Поющие в терновнике

           Clydecanreplacemeadequatelyintwoseconds,butyoucan’t,canyou?I’msorryit’stakenmethirty-oneyearstorealizethat.

           HadRainnothelpedmeitmighthavetakenevenlonger,buthe’samostperceptivebloke.He’snevermetyou,yetheseemstounderstandyoubetterthanIdo.Still,theysaytheonlookerseesthegamebest.That’scertainlytrueofhim.I’mfedupwithhim,alwayssupervisingmylifefromhisOlympianheights.HeseemstothinkheowesDanesomesortofdebtorpromise,andhe’sforevermakinganuisanceofhimselfpoppingovertoseeme;onlyI’vefinallyrealizedthatI’mthenuisance.IfI’msafelyonDroghedathedebtorpromiseorwhateveritwasiscanceled,isn’tit?HeoughttobegratefulfortheplanetripsI’llsavehim,anyway.

           AssoonasI’vegotmyselforganizedI’llwriteagain,tellyouwhentoexpectme.Inthemeantime,rememberthatinmystrangewayIdoloveyou.

           Shesignedhernamewithoutitsusualflourish,morelikethe"Justine"whichusedtoappearonthebottomofdutifulletterswrittenfromboardingschoolundertheeagleeyeofacensoringnun.Thenshefoldedthesheets,puttheminanairmailenvelopeandaddressedit.OnthewaytothetheaterforthefinalperformanceofMacbethshepostedit.

           ShewentstraightaheadwithherplanstoquitEngland.Clydewasupsettotheextentofascreamingtempertantrumwhichlefthershaking,thenovernightheturnedcompletelyaboutandgaveinwithhuffygoodgrace.