The Kashmir Shawl by Thomas Rosie

Author:Thomas, Rosie [Thomas, Rosie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc.
Published: 2011-07-20T23:00:00+00:00

She was at Rainer’s house the next evening, while Myrtle and Caroline were putting in an appearance at a sale of handicrafts and gifts to raise funds to send sweets and cigarettes to the men in Malaya. Myrtle had said that she for one didn’t care if she never saw another item of local papier-mâché, and certainly didn’t intend to present anyone she knew with a pen tray or a card holder. If she received any such Christmas gift herself, they should take note, she would wait for the lake to thaw and then pitch it in.

Caroline nodded. ‘I shall remember that,’ she said.

Myrtle and Nerys were sometimes unsure whether she was joking or merely being solemn.

It was very cold in Rainer’s room. The sky beyond the uncurtained window was a shower of stars, hollow with frost. They were sitting looking out at the black river water and the yellow points of lamplight showing from houses on the opposite bank. In their wire cage, the pair of white doves he used for some of his tricks were asleep with their heads beneath their wings.

‘Who is the father?’ Rainer asked, once Nerys had outlined the facts.

‘I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you that.’

‘I can probably guess.’

‘You probably can. You don’t miss much.’

There was a small silence. Rainer’s mood could dip into sudden melancholy. ‘I do miss things,’ he said, in a low voice.

‘I didn’t mean that sort of missing …’

‘I know what you meant.’ He leant forward. Nerys was swathed in blankets as well as all her clothes, and his hand slipped between the outer layers to find hers and then clasp it. ‘You are warm.’

‘I am. Mine is an exceptionally good pheran. I don’t even need my kangri in here.’

‘This plan is Myrtle’s, I take it?’

‘Yes. But we are all agreed. Any one of us could be pregnant, or all three, or none.’

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.