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she slew the young man-gracefully breaking his neck when the little
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drink she took was not enough to kill him-angered me though it had
been extremely exciting to watch. She was colder than I. She was
better at all of it, I thought. Magnus had said, "Show no mercy. " But
had he meant us to kill when we did not have to kill? " It came clear in
an instant why she'd done it. She tore off the pink velvet girdle and
skirts right there and put on the boy's clothes. She'd chosen him for
the fit of the clothes. And to describe it more truly, as she put on his
garments, she became the boy. She put on his cream silk stockings and
scarlet breeches, the lace shirt and the yellow waistcoat and then the
scarlet frock coat, and even took the scarlet ribbon from the boy's hair.
Something in me rebelled against the charm of it, her standing so
boldly in these new garments with all her hair still full over her
shoulders looking more the lion's mane now than the lovely mass of
woman's tresses it had been moments before. Then I wanted to ravage
her. I closed my eyes. When I looked at her again, my head was
swimming with all that we'd seen and done together. I couldn't
endure being so near to the dead boy. She tied all of her blond hair
together with the scarlet ribbon and let the long locks hang down her
back. She laid the pink dress over the body of the boy to cover him,
and she buckled on his sword, and drew it once and sheathed it again,
and took his cream-colored roquelaure.
"Let's go, then, darling, " she said, and she kissed me. I couldn't
move. I wanted to go back to the tower, and just be close to her. She
looked at me and pressed my hand to spur me on. And she was almost
immediately running ahead. She had to feel the freedom of her limbs,
and I found myself pounding after her, having to exert myself to catch
up. That had never happened with me and any mortal, of course. She
seemed to be flying. And the sight of her flashing through the
boarded-up stalls and the heaps of garbage made me almost lose my
balance. Again I stopped. She came back to me and kissed me. "But
there's no real reason for me to dress that way anymore, is there? " she
asked. She might have been talking to a child.
"No, of course there isn't, " I said. Maybe it was a blessing that she
couldn't read my thoughts. I couldn't stop looking at her legs, so
perfect in the cream-colored stockings. And the way that the frock
coat gathered at her small waist. Her face was like a flame. Remember
in those times you never saw a woman's legs like that. Or the silk of
breeches tight over her small belly, or thighs. But she was not really a
woman now, was she? Any more than I was a man. For one silent
second the horror of it all bled through.
"Come, I want to take to the roofs again, " she said. "I want to go to
the boulevard du Temple. I should like to see the theater, the one that
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you purchased and then shut up. Will you show that to me? " She was
studying me as she asked this.
"Of course, " I said. "Why not? " We had two hours left of the
endless night when we finally returned to the Ile St. Louis and stood
on the moonlit quais. Far down the paved street I saw my mare
tethered where I'd left her. Perhaps she had gone unnoticed in the
confusion that must have followed our departure. We listened
carefully for any sign of Nicki or Roget, but the house appeared
deserted and dark.
"They are near, however, " she whispered. "I think somewhere
further down . . . "
"Nicki's flat, " I said. "And from Nicki's flat someone could be
watching the mare, a servant posted to watch in case we came back. "
"Better to leave the horse and steal another, " she said.
"No, it's mine, " I said. But I felt her grip on my hand tighten. Our
old friend again, the presence, and this time it was moving along the
Seine on the other side of the island and toward the Left Bank.
"Gone, " she said. "Let's go. We can steal another mount. "
"Wait, I'm going to try to get her to come to me. To break the tether.
"
"Can you do that? "
"We'll see. " I concentrated all my will on the mare, telling her
silently to back up, to pull loose from the bond holding her and come.
In a second, the horse was prancing, jerking at the leather. Then she
reared and the tether broke. She came clattering towards us over the
stones, and we were on her immediately, Gabrielle leaping up first and
I right behind her, gathering up what was left of the rein as I urged the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]