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cheese and fruit. Donal picked at the food for Theodora s sake, and then retreated to the spare room
Cordelia had saved for him. He washed the blood away as best he could and went to find Cordelia.
She was, as Theodora had promised, resting quietly, eyes closed, breathing slow and steady. Donal took
a chair across the room and simply watched her, grateful for this moment of peace, for the luxury of a
brief respite from the pain that must come.
He leaned his head on the chair back and drifted, fighting sleep.
 Donal?
He opened his eyes. Cordelia was sitting up against the pillows, her eyes fixed on his face.  Donal, are
you well? she asked.  Is it finished?
He pulled the chair to the side of the bed and sat down again.  Yes, he said.  The animals are home and
safe.
 Thank God. She leaned forward with a frown.  But you are not well. Your face& . Her gaze fell to his
chest.  Your coat is torn!
 It is nothing 
She pushed the coverlet aside and reached for the bellpull, jerking on it almost frantically. Hardly a
minute later Croome appeared at the door.
 Croome, Dr. Fleming is injured, Cordelia said, her voice tight with fear.  Send for the doctor at once.
And bring me hot water and clean cloths.
Croome bowed and retreated before Donal could protest. He knew the cause for Cordelia s strong
reaction, and that nothing would be likely to calm her except for a doctor s assurance that he would
survive the night s adventure.
 Please, Cordelia, he said.  I m not badly hurt. They are only scratches 
 Only&  She covered her mouth.  Was it Othello?
 Yes. But he stopped, Cordelia. He went back to his cage. You mustn t blame him for acting according
to his nature.
 Lord, she whispered. A tear leaked from the corner of her eye.
Donal cursed himself for her suffering. He had already caused her so much pain.  Cordelia, he said
hoarsely,  I must ask your forgiveness 
 For putting yourself in such horrible danger?
He shook his head.  For the& earlier matter with Othello.
She bit her lip and looked away.  Donal& 
 I should never have forced you to endure 
 The truth? She laughed softly.  To know how Othello sees me That& thing& so filled with anger and
envy, so  The tear trickled down her cheek.  All these years, when I thought I was helping them 
He raised his hand and lowered it again.  You must never think your acts of kindness meant nothing, he
said.  But animals do not think as we do. They sense emotion in a way we can scarcely comprehend.
They see beneath the surface we show to our fellow men& even the secrets we hide from ourselves.
 I am trying& trying to understand, but I  She swiped her palm across her cheeks.  I expected my
animals to love me because I saved them, and when they could not&  She swallowed painfully.  The
fault was in me, Donal. All in me, and yet I blamed them.
Donal ached with her humiliation, the shame she had never before acknowledged.  It is not a matter of
love, he said gently,  not as we know it. If you could walk among the animals, as one of them& 
 As you do? She searched his eyes, her own wet with tears and yet implacable in their conviction.  I
thought I was delirious the night of the dog fight, when I claimed that you punished the men by making
them feel what the dogs felt. But I wasn t, was I? What you did in the menagerie, and tonight& it was
never just a conjurer s trick, or even some new form of hypnosis. It was real. Her voice quivered.  You
knew the animals thoughts, and you made me share them.
He averted his gaze.  Yes.
 But how? How can this be?
He struggled to find an explanation that would allow her to maintain her logical comprehension of the
world she knew, but he knew that would never be possible. Just as it wasn t possible to admit to the
emotions that had torn his world asunder.
When he d thought himself on the verge of death, he had regretted not telling Cordelia of his feelings for
her. Now he knew that regret had been no more than a moment s madness. His gifts had all but deserted
him because of love, and the loss was still an open wound. One that might never be healed.
Even if Cordelia could set aside her own fears and love him in return, he wouldn t give her half a man,
half a soul. He would not become another cause for her pain. If she could not believe the truth about him,
it would make his leaving that much easier.
 You may have difficulty in accepting what I tell you, he said slowly.
 Nothing you say is likely to be stranger than what I have already experienced.
He stared at her hand clenched on the coverlet.  Have you ever heard of the Earl of Bradwell?
 I have heard the name.
 He is my father. And he is not human.
IT WAS, OF COURSE, quite impossible.
Cordelia heard him out calmly, never interrupting his bizarre tale of fairy folk who called themselves
 Fane and some otherworld named Tir-na-Nog; of the Forest Lord who had wooed and won an earl s
daughter and lost his immortality for love of her; of the child born before their marriage who had inherited
his sire s gift with animals but chose to make a life as an ordinary veterinarian among the Yorkshire
moors.
She did not doubt that Donal was an earl s son, or that he was illegitimate; that last fact he had revealed
to her some time ago, and without shame. Nor did she question that he had a remarkable gift with
animals that defied intellectual analysis.
But the rest& the stories of Fair Folk and little flying men and immortality& about those tales Donal was
correct. She could not accept them. Especially when he began to speak of Ivy.
 She is half-Fane, as I am, he said, no longer looking at her face as he spoke.  I did not know this at
first, for I haven t the sight for Fane blood. But Tod& the hob I spoke of& he warned me that she was
no ordinary girl.
 I see. She purged her voice of any hint of accusation.  Is this why you were so averse to my applying
the usual discipline and guiding Ivy s behavior?
 Fane are different. They are far less disciplined than humans. They must have freedom to survive, but
they can be capricious and cruel. Their ways must often seem inexplicable to mortals.
 But your ways have never seemed so utterly strange, Donal.
 I, too, am half-Fane. He cleared his throat.  I was waiting for the right time to tell Ivy what she is.
 As you were waiting to tell me.
 Yes.
 Is there& anything more you need to explain?
He gave a brief laugh.  Isn t this enough?
 It does give me a great deal to think about.
 You don t believe me.
His voice was flat and heavy, and she felt a stab of concern.  Of course, I& will need time& .
He rose, backing away from the bed.  I should let you rest.
She noted with alarm the paleness of his face and the unsteadiness of his walk.  Croome will return
shortly with the bandages 
 I can treat myself, if I may use the room you assigned me.
Cordelia sensed that he was eager to escape and at the end of his strength. She was half afraid that she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]