Скачать книгу

Nic turned to find he wasn’t alone in the room any longer. That feeling he’d had earlier of being potentially out of his depth had nothing on the way the ground had just shifted beneath him.

      ‘You painted these?’

      The shrug was almost imperceptible but the modesty was appealing. ‘Maggie gave me an encyclopaedia of flowers for my twelfth birthday. I added one almost every day for years.’

      ‘And the ivy in the bathroom?’

      ‘That was a wet May school holiday.’ Another tiny shrug came with the hint of a smile. ‘Maggie said it would keep me out of mischief.’

      He stared at her. ‘Do you know how extraordinary you are, Zanna Zelensky? How talented?’

      She simply stared back at him. As though he’d said something wrong and she was trying to decide what to do about it. The moment stretched but Nic couldn’t break the silence. The air hummed with a curious tension but he had no clue as to what might have caused it.

      Finally, she spoke.

      ‘There’s one room you haven’t seen yet.’

      His nod was solemn. His mouth felt dry and he had to lick his lips.

      The turret. The one room he’d wanted to see inside for as long as he could remember. The child buried deep inside was about to have his dearest wish granted. But...what if it was a disappointment? If it was nothing more than, say, a storage area?

      He forced his feet to start moving. To follow Zanna up the narrow, spiral staircase that led to the secret room beneath the witch’s hat of the turret. If it was less than he hoped for, he’d cope. He had with every other childish hope and dream that had been crushed, hadn’t he?

      Opening the small door at the top of the stairs, Zanna walked ahead of him. She said nothing. She didn’t even turn around as she walked over to one of the arched windows and stared out as if she was giving Nic some privacy.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEAYABgAAD/4Ra7RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMiBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTQ6MDc6MTQgMDc6NDI6NTcAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAB9KADAAQAAAAB AAADGwAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAABWFAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoABlAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQAB//EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8A67A6pYbNlD9ztu5wdoAxvLnOd7W7VV+tX1lG1mD03JALhvyL qXNcdv0W0Mcwv2Pf+e9DzG4Y6bksx8Rg3VuZZrO4D3/prLfV/R6M/Re/1F5w659TnVtIEaSNB8oU MxOuEka9maHDvW3d6BmaPW9Nh0HIGp0W70vqOwmTr4eQ/wC/Lhce4+oGMMuJ4Gi63G6dkfZd7fdc W6MEad+FVyY6OjYjLiD1+H1f1XitvucRoEU9XrpyGi521rtHT2n85cJRn21Oc152PafonQghJ3Us nLyWBzi4B0B0Dn+VCHHkFUdkHFDr1e8y+v01NHpNLie505VGr60WBxLw1zJgCDMjXn2rn77y8BrT OoaPgT+kd/ajYg4zLNHOmHwTPZw5T/emdSaW+1ECqe+weqUZcNHteRLR4/1VcXG4lvpWM2mDM/2g R/5Jq6+mwW1NsHDhKs4snFYO4YMkOHUbFmkkkpWJSSSSSn//0Nx+Tj09FtussDadjg6wGR7hzpuX nGJW/IyK62P2FwILhrAA5XaZWJS8Aura41Pex0iSWz6rGu/e/wAMuXtrOLnevH0ps00kz+lamZD4 dGTGNd+rt42PjYWNXY2nc2s+57QC4fy3fnLWoyhbX62

Скачать книгу