Поющие в терновнике
Chapter 7
IwondercouldyouhaveswitchedallegiancessoeasilyhadyouknownhowmuchI’mactuallyworth?Doyouknow,Ralph?Idon’tthinkyouhaveaninkling.Isupposeitisn’tladyliketomentiontheexactsumofone’sassetsinone’swill,soIhadbettertellyouherejusttomakesureyouhaveallthenecessaryinformationatyourfingertipswhenitcomestoyourmakingadecision.Giveortakeafewhundredthousands,myfortuneamountstosomethirteenmillionpounds.
I’mgettingdowntowardthefootofthesecondpage,andIcan’tbebotheredturningthisintoathesis.Readmywill,Ralph,andafteryou’vereadit,decidewhatyou’regoingtodowithit.WillyoutenderittoHarryGoughforprobate,orwillyouburnitandnevertellasoulitexisted.That’sthedecisionyou’vegottomake.IoughttoaddthatthewillinHarry’sofficeistheoneImadetheyearafterPaddycame,andleaveseverythingIhavetohim.Justsoyouknowwhathangsinthebalance.
Ralph,Iloveyou,somuchIwouldhavekilledyoufornotwantingme,exceptthatthisisafarbetterformofreprisal.I’mnotthenoblekind;IloveyoubutIwantyoutoscreaminagony.Because,yousee,Iknowwhatyourdecisionwillbe.IknowitassurelyasifIcouldbethere,watching.You’llscream,Ralph,you’llknowwhatagonyis.Soreadon,mybeautiful,ambitiouspriest!Readmywill,anddecideyourfate.
Itwasnotsignedorinitialed.Hefeltthesweatonhisforehead,feltitrunningdownthebackofhisneckfromhishair.
