Caedmon’s Song Read Free Page A

Hugo said, turning his head so that she could hear him. ‘None of us know what the hell we’re going to be doing yet. On the dole, most likely. Or maybe
we’ll all come out and join you and Galen in Canada.’
    ‘If we get there.’
    He held her more closely and they stopped talking. The music carried them along. She could feel Hugo’s warm breath in her hair, and his hand had slipped down her back to the base of her
spine. The floor was getting more crowded. Everywhere they moved, they seemed to bump into another huddled couple. Finally, the song ended and Hugo guided her back towards the window as
‘Street Fighting Man’ came on.
    When they’d both cooled down and had something to drink, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was so quick that she didn’t have time to stop him. Then his arms were around her,
running over her shoulders and buttocks, pulling her hips towards him. She struggled and broke away, instinctively wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
    ‘Hugo!’
    ‘Oh, come on, Kirsten. It’s our last chance, while we’re still young. Who knows what might happen tomorrow?’
    Kirsten laughed and punched him on the shoulder. She couldn’t stay angry with him. ‘Don’t pull that “gather ye rosebuds” stuff with me, Hugo Lassiter. I’ll
say this for you, you don’t give up trying, do you?’
    Hugo grinned.
    ‘But it’s still no,’ Kirsten said. ‘I like you, you know that, but only as a friend.’
    ‘I’ve got too many friends,’ Hugo complained. ‘What I want is to get laid.’
    Kirsten gestured around the room. ‘Well, I’m sure you’ve got a good chance. If there’s anyone here you haven’t slept with already.’
    ‘That’s not fair. I know I’ve got a reputation, but it’s completely unfounded.’
    ‘Is it? How disappointing. And here was me thinking you were such an expert.’
    ‘You could find out for yourself, you know,’ he said, moving closer again. ‘If you play your cards right.’
    Kirsten laughed and wriggled out of his grasp. ‘No. Anyway, I’m off home now. I’ve got to be up early to pack in the morning, especially if I’m to have time for
lunch.’
    ‘I’ll walk you.’
    ‘No you won’t. It’s not far.’
    ‘But it’s late. It’s dangerous to walk out by yourself so late.’
    ‘I’ve done it hundreds of times. You know I have. No thanks. You stay here. I don’t want to end up fighting you off out there. I’d rather take my chances.’
    Hugo sighed. ‘And tomorrow we part, perhaps forever. You don’t know what you’re missing.’
    ‘Nor do you,’ she said, ‘but I’m sure you’ll soon forget all about it. Remember, tomorrow for lunch in the Green Dragon. Remind Sarah and Damon, too.’
    ‘One o’clock?’
    ‘That’s right.’ Kirsten pecked him on the cheek and skipped out into the warm night.
     
3
    MARTHA
    The room was perfect. Usually, a single room in a bed and breakfast establishment is nothing more than a cupboard by the toilets, but this one, clearly a converted attic with a
dormer window and white-painted rafters, had been done out nicely. Candy-striped wallpaper brightened the walls, and a salmon-pink candlewick bedspread covered the three-quarter bed. Just to the
left of the window stood the washstand, with clean white towels laid neatly over a chrome rail. The only other furniture consisted of a small wardrobe with metal hangers that jangled together when
Martha opened the flimsy door, and a bedside lamp on a small chest of drawers.
    The owner leaned against the door jamb with his arms folded while she made up her mind. He was a coarse man with hairy forearms and even more hair sticking out over the top of his white
open-necked shirt. His face looked like it was made of pink vinyl, and six or seven long fair hairs curled on his chin.
    ‘We don’t get many girls staying by themselves,’ he said, smiling at her with lashless blue eyes. It was obviously an invitation to state her business.
    ‘Yes, well I’m