"P. N. Elrod - Jonathan Barrett 01 - Red Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elrod P N)

ather, and he, being a good and decent man, had said her house was there for
her, the doors open. Her swift arrival caused us to speculate that she had
not actually waited for his reply.
She'd just as swiftly assumed the running of the household in her own manner
, subtly and not so subtly disrupting every level of life and work. Surprisi
ngly, few servants left. Most were very loyal to Father and had the understa
nding that this was to be only a brief visit. When things had settled back t
o normal in Philadelphia, Mother would soon depart from us.
A likely chance, I thought cynically. Surely she was enjoying herself too mu
ch to leave.
She paused in her speech; apparently I'd been delinquent in my latest respon
se.
"This is ... is marvelous to hear, Mother. I hardly know what to say."
"A 'thank you' would be appropriate."
Yes, of course it would. "Thank you, Mother."
She nodded, comically regal, but not a bit amusing. My stomach was starting
to roil in reaction to the tempest between my ears. I had to get out of here
before exploding myself.
"May I be excused, Mother?"
"Excused? I should think you'd want to hear all the rest of the details we ha
ve planned."
'Truly I do, but must confess that my brain is whirling so much now I am hard
ly able to breathe. I beg but a little time to recover so that I may give you
my best attention later."
"Very well. I suppose you'll run off to tell Elizabeth everything."
To this, a correct assumption that was really none of her business, I made
another courtly bow upon which she could apply her own interpretation.
"You are excused. But remember: no arguments and no more foolishness. Goi
ng to Cambridge is the greatest opportunity you're ever going to receive
to make something of yourself."
"Yes, Mother." I bowed again, inching anxiously toward the door.
"This is, after all, for your own good," she concluded serenely
Anger flushed through me again as I turned and stalked from the room. How
fond she was of that idea. God save me from all the hideous people hell-
bent on doing things for my own good. So far there'd been only one in my
life, my mother, and she was more than enough.
Quietly shutting the door behind me, I slipped down the hall until there was
enough distance between us for noise not to matter, then began to run as th
ough the house were on fire. Not bothering with a coat or hat, I threw mysel
f outside into the cold April air. The woman was suffocating. I needed to be
free of her and all thought of her. My feet carried me straight to the stab
les. With its mud, muck, and the irreverent company of the lads, this was on
e place I would be safe.
"Over here, Mr. Jonathan!"
My black servant, Jericho, waved at me. He was just emerging from the darkn
ess of one of the buildings. Though he was primarily my valet and therefore
supposed to keep to the house, neither of us paid much attention to such t
hings. He was fairly high up in the household hierarchy and able to bend a
rule here and there as long as nobody minded. If he chose to play the part
of a groom, he suffered no loss in status, because working with horses was