patrick needs to be an only to contrast with the Marlows; and maybe he also represents her: she was also an only child.

Comments

[colne-dsr.livejournal.com]

There's something when they're round the breakfast table where Jon and Geoff are talking about hawking with their Dad, and Jon says that Geoff was fishing quietly in the bay while "the rest of us" were rushing round the country looking for lost hawks. But he doesn't specify who "the rest of us" is - there are no more brothers, or presumably sisters - Anthony Merrick may be on the list, but it doesn't say. Or is there another reference later on?

Anyway, if Anthony is Geoff's age, and assuming that Geoff was about 22 when as a penniless lieutenant he married under-age Pam, and Giles followed quickly with the twins 8 years later, then he would be 31 when the twins were born, and 29 when Patrick was born. For what that proves. :-)

My view, for what it's worth, is that at least one of Anthony or Helena Merrick isn't very good at producing children. I suspect they would have had at least 2, for choice.