In The Shadow - стр. 29

– Come in, come in. We can't stand here in the middle of the corridor! – Sir Norton pushed his son into his chambers, then quickly went in himself and closed the door tightly behind him.

– Philip! You're back!

In a moment, Alienor was hanging around her older brother's neck, and he laughed and twirled her around, just as he had done before he went to war. That loving sisterly embrace, that favourite ringing voice, that exuberance of feeling, that angelic smile… How he missed it all! Although there was a difference of four years between brother and sister, she never let Philip be bored, and he, like their father, indulged all her whims. Long years of European wars, drenched in the blood of enemies and friends, toughened the character of young Norton, but for his "little sister" he remained the same Philip.

– How you have grown… Yesterday you were running up and down the stairs after your father's dogs, and now you're going to walk down the aisle! – Philip said, looking admiringly at his sister and admiring her native features. – All the local lords, single and married, must be wild about you!

– Oh, do you even doubt it? – replied Alienor in a sweet voice. – The other day a handsome young man, whose father is almost as rich as ours, asked for my hand.

– I have just come from father, and he has not even mentioned that he is giving you away in marriage! – Philip laughed heartily. – Poor father! Well, who else is going to ravage him when you come under your husband's care?

– Marriage, dear brother, is not my destiny! – Alienor snorted contemptuously and twirled her brother in a dance. – I will be the Queen's lady in waiting!

– But, what of the suitor? – Philip wondered, obeying Alienor's whim.

They danced in the middle of a garden decorated with brightly coloured flowers, to the loud singing of birds, as if they were in a huge dance hall, and their feet glided over the grass as deftly as over cold flat stones.

– The suitor had to pick up the shards of his heart trampled by my shoes! Father was upset, mother even cried, secretly from me, but you know, Philip: my will cannot be broken! – sang the blonde beauty Alienor. – But this castle will still see the wedding!

– How did you know? – Philip was so astonished that he stopped the pas, and his lips spread into an incomprehensible smile.

– I heard that today some fine rich man has asked for the hand of our beautiful Brigid," Alienor said with a sly smile, as if not noticing her brother's surprise, still dancing without a partner. She danced so gracefully, and her movements were so captivating, that the gardener, a sullen young man, was distracted from his work and stared mesmerised at the dance of the master's daughter.

– And this man is the happiest of mortals," Philip grinned, but noticing the gardener's attention to Alienor, he said rudely, "What are you looking at, dog? Are you caressing my sister, Miss Norton, with your lustful eyes? I should have your ugly head chopped off for such insolence! – He frowned menacingly and gripped the hilt of his sword.

– For Christ's sake! Forgive me, sir! Forgive me, miss! For Christ's sake! For the sake of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God! God knows I've been blinded by the beauty of Miss Norton's sunshine! – The frightened gardener fell on his knees and crossed himself repeatedly.