Eagle in the Sky - Smith Wilbur - Страница 51

• Предыдущая
• 51/90
• Следующая

pressed the silk dress she wore against her body, emphasizing the heavy

roundness of her breasts and the length of her legs.

She stood on the battlements of the crusader castle, leaning both hands

lightly on the head of her cane and she stared out across the water,

almost as though she could see beyond it.

Ella sat near her, on a fallen block of masonry out of the wind, but she

pinned her hat down with one hand as she spoke, watching Debra's face

intently to judge her reactions.

At the time it seemed the kindest thing to do.  I agreed to keep the

truth from you, because I did not want you to torture yourself Debra

spoke sharply Don't ever do that again.  Ella made a moue of resignation

and went on.  I had no way of knowing how bad he was, they would not let

me see him, and so I suppose I was a coward and let it drift.  I .

Debra shook her head angrily, but she remained silent.

Ella wondered again that sightless eyes could contain so much

expression, for Debra's emotions blazed clearly in the honey-coloured

sparks as she turned her head towards Ella.

It was not the time to distract you.  Don't you see, my dear?  You were

adjusting so nicely, working so well on your book.  I did not see that

we could gain anything by telling you.  I decided to cooperate with your

father, and see how things turned out later.

Then why are you telling me all this now?  Debra demanded.  What has

happened to change your mind what has happened to David?

Yesterday at noon David was discharged from Hadassah Hospital.

Hospital?  Debra was puzzled.  You don't mean he has been in hospital

all this time, Ella.  Nine months it's impossible!

It's the truth He must have been terribly hurt, Debra's anger had

changed to concern.  How is he, Ella?  What happened?

Is he healed now?  Ella was silent a moment, and Debra took a pace

towards her.  Well?  she asked.

David's plane flamed out and he was very badly burned about the head. He

has recovered completely now.  His burns have healed, but Ella hesitated

again, and Debra groped for her hand and found it.  Go on, Ella!  But

David is no longer the most beautiful man I have ever seen.  'I don't

understand?  He is no longer swift and vital and, any woman who sees him

now will find it difficult to be near him, let alone love him.  Debra

was listening intently, her expression rapt and her eyes soft-focused.

He is very conscious of the way he looks now.  He is searching for some

place to hide, I think.  He talks of wanting to fly as though it is some

form of escape.  He knows he is alone now, cut off from the world by the

mask he wears Debra's eyes had misted, and Ella made her gravelly voice

gentler and she went on.

But there is something who will never see that mask.  Ella drew the girl

closer to her.  Somebody who remembers only the way he was before.

Debra's grip tightened on Ella's hand, and she began to smile, it was an

expression that seemed to radiate from deep within her.

He needs you now, Debra, Ella said softly.  That is all there is left

for him.  Will you change your decision now?  Fetch him to me, Ella,

Debra's voice shook.  Fetch him to me as soon as you can.

David climbed the long line of stairs towards Ella's studio.  It was a

day of bright sunlight and he wore open sandals and light silk slacks of

a bronze colour and a short-sleeved shirt with a wide V-neck.  His arms

were pale from lack of sun, the dark hair of his chest contrasting

strongly against the soft cream, and upon his head he wore a

wide-brimmed white straw hat to guard the cicatrice from the sun and to

soften his face with shadow.

He paused, and he could feel the break of sweat under the shirt and the

pumping of his lungs.  He despised the weakness of his body and the

quivering of his legs as he came out on the terrace.  It was deserted,

and he crossed to the shuttered doors and went into the gloom.

Ella Kadesh sitting on a Samarkand carpet in the centre of the paved

floor was an astonishing sight.  For she was dressed in a brief bikini

costume adored with pink roses that almost disappeared under the rolls

of ponderous flesh that hung over it from belly and breast.

She was in the yoga position of Padmasana, the sitting lotus, and her

massive legs were twisted and entwined like mating pythons.  Her hands

were held before her palm to palm and her eyes were closed in

meditation; upon her head her ginger wig was set four square like that

of a judge.

David leaned in the doorway and before he could recover his breath he

began to laugh.  It began as a wheezy little chuckle, and then suddenly

he was really laughing, from deep down, great gusts of it that shook his

helpless body, and flogged his lungs.  It was not mirth but a catharsis

of the last dregs of suffering, it was the moment of accepting life

again, a taking up once more of the challenge of living.

Ella must have recognized it as such, for she did not move, squatting

like some cheerful buddha on the brilliant carpet, and she opened one

little eye.  The effect was even more startlingly comic, and David

reeled away from the door, and fell into one of the chairs.

Your soul is a desert, David Morgan, said Ella.  You have no recognition

of beauty, all loveliness would wither on the dung heap which, But the

rest of it was lost as she also began to giggle and the yoga pose broke

down, melting like a jelly on a hot day, and she traded him hoot for

hoot and bellow for bellow of laughter.

I'm stuck, she gasped at last.  Help me, Davey, you oaf - And he

staggered to her, knelt and struggled to help her unlock her interwoven

legs.  They came apart with little creaking and popping sounds and Ella

collapsed face down on the carpet groaning and giggling at the same

time.

Get out of here, she moaned.  Leave me to die in peace.  Go and find

your woman, she is down on the jetty.  She watched him go quickly, and

then she dragged herself up and went to the door.  The laughter dried up

and she whispered aloud, My two poor little crippled kittens, I wonder

if I have done the right thing.  The shadows of doubt crossed her face,

and then faded.  Well, it's too damn late for worry now, Kadesh, you

interfering old bag, you should have thought about that before.

A gaudily coloured towel and beach jacket were spread upon the jetty and

a transistor radio, with its volume turned high, blared out a heavy rock

tune.  Far out in the bay Debra was swimming alone, a steady powerful

overarm crawl.  Her brown arms flashed wetly in the sun at each stroke

and the water churned to froth at the beat of her legs.

She stopped to tread water.  Her bathing cap was plain white, and he

could see that she was listening for the sound of the radio for she

began to swim again, heading directly in towards the jetty.

She came out of the water, pulling off the cap and shaking out her hair.

Her body was dark, sun-browned and bejewelled with drops, the muscles

looked firm and hard and her tread was confident and sure as he came up

the stone steps and picked up her towel.

As she dried herself David stood near and watched her avidly, seeming to

devour her with his eyes, trying to make up in that first minute for all

those many months.

he'd pictured her so clearly, and yet there was much he had forgotten.

Her hair was softer, cloudier than he remembered.  He had forgotten the

plasticity and lustre of her skin, it was darker also than it had been

• Предыдущая
• 51/90
• Следующая