"Lisa Tuttle - Pathology" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tuttle Lisa)

phoned the police immediately on his mobile, the burglars managed to get away with the TV and VCR.
These were easily replaced. Daniel kept little that he valued on the ground floor of his narrow,
two-bedroomed turn-of-the-century terraced cottage. Practically everything that mattered to him was
kept locked in his тАЬworkroom,тАЭ otherwise the spare bedroom.

Daniel was a chartered accountant in his ordinary life, but in his workroom he was an alchemist.

He told me this, as heтАЩd told me about Michele, early in our relationship. It meant nothing to me then. If
asked to define alchemy, IтАЩd have said it was a sort of primitive, magical chemistry, bearing about the
same relationship to modern chemistry as astrology did to astronomy. It seemed a very strange hobby for
someone as sane and successful as Daniel, but I kept my mouth shut as he unlocked his workshop to
show me the shelves filled with ancient, leather-bound volumes, sealed jars with Latin labels, beakers and
retorts, a Bunsen burner, vessels of copper and of glass. The smells were what most struck me: half a
dozen different odors lingering in the air. Sulphur, roses, hot metal, burnt sugar, tar, and something
pricklingly acidic which made me cough.

тАЬWhat do you do here, exactly?тАЭ

тАЬDo you really want to know, тАШexactlyтАЩ?тАЭ

тАЬGenerally, then.тАЭ

тАЬSearch. Explore. Study. Experiment. IтАЩm looking for the PhilosopherтАЩs StoneтАФdoes that mean anything
to you?тАЭ

I shook my head apologetically. тАЬAfraid not.тАЭ

He kissed me. тАЬNever mind. If you are interested, I can help you learn, but it doesnтАЩt matter; we canтАЩt
share everything.тАЭ

As I watched him lock the door to his workshop, I wondered if it would matter. Of course couples
couldnтАЩt share all their interests, but this hobby seemed less like stamp collecting, more like a religion.

We didnтАЩt talk about alchemy and we didnтАЩt talk about Michele, and as the weeks and the months
passed, and my love for Daniel became more deeply rooted, those two тАЬuntouchableтАЭ areas of his life
became irritants, and I wondered if there was a connection. I finally asked him if Michele had shared his
interest in alchemy.

He tensed. тАЬShe pretended that she did, for a while, but she didnтАЩt. It was my fault as much as hers. I let
her know how important it was to me . . . but itтАЩs not as important as honesty. If sheтАЩd just had faith in
me, instead of pretending she understood. . . . She lied to me.тАЭ

I held his hand. тАЬI wonтАЩt lie to you. I wonтАЩt pretend. But I would like to know more about something so
important to you. You said you could teach me. . . .тАЭ

But the shutters were down; I was trespassing. He shook his head firmly. тАЬNo. I wonтАЩt make that
mistake again. ItтАЩs better if you donтАЩt know, and you wonтАЩt be put in an insidious position. If you donтАЩt
know anything about The Work, we canтАЩt possibly argue about it.тАЭ

I wished IтАЩd never mentioned Michele. I began to hate the invisible woman who still hovered on the