The Way Back Home. Freya North. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Freya North
Издательство: HarperCollins
Серия:
Жанр произведения: Современная зарубежная литература
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9780007507696
Скачать книгу

      ‘You look fine,’ said Rachel, agitated. ‘You’re a bit thin – but you’re tired. Go to sleep and yes, I have a hairdresser,’ and she touched her own hair as if to double-check. ‘And no, they’re not open Sundays.’

      ‘They are in the lead-up to Christmas, love,’ came Bernard’s voice.

      ‘It’s fucking April!’ Rachel seethed over her shoulder, before clapping her hand over her mouth, wondering how long it had been – truly, how many years – since she’d sworn like that. ‘Look what you made me do!’ she hissed at Oriana. ‘Just go to sleep, for God’s sake.’ Reproach and dislike creased her face.

      Rachel had never spoken to Bernard like that, never. She held his hand tightly as she lay awake, frowning into the dark. Her daughter should not have come back and, just then, she really resented her. Oriana was rested, fed, had a roof over her head, their home and car at her disposal and yet she looked worse now than when she arrived. Where was the gratitude in that? Into the conspiratorial darkness, Rachel let her thoughts find support. She liked her daughter less when she was troubled. In fact, she liked her less when she was in direct contact. If their relationship was to survive – or even go back to how it had been – she really did need her out of the house. Emails and occasional phone calls – that’s when they’d rubbed along best. She actually didn’t much like her at all – an unpleasant sensation that made her feel unwell. Distance and time could alleviate it. It had done so in the past, after all.

      * * *

      At Windward, Oriana wasn’t mentioned at all that evening. Instead, the Bedwell brothers drank beer and watched sport and shouted at the teams on the television. It was innocuous and boorish, akin to watching in the pub, commentating on the game with people they hardly knew. And Malachy and Jed should have steered clear of Scotch. But the match was over and the beer was gone, so out came the Laphroaig which took the pub philosophizing to the next level as they spouted argumentatively on politics and policies, each brother taking a turn at pulling on the garb of the devil’s advocate and wrestling each other for it.

      Jed should have said no to whisky. He didn’t have the stomach for it, especially not after European lager and the disappointment of a two–nil defeat. Consequently, he became very drunk, very quickly and, after decimating bankers, Russian oligarchs and the Tories, he staggered off to bed mid-sentence, only to throw up later in the early hours.

      Malachy heard his brother chucking his guts up. Malachy should have said no to whisky too. It didn’t make him paralytic, it made him insomniac and introspective. He hadn’t yet slept when Jed went stumbling to the bathroom. He’d been sitting up in bed, initially comforted by the pitch darkness making him equally blind in his good eye. Velvet black and even. He just sat in bed, appreciating the sensation of both eyes being open and both eyes seeing nothing; feeling that peculiar warmth that came with night-time silence and obscurity, nothing material to see, to imagine, to tax the eye – either eye. But then, the undeniable sense that darkness is not a constant but a flux; forms beginning to emerge as his good eye told his lost eye what they were. Mahogany chest. Flung shirt. Door frame. Right shoe. Something else – wallet. What’s my wallet doing on the floor? Left shoe. Handles on the wardrobe doors that look like cartoon eyes.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAu4AAAR0CAIAAAChUgSCAAAAAXNSR0IArs4c6QAAAAlwSFlzAAAu IwAALiMBeKU/dgAAAAd0SU1FB98EEQgGM9UABUgAACAASURBVHjalL3dkiS5si7kf5IiIqu6Z3rW 2uuwgSveAeOVuOGWd+IpeAYuwDAMO4BxzGCvtdee6a7MjJDk7lx4pEqV1escI21srKo6M0OhkNw/ //xzF/73/9tfj+N4fXkBc1dDAAQAcFNmTg5o6ER0P3ZAlJT+/fe374D/7stLdietiFCRLMnN8a/m F7WNuHpztm/ry1bbr5huthNRyYLdLlv2pgzICP9H/eM3/vp//+36P/zt//z9wqCUKnhByNd/Rvtv Xv/0X936fymS6z2ZfUllQ8nElIjNs3Bi4u6ABgCkhISIKCJE5O5m5u6CxMzaOgAkEXZwRHJoWlGg 5HK/30spAODu7obIAGxmiKiqiEhEAEBErbWUkrv33plZRFpr8a/j5e6IaGbMHB9BZgRUN3VzBGLq qlkSItZanz7em4qIiPTeAaD3vq6rqsZ44j1mFp9ydwAQkVqrma3r6u611hhzzMD4udaaUuq9j+8B AGYev8aw3Z2ZVTX+En8ckxAXjWkZ/zr+7u5EFNPCzACgqkSkqqWUeGfvnYjiFhAxZtIRRCQmnJlj tETEzPEpZo6Rxyuuxcwx/zEP5wjVHCCGse97SiluioTjomOcMatPMxCPb9zavu+lFBGJG4lHP6Y0 xhDzHG8ws3gzIsY3x/jjEvGRcdG4X3+8SimIGKtxfhAxUfZ4jW/+cNcA8ZG4UO89pXQOqWu8Z9xX XDRGHv+Pb4sJ+bxy4m3zkhsPBQC6KuA5dXHv8YjHwGL844GOPRK7KYY97nd+0LEIx6MZjz4G1lqL j4xJaK3FqGL5jcca3xND0q7gHnP4dDtjzGOFmFnv/WmWxuTH9MbHx1whomlnorEw4kLHcajqsixE FGs+ngIiHseRUorvKaXUWuP/iKgOMZJ933POMezWWmxOc+zuCm5IR+9u9i97+79+vFXHf3078ssv 34+9atNe63FAXlOW+7F/v+83wzfn7xV+/7H/WFYjkGVp0LD35L4hf1le/nj727dvv9V69GP/9Zcv 17e3xJxEquvt2H+5vN6+//5Pv/32+7/+619+/fXrl5e3v//+ly9fflyvKdPXX16T6rfXi9/3S1lf N7nVo2wZiEw7mfrRXrf1v3j99uP795RzWvIfb28Obohd+5fttR/H5WXTe211//Nv3/bvb8uaAfC2 73/9tx98udwU/sPf//iX6/V77ViWlaH3yohrFkly7PvLtiJRckyIt7frtpWtpJey5pR6a+SKhGqu 7s187611lVJq74cqEcX855yv1+u6ruuykGptdUtCSOTAYJnFtC8pEdH9/pZR3PTXl5ciqWs9zBwx MR/7nnMRpGPfk8ix35dLiSXxum6m5l0dnIlXJo/d4XBZ195aqy1JOnpdloWZ7/d7rXXbtthlCi4p tdbMLLbS7Xb785//fL3fm5qa1a5IDEjm+Ne//ZUlvSw551xK+eOPP7ZtiyUqIuiNiHLO+74zc1gP d2/HUXLpah28d0t5OWpzxHs9jl5VlYSFsyHe7tVMgRAoOcKylL//8bvkfL/dDLyUfDQ/jiN25cvL i7sfx4EAPcGP2xsA5JxNdT+OL1++7MehqgiwruuPHz9++9Ofvv/+e20tiazb9poKE13fbgCwH60h Qea3/aDYJOYuIu4O7kTEInjaUAVzJgpzkkRSSogev5qbmokIAOzHsddKDg7eWt/3o4MRkqqu27aU pYiwoHUrJZsrApScjuOWUlqWAujAgARM+JLXDUXUM6e2H4iec2YWdwcEYSYiU2u9m3tYurBEw+j7 +DszhREN44UI4AAgSUzN3eOxPcwZI76b4PCIw8bFcglHFU8ipTTMfbyG2Y1fERHczY3oHIi7I+Dw FsMzhc1lYv94R/FrOPUBrca1BrIJWHCuy4efG9acP77k8RpvCCcddz3gjpnFPhk+eMztcJzxGgOO T4WlDlwyBv/kk8anYopUNa41HOrwhfHOuOtxiTG9MzhQ1ZjqQCrjKk+vGOqYh4G65huPjy/L0nuP n2N6Zx8Zn4rnGFtghkHxhTFj81OYPz4PIx5Bznk82YGu5iXx0zsaV5lXLBGd6P4xD2PSxuTH4Ftr cY+xJJ7mbcx5XGIApofLP0cV4x8barj28YAGOIjJGRjiacuM2x8jGUAq3h+AaYC8eO4DBNvDHM14 PeYEABDhp6sioEm8xoaKpzOWX1x6vp3ee+yaByrCeRcE7olNhIgjCnpa/PH0x3IaEdRjgj2sfKzA CFp+OvjxblVDou5GgKjGgCKi5rXWnHNOWdXAQLUhuQEs6wqg5FBKWZeViQGViJLwuiyIFJ4SCdVM WL59/eXt7XtK6f729rKtjPjHH3/c930/jsvlknPZ7/euvfeGiMTk7syEgPtxEFJKqeRSUlHVvCzd zAFKzpwTIRKiWicmB+jatnUFAAettb1df3TVb9++3W87Mm6Xi6R8vd6Y5dj3XmspRdVczc1rrb13 QlLtLy8vS1neg0yirt3NiMke1tXDTJu13ltrsRFa7+u6EtHtfidEAjR1BPSuZuYAiHAch7vnvKSc RaRbJ8LjOBA8EKp29d4dnIno4Y8AgAEcsZSMhCKy5AwjpgJsrYE5EUmSWGnHcQBAKSV+EBEmirBh wHdmvt1uZj6MUkpCiKaWS9m2NWBK2JlYOSMwHqHsiZNUVdUBWIRFTK13BT83QqyllPO+70jobiKc UiIWMzPT2+1WSmm1au+llOv1GkOKXTDtcQKzNeclZ3BHAHRPzEvO7X43VVNF93q/m+qS87osJQkg 9ikeq62q2vV6pbGNR8QZ5oOR3NxUYwda6+gA7uTAwAhIAIJcJC0pF5aU0mVZ1d3NF5Fc8nEc3Y2S EKhDfJEiYj32tRTEE718edlelxUcACmz9Nb5vn9pmHbbkBkQiVmECB0AMbw7MrPEf+GVCYc/m02/ uw0/7AFxHJCQiIJ9ejJtOP3xH3mOyXjB/IYZoDzRJ+NdhCdACeMbFiqc9LIsxDR/8wku4QzOxpqL C4WFHSHybONGZBkLdI7Lw5GcK3XymrPziCHFynuGHdPbxu3PAGUOpsdTGDHo/BqjAngHoE9kw+DY hr8cz2Xc1/BhsTfG5A8nxMT40fHPQCG80cB2A7cNRmFAt6fpegJGY7UMGDoi+DANcY8zvzXDhYGn Py+zcfsDrw88Mbz18KADEaqqg8+PfkYJ8al4LmOSZ75tzN6A1Ce/9QAQ52g/bpAZms9kUiCYQFqD wvkMiOM7B5X1GXaoajgPEQnYN5iVeUHO0zvDFID/xKYeQUVrLYifQcY8vWcOCQZOGmh7frj+kQca ezZ+iJ0bi3CwmJMpggGUZ4PzDvsQbVquCclVl5SgKZjFLK7Lsi4roRAiICQC0OOXl0tmyDmpVmv9 y7b2YxfCsuTXl5ec8++//06AmbnuBwL02i7rSuDWKri9bIubbmVBVWu9lGRqASAQcV3WCB8REACE hZFQrdfq3QDAwWqt6tZ666rELEDgTkjgAGakigDMiGYkwowlJSYmJsmScpGS93o4uB2t1/b6+sKA CN56zymtZXlZttYbEV0uFwBwc0RovSEiQrj5VHKO5Z1Tbq2+/fhRJJWUs6TjvoNalkQeIbsuy8KJ 3QwI0B0f1t7dU2JhdnftauYsAubeO7jnkpNkMufTKJAIM2BKWYhA3d3B3B4bIRxTBOEA0Gqbo9PA 8TGliISEY9ONHY1wGkkmYpb4+rFQf0K9P/Za8JrDmgFAKUssyJRzzgkAHBwRRLi15mYll/vtfr/v NV7HHsuyq0ZuAYlyzgCYcw7on1La933fdzMTYQBQs/vtbqrxsMwM3FPOTNRbY+be+rkp3E1de++t I6A7rOuqXa+3a9dOEUiFZRERFkFEU4tw2dXQLWjqpZQs8vBdQIAj2AJw770eR5ZUUpGUERGFOEl3 cwA2YwRO4tpKLu7GgLXuzMQCCBaGqmsrJb0u21/WL4ujOCyl5JTQT2TAzF27u4WXtYneDyM1ApQH dAhWhogojE0sZXcTlpEtiicXUdkcAYchHkA1Fk3YpgjZh5ObXxOCQfCgurx3RUQWYWafKJaZTxLh 2WHHtQabHfHukz8e7mfcwmBuZoA12JSZnpmtc0R+7h4M5DDQ8/vHKh8pkvHDHI+Oq4zBzOmPJ0Az 8lwj/h6zMSLvQez33s1UJI0NGf+PTRLexT7ObWy/M2v68K+B1Qbj9cQ6nLux9wg+YpPPN/LEHDwR cgP9jJTQuKPZFc1vGCjnc85xvtaMlmZnOdOQMVFjSc8Y9J0pfHxbfPAJZ8yXGI/1iXocfwF/v3p4 3EiUDEP5lKIajyb4sKeV8HS/A98MFDVwbYSqA/8FIIgF8DTCcRdBwf2jgGRe23P