The Illustrated Gormenghast Trilogy полностью

One afternoon of his imprisonment he was interrupted at his hundredth attempt at impaling his jack-knife in the wooden door, at which he flung the weapon in what he imagined was a method peculiar to brigands. He had cried himself to a stop during the morning, for the sun shone through the narrow window-slits and he longed for the wild woods that were so fresh in his mind and for Mr Flay and for Fuchsia.

He was interrupted by a low whistle at one of the narrow windows, and then as he reached it, Fuchsia’s husky whisper:

‘Titus.’

‘Yes.’

‘It’s me.’

‘O, good!’

‘I can’t stay.’

‘Can’t you?’

‘No.’

‘Not for a little, Fuchsia?’

‘No. Got to take your place. Beastly tradition business. Dragging the moat for the Lost Pearls or something. I should be there now.’

‘Oh!’

‘But I’ll come after dark.’

‘O, good!’

‘Can’t you see my hand? I’m reaching as far as I can.’

Titus thrust his arm as far as he could through the window slit of the five-foot wall, and could just touch the tip of her fingers.

‘I must go.’

‘Oh!’

‘You’ll soon be out, Titus.’

The silence of the Lichen Fort was about them like deep water, and their fingers touching might have been the prows of foundered vessels which grazed one another in the subaqueous depths, so huge and vivid and yet unreal was the contact that they made with one another.

‘Fuchsia.’

‘Yes?’

‘I have things to tell you.’

‘Have you?’

‘Yes. Secrets.’

‘Secrets?’

‘Yes, and adventure.’

‘I won’t tell! I won’t ever tell. Nothing you tell me I’ll tell. When I come tonight, or if you like when you’re free, tell me then. It won’t be long.’

Her fingertips left his. He was alone in space.

‘Don’t take your hand away,’ she said after a moment’s pause. ‘Can you feel anything?’

He worked his fingers even further into the darkness and touched a paper object which with difficulty he tipped over towards himself and then withdrew. It was a paper bag of barley sugar.

‘Fuchsia,’ he whispered. But there was no reply. She had gone.

III

On the last day but one he had an official visitor. The caretaker of the Lichen Fort had unbolted the heavy door and the grotesquely broad, flat feet of the Headmaster, Bellgrove, complete in his zodiac gown, and dog-eared mortar-board, entered with a slow and ponderous tread. He took five or more paces across the weed-scattered earthen floor before he noticed the boy sitting at a table in a corner of the fort.

‘Ah. There you are. There you are, indeed. How are you, my friend?’

‘All right. Thank you, sir.’

‘H’m. Not much light in here, eh, young man? What have you been doing to pass the time away?’

Bellgrove approached the table behind which Titus was standing. His noble, leonine head was weak with sympathy for the child, but he was doing his best to play the rôle of headmaster. He had to inspire confidence. That was one of the things that headmasters had to do. He must be Dignified and Strong. He must evoke Respect. What else had he to be? He couldn’t remember.

‘Give me your chair, young fellow,’ he said in a deep and solemn voice. ‘You can sit on the table, can’t you? Of course you can. I seem to remember being able to do things like that when I was a boy!’

Had he been at all amusing? He gave Titus a sidelong glance in the faint hope that he had been, but the boy’s face showed no sign of a smile, as he placed the chair for his headmaster and then sat with his knees crossed on the table. Yet his expression was anything but sullen.

Bellgrove, holding his gown at the height of his shoulders and at the same time both leaning backwards from the hips and thrusting his head forward and downwards so that the blunt end of his long chin rested in the capacious pit of his neck like an egg in an egg-cup, raised his eyes to the ceiling.

‘As your headmaster,’ he said, ‘I felt it my bounden duty, in loco parentis, to have a word with you, my boy.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘And to see how you were getting along. H’m.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ said Titus.