"Aldiss, Brian W - Short Stories" - читать интересную книгу автора (Aldiss Brian W)

Stackpole who, despite the unexpected delicacy he had shown,
was not a man she cared for.
'And another intolerably immoral thought,' she muttered
unhappily to the empty room, 'what alternative have I to
Stackpole?'
She knew Westermark was in his study. It was a cold day,
too cold and damp for him to make his daily parade round
the garden. She knew he was sinking deeper into isolation, she
longed to help, she feared to sacrifice herself to that isolation,
longed to stay outside it, in life. Dropping the letter, she held
her head in her hands, closing her eyes as in the curved bone
of her skull she heard all her possible courses of action jar
together, future lifelines that annihilated each other.
As Janet stood transfixed, Westermark's mother came into
the room.
"I was looking for you," she said. "You're so unhappy, my
dear, aren't you?"
"Mother, people always try and hide from others how they
suffer. Does everyone do it?"
"You don't have to hide it from mechiefly, I suppose,
because you can't."
"But I don't know how much you suffer, and it ought to
work both ways. Why do we do this awful covering up? What-
are we afraid ofpity or derision?"
"Help, perhaps."
"Help! Perhaps you're right.... That's a disconcerting
thought."
They stood there staring at each other, until the older
woman said, awkwardly, "We don't often talk like this,
Janet."
"No." She wanted to say more. To a stranger in a train,
perhaps she would have done; here, she could not deliver.
Seeing nothing more was to be said on that subject, Mrs.
Westermark said, "I was going to tell you, Janet, that I
thought perhaps it would be better if the children didn't come
back here while things are as they are. If you want to go and
see them and stay with them at your parents' house, I can
look after Jack and Mr. Stackpole for a week. I don't think
Jack wants to see them."
"That's very kind, Mother. I'll see. I promised Clemwell,
I told Mr. Stackpole that perhaps I'd go and watch him play
cricket tomorrow afternoon. It's not important, of course, but
I did sayanyhow, I might drive over and see the children on
Monday, if you could hold the fort."
"You've still plenty of time if you feel like going today. I'm
sure Mr. Stackpole will understand your maternal feelings."
"I'd prefer to leave it till Monday," Janet saida little
distantly, for she suspected now the motive behind, her
mother-in-law's suggestion.