Зима тревоги нашей

           NowwillyoubelieveI’mguilty?"

           "You!"

           "Youdon’tthinkI’mgoodenough,desirableenough,inotherwordsyoudon’tthinkIcouldmakethegrade?"

           "Ilikejokes.Youknowit—butthat’snotsomethingtojokeabout.Ihopethechildrenhaven’tgotintothetrunksupthere.Theyneverputanythingback."

           "I’lltryoncemore,fairwife.Acertainwoman,initialsM.Y.-H.,hassurroundedmewithtraps,forreasonsknownonlytoherself.Iamingravedangeroffallingintooneormoreofthem."

           "Whydon’tyouthinkofyourfortune?ThecardssaidJulyandtheysaiditthreetimes—Isawit.Youaregoingtogetmoneyandlotsofmoney.Thinkaboutthat."

           "Doyoulovemoneysomuch,cottontail?"

           "Lovemoney?Whatdoyoumean?"

           "Doyouwantmoneyenoughsothatevennecromancy,thaumaturgy,juju,oranyotherdarkpracticesarejustified?"

           "Yousaidit!Youstartedit.I’mnotgoingtoletyouhideinyourwords.DoIlovemoney?No,Idon’tlovemoney.ButIdon’tloveworryeither.I’dliketobeabletoholdupmyheadinthistown.Idon’tlikethechildrentobehang-dogbecausetheycan’tdressasgood—aswell—assomeothers.I’dlovetoholdupmyhead."

           "Andmoneywouldpropupyourhead?"

           "Itwouldwipethesneersoffthefacesofyourholyla-dedas."

           "NoonesneersatHawley."

           "That’swhatyouthink!Youjustdon’tseeit."

           "MaybebecauseIdon’tlookforit."

           "AreyouthrowingyourholyHawleysupatme?"

           "No,mydarling.It’snotmuchofaweaponanymore."