"Eddings, David - Regina's Song V2.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

my ears off, but the Erdlund girls aren't that adaptable.
They announced a no-drinking policy, and that emptied
the place out almost immediately. Now they're looking
for suitable recruits to fill the place back up."
"I don't want to be offensive," I said carefully, "but
aren't you a bit old to be a student? You are a student,
aren't you?"
"Oh, yes," he replied. "I'm a late bloomer-I was thirty-
five before I got started. My name's James Forester," he
introduced himself, holding out his hand.
"Mark Austin," I responded, shaking hands with him.
"What's your field, Mark?"
"English."
"Grad student?"
I nodded. "Ph.D. candidate. What's your area?"
"Philosophy and comparative religion."
"How many people do the Erdlund girls plan to cram
into the house?"
"We've got two empty rooms on the second floor.
There are a couple of cubicles in the attic and several
more in the basement, but they're hardly fit for human
habitation. Auntie Grace used to rent them out-el
cheapo-to assorted indigents who always had trouble
paying the rent, maybe because they routinely spent the
rent money on booze or dope. That's where most of the
noise was coming from, so Trish and Erika decided to
leave them empty and concentrate on finding quiet,
useful people to live in the regular rooms."
"Useful?"
"There are some domestic chores involved in the
arrangement. I've got a fair degree of familiarity with
plumbing, and I can usually hook wires together without
blowing too many fuses. The house has been seriously
neglected for the past dozen or so years, so it falls into
the 'fixer-upper' category. Have you had any experience
in any of the building trades?"
"I know a little bit about carpentry" I replied. "I've spent
a few years working in a door factory up in Everett. Let's
say I know enough to back off when I'm out of my
depth."
"That should be enough, really. The girls aren't
planning any major re-modeling. Replacing wallboard
that's had holes kicked in it is probably about as far as
it'll go."
"No problem, then."
"I think you and I could get along, Mark, and I'm
definitely outnumbered right now. It's very trying to be
the only man in the house with three ladies."
"Who's the third girl?"
"Our Sylvia. She's in abnormal psych-which is either