[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
. If that swhat you d like. I do not know whether you are pretending or when you are serious, I said,rising to my feet and strolling toward the stone railing.In my haste to make a clever escape, I failed to see where the terrace endedand the lawn began.I stumbled and fell against the wall.I d never felt moreclumsy and awkward then at that moment.He was beside me in an instant, keeping me from toppling down the hill-side. Please be careful.I m not ready to engage another tutor. He laughed,  Ithink throwing yourself off my terrace is a bit extreme recourse for not wanting64 T HE M AS TER OF S EACL I F Fto draw me. His strong hands stayed on my waist, and I liked them being there. Your drawings are superb, Andrew.You are indeed gifted.Perhaps his hand on my waist was the reason for my newfound confidence.The sensations coursing through my body were indescribable.Like Leo s kissbut more intense. Let s move over here, he said.Guiding me to a small wrought-iron bench atthe east end of the terrace, we sat.The sea, sensing the master of Seacliff wasnear, quieted down.I could only hear the occasional crash of waves.Duncanwatched with intensity as I prepared.He said,  When I was in Paris  You ve been to Paris? How fortunate. I met Tim s mother there.The street artist used his thumb to center the page.You are not so inclined, Andrew? I am already familiar with your face.I need for you only to be quiet, please.How in charge I sounded! Me, Andrew, the shy and meek, telling the mightyDuncan Stewart to be silent.My hands never worked with such efficiency.It was if an unseen power con-trolled them.Duncan Stewart sat, patient, and did not interrupt, either withquestions or comments, while I completed my work.As I felt his penetrating stare, I wondered if he looked at Steven Charles thesame way.I could see them in the drawing room, Steven at the piano, Duncanon the sofa smoking his cigar.Those were happy days in the house.I finisheda rough sketch in minutes, and with a flourish, gave it to him.Nodding his ap-proval, he smiled. Excellent. Looking at my charcoal pencil, he concluded,  And you did itwith the simplest of tools.I am impressed.May I keep this, Andrew? I predict itmay be quite valuable in time. If you wish, however, I would like to add some color and shading.I can dothat without your being present, Mr.Stewart. Can t you call me Duncan? It is such a simple name to pronounce. I will try, sir. And drop the  sir.  He paused. I understand from Fellowes my son is re-gaining the educational ground he lost while without a tutor. Tim is a bright child. No more tricks? None. This was a lie.Tim surprised me the day before with a long greensnake in my desk drawer.Having sworn Mrs.Johnson to secrecy, I hoped wordof this would not get back to his father via Fellowes, who captured and dis-65 M AX P I ERCEposed of the serpent.As if my thoughts summoned him, the valet appeared atthe terrace door. Mister Duncan.The correspondence you expected from New York has ar-rived by a special courier. Excuse me, Andrew.Some lingering business. Yes& thank you& He wrinkled his face. Duncan. Duncan. It sounded too familiar to call him by his proper name.I looked atthe sketch; I had done a good job.THREE DAYS LATER, THE EXPERIENCE ON THE TERRACE MUST HAVE EMBOLDENEDme, for a feeling of assuredness surged in my body as I marched down the hallto Duncan Stewart s study.Having sketched him, I felt more relaxed, and inturn, I could sense he tried to curtail his temper, at least where Tim was con-cerned.The door was open, but I knocked anyway.He sat at his desk, engrossedin a mountain of documents.His cigar dangled from the right corner of hismouth, ashes ready to fall onto his papers.The smell of him filled the room asbefore, and I inhaled because I found it comforting.He did not acknowledgemy knock. Duncan, I began.He flicked the ashes from his cigar onto the bear rug, inhaled and blew a cloudof smoke into the air as he leaned back into his leather chair and stretched hisarms above his head, acknowledging my presence.My completed drawing ofhim was in a handsome frame on the wall, next to a colorful rendering of hishorse that Tim created.This made me smile, but I could sense he was in a can-tankerous mood.As I sat down, he shoved his papers to the side and broke intoa grin, which concerned me even more. All right.The cold, calculating businessman is gone, replaced by a friendlierfellow.Is that the Duncan Stewart you prefer? A blend of both would be welcomed at any time.He scowled and I half expected to be thrown out of the room.Instead, heleaned in. A gentleman more like Leo Van Horne, perhaps.My face turned from pink to crimson at the mention of Leo s name.Duncancontinued,  I understand you spend a great amount of your personal time withhim.66 T HE M AS TER OF S EACL I F FFellowes must have passed this bit of news on.The valet had surprised usin the garden, as Leo demonstrated a new dance he learned on his last trip toLisbon. Leo and Elena have been most kind since I came to Seacliff. And I have not, is that the inference? You are putting words in my mouth.In fact, you haven t been around. Heblew a bellow of smoke into my space, but I refused to break under this show ofpower.Seeing me maintaining my position, he raised his voice. I advise you to be wary of Leo.I have known him since childhood and heis trouble personified.Always has been. To add weight to these words, hestamped out his cigar in the glass ashtray on his desk. It s not my personal time I have come to discuss with you.I came to ask yourpermission to begin tutoring Ash as well as Tim.Duncan reached into his humidor and removed another cigar.He proppedhis boots up on the desk, with no regard for the papers on top. An interestingproposal.Why? Tim has made excellent progress in a relatively short time and is completelycurrent on his schoolwork.The boys are close enough in age and I think itwould be only logical that Ash benefit from an education as well.This wouldnot take any time or attention away from Tim, and I think that both would learnmore if they are studying together. This portion of my speech I had practicedseveral times in front of my bedroom mirror.He seemed as unreadable as the Great Sphinx that Tim and I read about theother day.The minutes dragged before he rested his chin in his hand.I saw howhis thick brush of a beard covered his fingers.But his black eyes were softer ashe spoke, calm and cool. I think that s wonderful, Andrew.My elation was incredible.Duncan Stewart came around the desk and I flewout of the leather chair.Throwing my arms around him, I said,  Thank you,Duncan, thank you so much.Saying his first name this time came as natural as if I had always used it.But Irealized in my jubilation I probably overstepped the line between employer andservant by embracing him.I started to break away when his strong arms enclosed me next to his body [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]