i 077f700896a1d224 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

* * *

Kirstie sat at the breakfast table on Friday morning, her exhausted head in her arms. She

had weathered the storm of doubt and regret, and now felt empty, drained of everything

but conviction. All her whirling confusion had been burned to ash by the passage of the

night, spent in unsleeping torment with improvident disregard for her own stamina. By

some extraordinary sense, she thought at times that she could touch Francis's own

restless conjecturings, his unstinting search for the truth to his own needs.

Had she moved too fast, had the conclusions she jumped to yesterday been, by any

chance, wrong? She didn't think so. Walking out on Francis had not been an act of pique

for the moment, but one of clearsighted ruthlessness, forgoing all the heartbreaking

discussion and drawn-out pain.

By leaving him she had shown that she would not accept second place, and would not,

out of consideration for him, beg or coerce anything out of him that he was not willing

to give. Could he change? Could he lessen the all-consuming demand on his time,

thinking and life to make room for tenderness? Just as importantly, could he do so

without future reproach?

She didn't know. She couldn't guess whether the phone would some day ring for her, and

had to exist, for the sake of her own sanity, without hope, for hope without realisation

was unbearable.

Her own priorities had fallen into crystalline simplicity yesterday with that instant,

awesome recognition of the depth of her love for him. Love, more potent than passion,

more considerate than selfishness, had broken that consuming fever and brought her to

peace at last.

She would give him anything, even if what he needed most was nothing at all.

The sun was rising; at long last the night was over.

She called, out of the depth of her exhaustion, for endurance and somewhere, somehow,

found it. Life went on, even after revelations that brought one to a standstill. There were

duties to be performed, there was work to be done, and after a shoulder-shaking sigh

Kirstie rose from her seat and made coffee.

Distantly she heard the sounds of the shower running and knew that Louise would be

down shortly for breakfast, and the start of her day. Louise, beautiful and dangerous, had

always known far better than she how to survive. She found it in her heart to pity simple,

kind-hearted Neil who had fallen in love with Louise only to be slashed to the quick.

Her sister had gone out last night, glittering with glamour and illicit excitement. Kirstie

had already been locked in the silent privacy of her bedroom and so had not witnessed

Louise's whirlwind return to the house, though she'd heard it in the emphatic slam of the

front door, and other sounds that heralded the climactic end of either a successful

evening or disaster. Louise's reaction to both ecstasy and fury were the same, violent in

nature and tempestuous.

Kirstie knew she was about to face the aftermath, and braced her weary self for Louise's

entry half an hour later.

'Good morning,' she said quietly, as behind her the kitchen door swung open. She

reached into a cupboard for a mug. 'Would you like a cup of coffee?'

'Yes, please!' replied Louise briskly.

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