"Littleford, Clare - Death Duty" - читать интересную книгу автора (Littleford Clare)

She left. I should have said thank you, but I didn't think of it in
time. I should have told her to tell them not to worry, I'd be fine
once I'd managed to stand up, once my head had stopped bleeding. But
as soon as I thought that, I could feel the pounding in my head,
pulsing deep inside, and I was thirsty, my mouth seemed to be swelling
with dryness, and it was cold sitting there on the floor, so very cold.
I closed my eyes.

Someone was speaking to me. For a moment I thought it was him,
repeating the same words again, but I opened my eyes and there was
Colin leaning over me, sweet Colin, such a nice guy, and he put his arm
around me, and I understood that the ambulance was coming, I shouldn't
worry, everything was going to be fine. And Colin had come out of the
office without his jacket, and he must have been cold just in his
shirtsleeves, and he was smiling at me then. I wondered whether maybe
I'd asked aloud if he was cold, but I couldn't tell.

Two

I was in a small room with the door open. The room was lined with
shelves stacked with bandages and sterile dressings in paper packets. I
wondered if they'd put me in a store room by mistake, but Colin was
still there and he was smiling although the smile wasn't so strong now.
I tried to tell him to go but he just shook his head and said no, and I
must have told him again how sweet and kind he was because he looked
away and seemed embarrassed by something.

And then Alex was there, and Colin made his excuses and left, and I
couldn't believe that the office had phoned Alex, I couldn't believe
that someone had thought that was a good idea, but there he was. Alex
standing over me while I sat back on that bed like an invalid, an
imbecile, and he was so tall standing over me with a frown that hid his
black eyes in shadow.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Fine," I said. "Well, I've got a headache."

"Surely an understatement," he said, and gave a softened-down,
sick-person-nearby version of his laugh, and unfurled himself into the
chair next to the bed.

"You didn't have to come," I said.

"I couldn't leave you alone."

"Colin was here."

He ignored that. "Anyway, of course I was going to come."