"Freda Warrington - A Taste of Blood Wine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Warrington Freda)

unkindness in him. She was grateful for the comforting familiarity
of his long, white-whiskered face. In the back of the Rolls-Royce,
the smoky leather scent wrapped itself round her like a blanket and
she began to relax at last.
She fell asleep for a time. When she woke they were in Cambridge
and almost home, but her head ached and her throat felt dry and
sore. Rain was sheeting along the tree-lined street as Maple guided
the long bonnet of the Rolls through the gate to their house.
"Are you all right, Charli?" said Maddy. "You look as white as a


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sheet."
"It's nothing, I just feel as if I've got the flu coming on," Charlotte
replied, coughing.
Madeleine shrank away dieatrically. "Well, don't come near me
with it."
The Nevilles' house was a graceful villa of creamy grey stone near
the Botanical Gardens, sheltered by trees and a high wall. Charlotte
drank in the sight of it as Maple opened the car door for them. There
was Sally, the maid, waiting for them in the porch, her thinness
accentuated by the long black uniform, her hair as always in untidy
wisps round her sweet, vague face. Next to her was Maple's wife
Mary, a prim little hen of a woman who never gave a sign of liking
or disliking anyone. They both smiled and stepped forward to
welcome Charlotte and Madeleine home.
As Charlotte stepped inside and shook the rain off her coat, the
homely scent of years of ingrained beeswax, tobacco and mustiness
greeted her. The walls were panelled in dark wood, the rooms
crowded with Victorian furniture. On dull days such as this its
gloominess could seem oppressive, but at this moment it spoke only
of peace and solitude.
Since their mother had died, the household had been presided over
by Mary Maple, aided by a cook and a maid; not a large staff by
some standards, but it had been hard to find good servants since the
War. George Neville preferred a small household, and would
probably have been happiest if he and Charlotte had lived there
alone.


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"Oh, I hate this house," Madeleine said with feeling, shivering as
Sally took their coats and hats.
"Maddy!"