"Anthony, Piers- Incarnations of Immortality 2- Bearing an Hourglass" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

"I told you," the ghost responded hotly. "There are standards to maintain. Our family is of noble lineage."

"Well, I have standards to maintain, too-and so does she."

"Anyway, I didn't select her; my family did. They-"

The ghost vanished in mid-sentence. Norton looked about, startled-and saw Orlene at the doorway.

"Are you all right, Norton?" she asked worriedly. "I heard you shouting-"

And she couldn't hear the ghost! He'd have to watch that. What had she heard? He felt a slow flush nudging up his neck and cheeks as he considered that. "I-I don't suppose you would believe I was talking to the ghost?"

"I really wish you wouldn't-"

"Call it a bad dream, then. I'm sorry I disturbed you."

She looked doubtful. "You're such a good man. Do you really suffer from-"

Norton laughed, somewhat too heartily. "How can you know I'm a good man? I'm an ordinary man, perhaps less than ordinary, since I have never had much success in life. Not like you."

"Oh, no! I am nothing!" she protested. "You glow!" Norton studied her. She was in a pinkish-white peignoir, and her honey-golden hair hung loose about her shoulders. There was something enormously appealing about her, and it was not mere beauty or sensuality. But he resisted that appeal, choosing instead to challenge her. "You refuse to believe I can see a ghost, but you expect me to believe you see a glow? When the ghost and the glow say the same thing?"

She smiled wanly. "I suppose it is inconsistent. But so many men have come with stories about the ghost of my husband, I know it's a crude male game. I would like to believe you are different."

Somehow Norton felt rather small. "I did see the ghost-but I don't necessarily agree with what he said."

"I do see the glow," she said. "But I don't-" She smiled. "Good night, Norton."

"Good night, Orlene."

She retreated and closed the door.

Gawain reappeared. "I see the problem," he said. "Neither of you is a dragon slayer; you don't like to go at it directly. But if she says you glow, she'll accept you. It's just a matter of time. All you need to do is stay here and-"

"And be supported by a woman," Norton finished. "I find that hard to accept."

"It's my estate, damn it!" Gawain swore. "She doesn't have a thing of her own. It's all mine. She won't inherit; only the son she bears will. She knows that."

"Suppose it's a daughter?"

The ghost looked blank. "A what?"

Norton was beginning to appreciate the fact that Gawain's purpose did not align perfectly with Orlene's purpose. He wanted to preserve the estate; she wanted a proper personal situation. He wanted a son to inherit and carry on the line; the personality of that son was not a concern. She surely wanted a fine child who would be a joy to her and to Gawain's family and to the world and a credit to the estate. He was concerned about money and power, she about quality and love. She would prefer to have an attractive, intelligent, and sweet girl-like herself-while he would be outraged by anything less than a strapping, bold boy-like himself. Norton's sympathy was sliding toward the woman's view.

But he was here at the ghost's behest, and there was merit in Gawain's position. "I'll try to accomplish your purpose. But I won't rush it. It's not that I want to sponge off your estate, it's that I think you have a better wife than you appreciate, and I want it to be right."

"I want it to be right, too," Gawain said, sounding aggrieved. "I want my son to have the best of everything."

Norton didn't comment. As he came to understand the forces operating here, he did not feel more at ease. But there seemed to be no better way through this than to remain here, get to know Orlene, and do what the ghost wanted when the occasion was propitious. Then move on quickly, lest he become too much attached. How much easier this would have been if the girl had been a gold digger or a slut!