Читаем A Dangerous Fortune (1994) полностью

Peter Middleton's parents were too grief-stricken to attend. They sent their lawyer, a sleepy-eyed old man whose only object was to get the whole thing over with a minimum of fuss. Peter's older brother David was there, and became quite agitated when the lawyer declined to ask Micky or Edward any questions, but to Micky's relief the old man waved aside his whispered protests. Micky was thankful for his laziness. He was ready for cross-examination, but Edward might have crumbled.

In the head's dusty drawing room Mrs. Pilaster embraced Edward and kissed the wound on his forehead where Tonio's stone had hit him. "My poor dear child," she said. Micky and Edward had not told anyone that Tonio had thrown a stone at Edward, for then they would have to explain why he did it. Instead they had said that Edward banged his head when he dived in to rescue Peter.

As they drank their tea, Micky saw a new side to Edward. His mother, sitting beside him on the sofa, touched him constantly and called him Teddy. Instead of being embarrassed, as most boys would, he seemed to like it, and kept giving her a winning little smile that Micky had never seen before. She's stupid about him, Micky thought, and he loves it.

After a few minutes of small talk Mrs. Pilaster stood up abruptly, startling the men, who scrambled to their feet. "I'm sure you want to smoke, Dr. Poleson," she said. Without waiting for a reply she went on: "Mr. Pilaster will take a turn around the garden with you. Teddy dear, go with your father. I should like to have a few quiet minutes in the chapel. Perhaps Micky would show me the way."

"By all means, by all means, by all means," the head stuttered, falling over himself in his eagerness to assent to this series of commands. "Off you go, Miranda."

Micky was impressed. How effortlessly she made them all do her bidding! He held the door for her and followed her out.

In the hall he said politely: "Would you like a parasol, Mrs. Pilaster? The sun is quite strong."

"No, thank you."

They went outside. There were a lot of boys hanging around outside the head's house. Micky guessed that word had got around about Pilaster's stunning mother, and they had all come to catch a glimpse of her. Feeling pleased to be her escort, he led her through a series of courtyards and quadrangles to the school chapel. "Shall I wait outside for you?" he offered.

"Come inside. I want to talk to you."