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

about?" I asked when we reached the porch.
"They aren't too restrictive. No dope sort of fits in with
the no booze policy, and the no loud music stipulation
doesn't really bother me."
"I can definitely agree with that one. Any others?"
"No in-house hanky-panky is the only other restriction.
The girls aren't particularly prudish, but they've
encountered problems in that area in the past."
"That's been going around lately," I agreed, as we
went on into the entryway.
"The rule runs both ways," he continued. "The girls are
off-limits, but the boys are, too. We're not supposed to
make passes at them, and they're not supposed to
make passes at us. No physical stuff on the premises."
"It makes sense," I agreed. "Emotional involvement
can get noisy." I looked around. The entryway had a
pre-World War II feel about it. A wide staircase of dark
wood led up to the second floor, and an archway
opened into a living room that was quite a bit larger than
the ones in more contemporary houses.
"The downstairs is girl territory" James told me. "Boy
country's up-stairs." He led me on into the living room.
The ceilings were high, the windows all seemed tall and
narrow, and the woodwork was dark.
"Elegant," I noted.
"Shabbily elegant," James corrected. "It's a bit run-
down, but it's got a homey feel. The dining room's
through those sliding doors, and the kitchen's at the
back. It's got a breakfast nook, where the girls and I've
been taking most of our meals. Let's go upstairs, and I'll
show you the bedrooms."
We went up the wide staircase to the second floor.
"My place is at the end of the hall," he told me, "and the
bathroom's right next to it. The two at this end are
vacant." He opened the door on the right.
The room had the sloped ceiling you encounter on the
second floor of older houses, and it'd obviously seen
some hard use over the years. It was quite a bit larger
than I'd expected, and the contemporary furniture
looked dwarfed by the generous size of the room.
"The fellow who lived here before prohibition came into
effect was a drunken slob," James told me, "and he was
hard on furniture. He wanted to get physical when Trish
kicked him out after the third time she caught him
sneaking whiskey in here, but I reasoned with him and
persuaded him not to."
"Persuaded?"
"I threw him down the stairs, then tossed all his stuff
out the window."
"That gets right to the point, doesn't it?"