"Connie Willis - The Winds Of Marble Arch" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

The Winds of Marble Arch




The Winds of Marble Arch
by Connie Willis
Cath refused to take the tube.

"You loved it the last time we were here," I said, rummaging through my suitcase for a tie.

"Correction. You loved it," she said, brushing her short hair. "I thought it was dirty and smelly and
dangerous."

"You’re thinking of the New York subway. This is the London Underground." The tie wasn’t there. I
unzipped the side pocket and jammed my hand down it. "You rode the tube the last time we were here."

"I also carried my suitcase up five flights of stairs at that awful bed and breakfast we stayed at. I have no
intention of doing that either."

She wouldn’t have to. The Connaught had a lift and a bellman.

"I hated the tube," she said. "I only took it because we couldn’t afford taxis. And now we can."

We certainly could. We could also afford a hotel with carpet on the floor and a bathroom in our room
instead of down the hall. A far cry from the–what was it called? It had had brown linoleum floors you
hadn’t wanted to walk on in your bare feet, and you had to put coins in a meter above the bathtub to get
hot water.

"What was the name of that place we stayed at?" I asked Cath.

"I’ve repressed it," she said. "All I remember is that the tube station had the name of a cemetery."

"Marble Arch," I said, "and it wasn’t named after a cemetery. It was named after the copy of the Roman
arch of Constantine in Hyde Park."

"Well, it sounded like a cemetery."

"The Royal Hernia!" I said, suddenly remembering.

Cath grinned. "The Royal Heritage."


file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Willis%20-%20The%20Winds%20of%20Marble%20Arch.htm (1 of 41)3/12/2004 11:40:55 PM
 The Winds of Marble Arch

"The Royal Hernia of Marble Arch," I said. "We should go visit it, just for old times’ sake."

"I doubt if it’s still there," she said, putting on her earrings. "It’s been twenty years."