"Warrington, Freda - A Taste of Blood Wine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Warrington Freda)

"Madeleine," said David, "shut up."
***
Edward lay on the bed with one arm over his face, quiet now but looking shattered. Dr Saunders, with his Cardinal's robe half-dismantled and his sleeves rolled up, sat on the edge of the bed, carefully replacing his instruments into his medical bag. His broad kindly face was serious. "I've given him a sedative, David. He should be all right now, but I'd get him some expert help, if I were you."
"He's had psychiatric help," David sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "He's been so much better lately; I really thought these breakdowns were behind him."
Edward looked out from under his arm. His eyes were still disturbed, not seeing the world quite as it really was. "But he's a vampire. The man's a vampire."
"Come on, old man." David put a hand on his shoulder. "You're overwrought. Is it because of where he comes from? Look, the War's over. An Austrian's just an ordinary chap like anyone else."
"I know. It's not that. I can't make you understand. I have these feelings, I can see things I never used to be able to see. You must listenЕ " His voice was growing slurred.
David looked at Dr Saunders, who shook his head.
"Just try to get some sleep, there's a good chap," said David, patting Edward's shoulder. "I have to go now but I'll be here when you wake up, don't worry."
With a heavy heart, David went back to the marquee. The dance band was playing again, conversation had fallen to an even level. The natural reaction to embarrassment was to return to normal as quickly as possible, and he was glad.
Charlotte and Anne came to him, asking how Edward was. He hugged them, then made his way through the crowd and found a chair opposite Karl. The Austrian acknowledged him with a look that was quite friendly. David sat forward, aware that the others were listening, but wanting them to hear.
"Look, Herr von Wultendorf, I'm most awfully sorry," he began. "I don't know how to begin to apologiseЧnot for Edward's behaviour, which is not his fault, but for the embarrassment it must have caused you. You must have found it terribly distressing, but I can assure you it was just as distressing for Edward. I must explain something about him, although he won't thank me for it because he hates people to know."
"I could see he was disturbed," said Karl. "There's no need to apologise, or to explain."
"But I must. You see, Edward suffers from neurasthenia. He was very badly shell-shocked during the War and it has destroyed his nerves completely. He has bouts of terrible depression, and sometimes he goes off into these fits of hysteria. He can't help it."
Karl nodded. His eyelids were lowered. "I thought it was something of that sort."
"But you see, that's why I can't abandon him. If not for him, I wouldn't be alive. People who weren't there can't imagine how deep that sort of comradeship goes. It makes me very angry when some ignorant people write him off as a hopeless case or an embarrassment. I shall always stick by him, whatever he does. I want you to appreciate that."
"David, it is quite all right." Karl looked up, his expression receptive. "It caused me no embarrassment, and the only thing that matters is Edward's health. I shall simply forget about it, as I hope will everyone else."
David let out a breath of relief. "Thank you for being so understanding. I know he'll feel bad about it when he recovers, but it will help him to know you've been so decent about the whole thing."
Elizabeth leaned across to Karl and rested her hand along his sleeve, unashamedly flirtatious. "If only our governments could sort things out in such a civilised manner. I do hope this won't prevent you feeling perfectly at ease and welcome among us. We are all quite harmless, really!"
They're lucky to be able to laugh it off so easily, David thought bitterly. Once the party had been salvaged and Madeleine was happy again, David's only wish was to go back to the house and check on Edward.
On his way along the main corridor, he glanced through the doors of the main drawing room and was surprised to see Charlotte there in the darkness, half-silhouetted against the window. In the Egyptian costume she seemed a ghost who had stepped out of another time. A faint silver-cream glow from outside dappled the room, painted her bare arms with light. "Hello," he said. "Had enough of the party?" She turned round like a startled thief. "Oh, David, you made me jump. It's so hot and noisy in there. And afterЧafter what happened, it all seemed a bit much."
He went over to her and they stood side by side, looking out at the garden. "I'm afraid I've rather lost the taste for enjoying myself, as well."
"How is Edward?"
"Resting," David said with a slight shake of his head. "But I'm worried about him. When he's had these bouts before, they were usually triggered by a loud noise, something reminding him of gunfire, and I could calm him down quite easily. I've never known him react to another chap like that. Whatever was it about Karl? There is a strange thing I've noticed; sometimes, when Edward meets a person, he seems to know all about them without being told anything. Well, all that supernatural business is a load of bunkum, of course, but there is definitely something going on in Edward's head that I don't understand."
"Perhaps he's just very perceptive," said Charlotte. "KarlЧKarl seemed to take it very well."
"Yes, thank God, he was very understanding. Others might not have been."
She looked sideways at him. "What do you think of him?"
"Oh, I hardly know. Usually I can weigh a fellow up straight away, but with von Wultendorf it's not so easy. He doesn't give much away. Seems decent enough, I'd say, butЕ "
"You don't like him?" She sounded anxious.
"I've no feelings either way, but Father has obviously taken to him. The way Maddy, Aunt Lizzie and their cronies were fawning over him, as if he were the Prince of Wales or someoneЧtaking hospitality a bit too far, but not his fault, I suppose."
Charlotte laughed. He took her hand and tucked it through his arm. "Thank goodness there's one female in this family who isn't mooning over him. You've got more sense, haven't you, sis?"
"There must be more to a man than a handsome face."
"Well, that must be so, if what I hear about you and Henry is true."
"Oh, that." She winced.
"For a newly-engaged woman, you don't exactly seem overjoyed. Are you sure you're doing the right thing?"
David loved Charlotte, but he didn't understand her. She was like a shy forest creature, seen from a distance between the trunks of great trees; hunted, doe-like, following some secret path of her own. Even as he stood with her there was a feeling that she was not really there; that her real self was slipping away through the green caves of the forest, elusive, hidden. For David, she always put on a brave face; he could never touch what was inside.
"It's only that I don't want any fuss made about it," she said with a forced smile. "It's not official yet. But it's for the best, David, honestly. If I don't marry Henry, I shan't marry anyone. We'll be comfortable together, and even Father's happy about it."
I don't altogether believe you, sis, he thought, but it'll do no good to press you, I know. "Well, if you're sure. I had hoped you and EdwardЕ but no, how could I expect you to take on a fellow with his problems? It's a shame, though. You would have been good for each other."
She rested her head against his arm, and said nothing.
***
Kristian found Pierre in Vienna, ironically enough. The city that Karl so loved; could Karl be here somewhere, after all?
Pierre was always easy to find. He was a creature of habit and Kristian knew his haunts, the elegant European cities in which he felt at home. And he was under instruction never to stray too far from the places where he could be found, in case Kristian needed him.
There was a halo around the moon. Its light penetrated the Crystal Ring, falling blue and glassy on the otherworld through which Kristian moved. Vienna still existed in the Ring, the mind of God; but it was only semi-tangible, distorted by strange perspectives. The buildings seemed crowded together, tall and dark, skewing away at impossible angles. Their walls were built of air. Kristian passed through them as if through shadow, moving in and out of houses, the occupants never suspecting his presence. Occasionally one might shiver as he passed, but none guessed that God's dark wing had brushed them.
And as he was unseen to mortals, so they were invisible to himЧexcept for their auras. They were human-shaped gaps delineated by needles of blue, red and gold fire. They moved as swiftly as moths and their voices were fast and thin, like harpsichords heard through closed doors. The Ring pulled flat the rooms through which he moved, turning them into grey, static spaces in which perspectives broke down and the fiery outlines of men fluttered and buzzed.
Once or twice Kristian paused to drink a human aura. Although he hated to touch humans and never fed on their blood, he still needed their energy. From the Ring he could suck out the purest life-force of all without ever having to touch their hot gritty flesh. Needles of light slid in through his pores and he breathed the warmth, bathed in it; pure energy, filling him with the boundless grace of God.
However young and strong the victim had been, they would fade fast, falling prey to the first infection they caught. Their companions would watch them sink and die of some trivial illness, protesting, "But he was always so healthy, so strong!" never suspecting the true cause.
But none of this concerned Kristian. He felt only a sense of satisfaction that he had dispatched one more sinful creature to face God's justice. The flame went out, the wick still smouldered in the darkness, but he had moved on.
Drifting through the blue-black twilight of Schonbrunn Park, he sensed another vampire. No aura of heat, but a coolness that felt like a diamond pressing into his forehead; cold, sharp, faintly radiant. Soundlessly, Kristian stepped out of the Crystal Ring.
There was a momentary disorientation as the real world unfolded around him, like a fan flicked open, a vast painted canvas springing into three dimensions. The change was intangible yet profound, as if the Earth had been recreated at that second just for him. Every grass blade glistened with newness. The moonlight slanted pure and delicate across the park, filling it with subtle colours that only his immortal eyes could see. In this soft and shining landscape Kristian walked through tree-shadows towards the presence.
In the lee of a hedge wall, he paused. A few yards from him, by a clipped archway, he saw that the vampire was with a potential victim. They were talking, the vampire pretending to ask directions, leaning over the man and edging him backwards into the arch. He loomed over the man like the white horn of the moon, making no attempt to hide his nature; his manner twisting his innocuous words into a horrible mockery.