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time of night. She hadn't bothered with the veil coming back; as
poorly lit as the streets here were, why trouble herself? Besides,
she was in the cab most of the time anyway.
"Thank you, Tom," she said with gratitude. She'd forgotten this was a
Saturday, and the resultant number of drunks hanging about the Fleet
was double the usual. She'd been glad to get past them and into the
waiting cab.
"Moi pleasure, ma'am," Tom replied, with a grin.
"The timin' is pretty good anyways, come Satterdays. I usually gets a
fella t' take down nears t' the Fleet, an' by th' time I brings ye
back here, it's about time fer th' theater crowd, an' you're handy
t' that."
"Fair enough-and good luck to you for the rest of the night!" she
called after him as he pulled away. She was about to enter the door
of her surgery, when the unusual sound of another cab coming along
arrested her before she could set her hand to the latch.
She wondered for a moment if it wasn't sheer coincidence-but then the
cab stopped right at her door, and Peter Scott alighted, paid the
driver and exchanged a few words with him, then turned toward her as
the second cab moved off.
She smiled; she couldn't help herself. "Very punctual, Mister
Scott," she said approvingly.
He touched his hat to her. "I try to be, Doctor Witherspoon."
Good, No "Miss Witherspoon," no "ma'am," and certainly no "Maya" or
"Miss Maya." He's not presuming anything, except that I agree with
his judgment and accept his offer of teaching. That pleased her;
she'd had her fill and more of men who "presumed" far too much, given
her mixed heritage. She unlocked the door. He opened it for her, a
gentlemanly action, especially given that she was already burdened
with her bag and umbrella.
Gupta, on hearing the cab and her key in the lock, materialized in
the hallway, and looked surprised, even shocked, to see that she
wasn't alone. "Mem sahib-" he began, and then stopped, for once
caught without words.
"You remember Captain Scott from yesterday," she prompted. Gupta
nodded, cautiously. "Captain Scott was not here for a knee ailment,
as I'm sure you guessed. He is a man of magic; he came to see what
was causing a-"
"-disturbance," Peter Scott supplied, when she groped for words; he
did not seem at all surprised that she revealed her secret and his-if
it even was one to those in her household-to her servant. "Doctor
Witherspoon and I recognized each other for what we are. I am here
to-" A slight hesitation, then that charming, faint smile crinkled
the corners of his eyes "-to trade my lore for hers, seeing as we
come from opposite sides of the world."
Oh, well said!
Gupta's face suddenly lit up, as if Peter Scott had given him his
heart's desire. The transformation from suspicious old warrior and
wary guardian to this was nothing short of startling. "You are to
teach her! Blessed be Lord Ganesh, who has answered my prayers! Oh,
mem sahib, this is good, this is very good!"
Peter Scott looked thunderstruck; Maya almost laughed at the comical
expression on his face. She wasn't in the least surprised by Gupta's
lightning conclusion, given the revelations she'd had from him last
night and his quick mind. He'd known from the moment that Peter Scott
entered the door that the knee was pretense; he'd also known that
whatever reason there had been for the deception, Maya had penetrated
it and dismissed it, because she had invited him into the garden. And
the animals clearly approved of him-if Gupta didn't know exactly what
they were (and she wouldn't necessarily wager that he didn't) he at
least knew that they were something special, for they had been her
mother's companions once her twin sister deserted her. Anyone they
approved of could not be bad.
Thus-his quick appreciation of the reason for Captain Scott's
appearance at this hour.
"Will you go to the garden? Or to-the other room?" he asked, as Peter
Scott struggled to regain his composure.
"The garden for now, I think, Gupta. Please see that we are left
alone," she replied, knowing that Gupta would carry out her wishes to
the letter. After all, she didn't need his physical protection in the
garden. Nisha was in the garden, and it was well after dark. She
would be awake and watching, and eagle-owls had been known to kill
(if not carry off) newborn kids and fawns. If Peter Scott dared to
lay so much as an unwanted finger on her, he would shortly be
displaying a bloody, furrowed scalp.
Gupta simply bowed and vanished. Maya herself led her guest back
through the house into the conservatory. Once there, she delayed the
moment of truth for a little by lighting several more candle-
lanterns, while Scott settled himself into the same chair he had
taken yesterday morning. She glanced up, and caught sight of Nisha's
eyes gleaming down at her from the shadows above.
A moment more, however, and a swirl of mongooses enveloped Peter
Scott's ankles, while Charan took imperious possession of his lap. A
laugh escaped him, and he looked surprised that it had.
I don't think he laughs very much, she thought, as she took advantage
of her little friends' purposeful confusion to take possession of her
chair. And I think that's a great pity.
Only when she was seated did they grant him relief from their
deliberately exuberant greetings. They both looked at each other for
a long, silent moment. Maya decided to be the one to break the
silence.
"I am glad that you wrote to me," she said, simply.
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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