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ingredients in proper order.
She did, and there was even half a bottle of milk in the small
refrigerator. Raina filled two of the pretty floral china cups and took
them into Logan's office. He put down the pen in his hand and
gestured to her to sit down opposite the desk.
He sipped his tea, watching her, and she had the curious impression
that he was taking pleasure in having her sitting here with him. Her
cup made a faint clatter as she replaced it in the saucer, and she stayed
with her head bent, looking at it.
'How would you like to fly a helicopter?' Logan asked her.
Raina looked up. 'I don't know. It would be a change.'
'A challenge?'
'That, too, I suppose.'
From outside the sound of Danny's humming helicopter imitation
came faintly. 'Danny loved it,' she said. 'Though he was a bit scared at
first.'
'A new experience is often rather frightening.'
'He'd flown before. Was he scared when you took him up in the
plane?'
'As you said, it's not quite the same. You've flown before, too. You
said it was different. Did you find it better than conventional flight?'
'Just different. Must I make a comparison?'
'I wish you wouldn't. Life offers a lot of new experiences. It's a
mistake to keep comparing them with the ones that have gone before.
You've never been afraid of accepting a challenge before.'
He wasn't talking about flying. Raina put her cup and saucer on the
desk, and said, 'I'm not afraid now. I'm just not sure of what the
challenge is.' Logan's eyebrows rose a little, and his mouth expressed
a wry disbelief.
He shrugged with a hint of impatience, drained his cup and replaced it
on the saucer.
'I won't keep you long,' he said, and picked up the pen again.
It was an inconclusive end to the conversation, and as she washed the
cups up in the small, spotless, stainless steel sink provided in the
compact little kitchen off Angela's office, Raina sighed with
frustration.
Danny came clattering in, and she found some ice cubes to drop in a
glass of water for him. He drained the glass and popped one of the ice
cubes into his cheek, then went outside again to swing on the railing
guarding the steps.
The hour dragged. Raina walked about the permissible perimeters of
the airfield with Danny and tried to answer his questions, then sat in
the outer office while he drew pictures of aeroplanes on some old
letterhead paper that Logan gave him. The office was bright and airy
and tasteful, and it reminded her of Angela.
When at last Logan said he was finished, she stood up so quickly that
he was amused. 'Bored?' he asked.
'Incredibly,' she answered crisply. 'I should have brought a book.'
'Angela keeps some magazines for visitors,' he said. 'You should have
asked.'
'I wasn't to know, was I? Although Angela's such a paragon, I
suppose I should have guessed.'
She swept out of the building, ignoring his narrowed gaze, taking
Danny with her.
Danny sat in the back chattering, and Raina kept her eyes strictly on
the view as Logan drove them home. She was so far away that it was
a few moments before she reacted to Danny's sudden startled wail,
and turned in her seat to see what on earth was the matter.
Drops of scarlet blood spattered his yellow tee- shirt, and for a.
moment her heart lurched in sickening fear, before she realised it was
only his nose bleeding.
She leaned over, trying to reassure him, and Logan brought the car to
a halt at the verge of the road, saying, 'What's, the trouble?'
Raina gave Danny her handkerchief and said, 'Here, darling, hold
that.' Then she threw open her door and scrambled into the back seat
with Danny, laying his head back against her breast and explaining
that it was only a nosebleed and nothing to worry about*-
Danny gulped, and she said, it will stop soon,' but her handkerchief
was soaked, and she said to Logan, 'There's a packet of tissues in the
glove-box, I think. Can you get them?'
He rummaged, swore under his breath and eventually produced them,
and in a few minutes the bleeding stopped, and a relieved little boy
was taken into the front seat to sit by Raina for the remainder of the
journey. Logan's look registered sardonic disapproval, but he said
nothing in the face of Raina's challenging stare.
She put Danny to bed early, and found Logan in the lounge
afterwards pouring himself a drink.
'Want one?' he asked her, and she said, 'Yes, that would be nice.'
His look held faint sarcasm, but he poured a sherry for her in silence,
and handed it to her as she sat down in one of the wide leather chairs.
She ran her fingers along the arm of the chair and absently looked [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]