"Деннис Уитли. The Devil Rides Out (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

gardens and, above a blank expanse of brick in which a single,
narrow door was visible, the upper stones of Simon's house showed
vague and mysterious among whispering trees.
'Ugh!' he exclaimed with a little shudder as a few drops splashed
upon his face from the dark branches overhead. 'What a dismal
hole-we might be in a graveyard.'
The Duke pressed the bell, and turning up the sable collar of his
coat against a slight drizzle which made the April night seem chill
and friendless, stepped back to get a better view of the premises.
'Hello! Simon's got an observatory here,' he remarked. 'I didn't
notice that on my previous visit.'
'So he has.' Rex followed De Richleau's glance to a dome that
crowned the house, but at that moment an electric globe suddenly
flared into life about their heads, and the door in the wall swung
open disclosing a sallow-faced manservant in dark livery.
'Mr. Simon Aron?' inquired De Richleau, but the man was already
motioning them to enter, so they followed him up a short covered
path and the door in the wall clanged to behind them,
The vestibule of the house was dimly lit, but Rex, who never wore
a coat or hat in the evening, noticed that two sets of outdoor
apparel lay, neatly folded, on a long console table as the silent
footman relieved De Richleau of his wraps. Evidently friend Simon
had other visitors.
'Maybe Mr. Aron's in conference and won't want to be disturbed,'
he said to the sallow-faced servant with a sudden feeling of guilt
at their intrusion. Perhaps, after all, their fears for Simon were
quite groundless and his neglect only due to a prolonged period of
intense activity on the markets, but the man only bowed and led them
across the hall.
'The fellow's a mute,' whispered the Duke. 'Deaf and dumb I'm
certain,' As he spoke the servant flung open a couple of large
double doors and stood waiting for them to enter.
A long, narrow room, opening into a wide salon, stretched before
them. Both were decorated in the lavish magnificence of the Louis
Seize period, but for the moment the dazzling brilliance of the
lighting prevented them taking in the details of the parquet floors,
the crystal mirrors, the gilded furniture and beautifully wrought
tapestries.
Rex was the first to recover and with a quick intake of breath he
clutched De Richleau's arm. 'By Jove she's here!' he muttered almost
inaudibly, his eyes riveted on a tall, graceful girl who stood some
yards away at tbe entrance of the salon talking to Simon.
Three times in the last eighteen months he had chanced upon that
strange, wise, beautiful face, with the deep eyes beneath heavy lids
that seemed so full of secrets and gave the lovely face a curiously
ageless look-so that despite her apparent youth she was as old
as-'Yes, as old as sin,' Rex caught himself thinking.
He had seen her first in a restaurant in Budapest; months later
again, in a traffic jam when his car was wedged beside hers in New
York, and then, strangely enough, riding along a road with three