"Child Of The Stones" - читать интересную книгу автора (Mcauley Paul J)

СУCourse. IТll call an ambulance.Ф

УThat wonТt be necessary,Ф I said, and gave her the telephone number of a sympathetic doctor. After she had made the call, I told her to open the briefcase and bring me my book.

She could not quite meet my gaze when she handed it to me. It was a heavy quarto volume bound in the hide of an unborn calf tanned by age to an uneven buttery colour, its pages made of good-quality linen paper. I ran my fingers over the intricate knot embossed in the leather under the stamped gold title. УAfter my parents died, it was important to me to recreate their library. This was the last volume I needed - the rarest, and the most expensive. You would not believe me if I told you how much I paid for it,Ф I said, and threw it into the canal.

It made quite a splash.

УYouТre mad,Ф Miranda said.

УI should have done it some time ago. Our dead friend was right about one thing: times have changed. And it is time to let go of the past. Now, would you be so kind as to cut a branch from one of those elders?Ф

УWhat are you going to do? Stake him through the heart?Ф

УCagliostro was no vampire. I do not want Dr Barrow to find us here, with the body. If I am to hobble to the road, I will need a crutch.Ф

УThen what?Ф

УDr Barrow will take me to his home, he will treat my wound, and I will make up a story for the police.Ф

УI mean, what about me?Ф

УThe police will want to talk to you about your father, but I can vouch for you.Ф

УHe hurt me,Ф she said, plainly and simply. УAfter Mum left, he came into my room every night and hurt me.Ф

УAnd when you could, you hurt him in turn. I understand. But by destroying him in that way, by dedicating your life to his punishment, you would also have destroyed yourself.Ф

УI wanted to kill him,Ф she said. УBut I didnТt want his ghost haunting me. I can see them sometimes, ghosts, but I canТt do anything with them.Ф

УYou did quite well with CagliostroТs pet.Ф

УTheyТll put me away, wonТt they?Ф

УI have never before taken on an apprentice, Miranda. I have lived a solitary life ever since I moved to London. Last night, you said that I had no real friends. That I did not let anyone get close to me. And you were right. But times have changed, much more than I believed when I first began to walk the streets at night. You have a powerful gift, and I can teach you how to use it, if you will let me. But I should warn you that it will not be an easy path.Ф

УTeach me.Ф

She said it with a sudden, raw, naked passion, and in that moment I had my first glimpse of the real Miranda, the human being who hid behind the sullen, wary mask of a child brought up on the stones.

УTeach me,Ф she said. УTeach me stuff.Ф