"Simon R. Green - Nightside 1 - Drinking Midnight Wine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

Toby shrugged happily. 'Carys said there are no accidents. That some things are meant to be.'
Gayle looked at him. 'Now that really is bullshit.'

FIVE
SECRET HISTORIES
They left the house together, after Gayle had spent a certain amount of time looking for her good
coat and her mobile phone, decided she didn't need either of them after all, checked her
appearance in two different mirrors and finally bustled out without looking back to see whether
Toby was following. She waited impatiently for him to step out of the front door, and then slammed
it hard, making sure the lock had caught properly. You can't be too careful these days, she
muttered, and Toby nodded solemnly. Determined as he was to keep in her good graces, at that point
he would have agreed to anything, up to and including his own evisceration, provided it wasn't too
imminent. He was also observing her closely, without being too obvious about it. The door they'd
just passed through was supposed to translate them out of Veritie and back into Mysterie, though
Toby couldn't honestly say he'd felt anything, and he was curious to see if Gayle would look any
different now, as Carys Galloway had in the shadowy corner of the Dandy Lion. But no; she still
looked exactly the same: utterly magnificent. Gayle caught him looking at her, and smiled briefly.
'What were you expecting? That I'd suddenly sprout wings and a halo, or horns and a tail? This is
me, Toby, whatever world I'm in. I've put a lot of thought into my appearance, and it hasn't
changed for centuries.'
Toby raised an eyebrow. 'Centuries?'
'Yes. Now do you begin to understand why there can never be anything between us?'
'I've always preferred the more mature woman,' Toby said calmly.

'Especially when she looks as good as you. Tell me about these doors of yours, that allow us to
pass between the worlds. How does that work, exactly?'
'It works because I want it to,' said Gayle. 'If only people could be so reliable. Now follow me.'
'To the ends of the earth and back again, and all points in between. Where are we going?'
'First, to the Dandy Lion.' Gayle glared at Toby. 'If only to find out why Carys Galloway thought
it necessary to inflict you on me. She'd better have a really good reason, or I'll hit her with a
rain of frogs again.'
'She was very insistent that we needed to meet,' Toby said diffidently. 'I didn't have to bribe
her, or anything. She gave me the distinct impression that she knows something about what's going
on here.'
'Oh, Carys always knows what's going on,' said Gayle, setting off down the street at a fast pace,
her long legs striding away as though half hoping she could leave Toby behind. He stuck close to
her elbow, so she couldn't slip suddenly into a side alley and lose him. Gayle scowled, looking
straight ahead. 'The problem with Carys is getting straight answers out of her. She does so love
to hint and tease, and play at being mysterious. I think she was an oracle once, and she's never
got over it. Well, she'll talk straight to me or I'll bounce her off the nearest wall till her
ears bleed. Don't dawdle, Toby. If you really are what you're supposed to be, we're going to have
to cover a lot of ground this morning, and I don't want to miss my soaps this afternoon.'
With Gayle striding away as if she was in a race, and Toby hurrying to keep up with her, it didn't
take them long to reach the Dandy Lion. Gayle barged straight through the swing doors and then
stopped so abruptly it was all Toby could do to keep from bumping into her. He peered over her
shoulder to see what the hold-up was, and was astonished to see that everyone in the now silent
pub was staring openly at Gayle. As Toby watched, they all fell to one knee and bowed their heads
to her. She could have been their love, their queen, their goddess. None of them looked afraid.
Most looked radiantly happy, eyes filling with tears of joy. Some were actually wringing their
hands. Gayle slowly shook her head and moved forward into the bar.