Поющие в терновнике

           Heshieldedhiseyeswithhishand,thankfulhissecretarywassafelyinherouteroffice,notsittingwhereshecouldseehisface."Justine,Herzchen,that’smarvelousnews!"hemanagedtosayenthusiastically."IwaswonderingwhatbroughtyoubacktoLondon."

           "Oh,Daneunderstood,"shesaidlightly,"andinawayIthinkhewasquitegladtobealone.Hehadconcoctedastoryaboutneedingmetobitchathimtogohome,butIthinkitwasallmoreforhissecondreason,thathedoesn’twantmetofeelexcludedfromhislifenowhe’sapriest."

           "Probably,"heagreedpolitely.

           "Saturdayevening,then,"shesaid."Aroundsix,thenwecanhavealeisurelypeacetreatysessionwiththeaidofabottleortwo,andI’llfeedyouafterwe’vereachedasatisfactorycompromise.Allright?"

           "Yes,ofcourse.Goodbye,Herzchen."

           Contactwascutoffabruptlybythesoundofherreceivergoingdown;hesatforamomentwithhisstillinhishand,thenshruggedandreplaceditonitscradle.DamnJustine!Shewasbeginningtocomebetweenhimandhiswork.

           Shecontinuedtocomebetweenhimandhisworkduringthesucceedingdays,thoughitwasdoubtfulifanyonesuspected.AndonSaturdayeveningalittleaftersixhepresentedhimselfatherapartment,empty-handedasusualbecauseshewasadifficultpersontobringgifts.Shewasindifferenttoflowers,neveratecandyandwouldhavethrownamoreexpensiveofferingcarelesslyinsomecorner,thenforgottenit.TheonlygiftsJustineseemedtoprizewerethoseDanehadgivenher.