"Diana Wynne Jones - Howl's Moving Castle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jones Diana Wynne)

that was left of the last person you cleaned for?"
Sophie gave a weak little cackle of laughter. Her heart was behaving badly again.
Howl realized something was wrong with her. He jumped indoors across his guitar, took hold of her
elbow, and sat her in the chair. "Take it easy now!" Something happened between Howl and Calcifer
then. Sophie felt it, because e she was being held by Howl, and Calcifer was still leaning out of the
grate. Whatever it was, her heart began to behave properly again almost at once. Howl looked at
Calcifer, shrugged, and turned away to give Michael a whole lot of instructions about making Sophie
keep quiet for the rest of the day. Then he picked up the guitar and left at last.
Sophie lay in the chair and pretended to feel twice as ill as she did, she had to let Howl get out of sight.
It was a nuisance he was going to Upper Folding as well, but she would walk so much more slowly that
she would arrive around the time he started back. The important thing was not to meet him on the way.
She watched Michael slyly while he spread out his spell and scratched his head over it. She waited until
he dragged big leather books off the shelves and began making notes in a frantic, depressed sort of way.
When he seemed properly absorbed, Sophie muttered several times, "Stuffy in here!"
Michael took no notice. "Terribly stuffy," Sophie said, getting up and shambling to the door. "Fresh
air." She opened the door and climbed out. Calcifer obligingly stopped the castle dead while she did.
Sophie landed in the heather and took a look round to get her bearings. The road over the hills to Upper
Folding was a sandy line through the heather just downhill from the castle. Naturally. Calcifer would
not make things inconvenient for Howl. Sophie set off toward it. She felt a little sad. She was going to
miss Michael and Calcifer.
She was almost at the road when there was shouting behind her. Michael came bounding down the
hillside after her, and the tall black castle came bobbling along behind him, shedding anxious puffs of
smoke from all four turrets.
"What are you doing?" Michael said when he caught up. From the way he looked at her, Sophie could
see he thought the scarecrow had sent her wrong in the head.
"I'm perfectly all right," Sophie said indignantly. "I'm simply going to see my other sis-ter's
granddaughter. She's called Lettie too. Now do you understand?"
"Where does she live?" Michael demanded, as if he thought Sophie might not know.
"Upper Folding," said Sophie.
"But that's over ten miles away!" Michael said. "I promised Howl I'd make you rest. I can't let you go. I
told him I wouldn't let you out of my sight."
Sophie did not look very kindly on this. Howl thought she was useful now because he wanted her to see
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the King. Of course he did not want her to leave the castle. "Huh!" she said.
"Besides," said Michael, slowly grasping the situation, "Howl must have gone to Upper Folding too."
"I'm quite sure he had," said Sophie.
"Then you're anxious about this girl, it she's your great-niece," Michael said, arriving at the point at last.
"I see! But I can't let you go."
"I'm going," said Sophie.
"But if Howl sees you there he'll be furious," Michael went on, working things out. "Because I
promised him, he'll be mad with both of us. You ought to rest." Then, when Sophie was almost ready to
hit him, he exclaimed, "Wait! There's a pair of seven-league boots in the broom cupboard!"
He took Sophie by her skinny old wrist and towed her uphill to the waiting castle. She was forced to
give little hops in order not to catch her feet in the heather. "But," she panted, "seven leagues is
twenty-one miles! I'd be halfway to Porthaven in two strides!"
"No, it's ten and a half miles a step," said Michael. "That makes Upper Folding almost exactly. If we
each take one boot and go together, then I won't be letting you out of my sight and you won't be doing
anything strenuous, and we'll get there before Howl does, so he won't even know we've been. That
solves all our problems beautifully!"