Morgan Cheshire Always With Us

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the path continued into the woodland and the
cooler air beneath the trees.
Ahead of them was a dome made of iron railings,
which was surrounded by spectators, and as they
got closer it became clear that it covered the bear-
pit. Harrison felt a pang of pity as he looked down
towards the two brown bears it held; one was
circling mindlessly round and round the enclosure,
the other pressed back into what appeared to be a
passageway out of the pit. Onlookers were shouting
at to the bears, and occasionally throwing pebbles
and sticks at them to see their reaction; those of a
kinder nature threw sweets or cakes but the bears
largely ignored them.
Harrison turned away. "I had thought that
perhaps Joseph might like to come here, but on
reflection I don't think I would want to bring him. I
think he would be very upset to see those poor
bears treated like that."
Daniel walked beside him. "Cages are hateful,"
he said, "wherever they are, and whatever is in
them. Poverty is a cage, and so are ignorance and
fear." He sighed. "And sometimes we make cages of
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our own."
"I know," was the rueful response. "This really
wasn't a very good idea, was it? In fact, Isaac's
funeral was more fun; at least he had a good life,
and people will miss him now that he's gone."
"Well, at any rate, I think I've seen enough
imprisoned animals for one day," returned Daniel.
"Shall we have dinner at the hotel before we catch
the ferry back?"
"Yes, why not? There's no real reason to hurry."
They had reached the flower gardens again, and
here Harrison paused. "I wonder how Joseph is
getting on with my mother?" he speculated, smiling.
"Having a wonderful time, no doubt. He really
loves her, doesn't he?"
"Oh, I can assure you, it's mutual; which is
another good reason for not going to Manchester, of
course."
"I did have a very good reason for going," Daniel
reminded him, teasingly.
Harrison's answering glance was full of apology,
affection and discreet promise. "But now you don't
have to," he said quietly. "Do you?" Leaving the
gardens they entered the hotel, where the dining-
room commanded a sweeping view of the river and
the pier where the ferry was currently taking on
passengers. It was easy enough to linger there,
watching the comings-and-goings of the travellers
and the sparkle of sunlight on the water. The food
was good and they took their time over it, happy in
each other's company, unwilling for the day to end.
Eventually, to enjoy the very last of the sunshine,
they took their brandy and cigars out onto the
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veranda, watching the light fading from the sky.
Soon, however, the warmth of the day had faded
too, and the cold breeze from the river was cutting
through their clothing.
"Time to leave," decided Harrison regretfully.
They looked down to the jetty and out across the
river, expecting to see the ferry boat on its way
back, but there was no sign of it; it was beginning
to look as if they might be in for quite a long wait
before the next one. "I suggest we go inside," said
Daniel, "where it's warmer. I wouldn't want you to
run the risk of taking a chill."
The landlady, busy sorting glasses behind the
bar, looked surprised to see them as they re-entered
the premises. "Can I help you, gentlemen?" she
asked.
"You can if you can tell us the time of the next
ferry," said Daniel, with a pleasant smile.
"Ah. That would be tomorrow morning, sir, I'm
afraid."
"Tomorrow?" This reply was so completely
unexpected that Daniel could not quite help
repeating it.
"Yes, sir, tomorrow. Summer timetable isn't on
yet, sir; the last boat left a couple of hours ago."
"I see. Thank you." Daniel turned to look at
Harrison. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. We can
walk back up into the village and on as far as
Hooton and wait for a train there, if you like, or
alternatively we can stay here for the night and take
the first ferry across tomorrow morning."
Harrison sighed. "I'm rather too tired to walk all
the way to Hooton," he confessed, "and the road will
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be very dark. I think we had probably better stay.
Does she have a room - rooms - available?"
Daniel smiled. "I'm sure she does." He went to
speak to the landlady. "I think we'd like to stay," he
said. "Can you let us have two single rooms for the
night?"
Almost before he had finished speaking,
however, the landlady was shaking her head. "No,
sir, I'm sorry, I can't. There's a big party coming in
later, regulars of ours - a whole cricket team, over
here to play a match tomorrow."
"Have you nothing at all? Or is there anywhere
else in the village that offers rooms?"
The landlady looked across doubtfully at
Harrison. "There's a double, sir, right at the top of
the house, if the gentleman wouldn't mind sharing."
"Ah, of course. Well, I'll see what he says. I do
know that he's anxious not to walk very much
further this evening; he's been rather ill." But even
as he was speaking, the sheer inescapable
inevitability of it all was borne in upon Daniel. After
all that they had said to one another, and all the
confessions and promises that they had made, this
one subject had never yet been aired between them;
it had been there but it had not been there, present
yet ignored.
For the sake of appearances he went over to
consult Harrison on the question of sharing a room,
and then returned to the landlady to accept the key
and directions.
"Up these stairs here, sir, turn right, and up the
other stairs at the end of the landing, and you'll see
your room right ahead of you. "Will you be requiring
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anything else, sir, before you retire for the night?"
"Thank you. Would you please send up a bottle
of brandy and two glasses?"
"Yes, sir," said the landlady, and it was just as
simple as that. She gave no indication what she
thought of them, if anything, or whether she had
any suspicion regarding their intentions; if she had,
she kept them to herself - and, thought Daniel,
wryly, as he followed Harrison up the stairs towards
their bedroom, he supposed their money would be
just as good to her as anybody else's.
The room was on the top floor with a view of the
river, and in the distance the lights of Liverpool
shone ever brighter as darkness closed in.
Daniel lit the gas lights before closing the
curtains and looking around. It was a small room,
the only furniture being a double bed and a
dressing-table, and there was a built-in cupboard-
wardrobe next to the fireplace. They had scarcely
got their bearings when there was a knock at the
door, which Harrison opened to admit a young boy
carrying a tray.
"Your brandy, sir," he said, gravely.
"Thank you." Standing aside, Harrison watched
the youth put the tray down on the dressing-table,
handed him a generous tip, and went on to make
sure that the door was securely fastened after he
had left.
Daniel, watching him from the other side of the
room, felt that he couldn't bear another single
minute of uncertainty. He was aware that he was
risking both his future and their friendship as he
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took a step towards Harrison, but stopped at the
foot of the bed and found that he could go no
further.
"Daniel? Is everything all right?"
The quiet voice in the still room made Daniel's
heart thud alarmingly. He gathered his courage to
move closer, placing his hands on Harrison's
shoulders, pulling him forward slightly, and in
answer to the question in the blue eyes he bent his
head, covering Harrison's mouth with his own in a
kiss that perfectly encapsulated all the unavailing
longing of the past few months.
Harrison's hands settled comfortably on Daniel's
waist, and he took an unsteady breath as they
parted, leaning in again to the support of the arms
that still held him. That was when Daniel knew for [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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