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.Arthur looked back at him and then clearedhis throat.He let his bike helmet fall to the floor. Bertie. He squared his shoulders and moved back and out ofthe way so Bertie could come forward.Then he turned to look atKate, who looked at him like she d never seen him before.It madehim feel warm, as if there was something different about him nowthat Kate could see and that she liked.There wasn t anything Arthur wouldn t do to keep her happy,no matter how much it might terrify him.He swung his gaze back toBertie. Bertie. The name was soft in his mouth, but Arthur couldhear the weight in his words that said he was offering up histreasure.Kate might not understand it, but he knew Bertie would. Bertie, this is my sister, Kate. Bertie must have heard andunderstood, because his expression brightened with interest asArthur went on and said the rest.His hands, his pockets, his mouth, A Boy and His Dragon215all felt empty without Bertie there.He shivered. Kate, this is Dr.Philbert Jones. Please, call me Bertie, Bertie told Kate and took his eyes offArthur again to study her.Arthur kept his gaze right where it was,watching the wicked grin grow wider when Kate hesitated but thenextended her hand for a handshake.Bertie looked over her messy,pillow-styled blonde hair, stared for a moment longer into her blueeyes, and then dropped the grin for a real smile.He didn t lick hislips, but he did inhale. I can t tell you how pleased I am to meetyou. Kate didn t say anything to that, not even to agree to call himBertie, but when the handshake was over she stood there for anothersecond to frown at him.If anything, that only made Bertie seemmore pleased. Arthur wouldn t steal anything. If Kate was afraid of thefire-breathing creature in front of her, Arthur couldn t see it.Hedidn t know if Bertie could, because Bertie wasn t looking at him.He inclined his head at Kate, the way he had when Arthur first methim and promised to work hard for him. Have you tried telling Arthur that? Bertie asked Kateseriously, though his attention was on Arthur.Arthur flinched andscowled at him. I wouldn t, Arthur insisted again, finding his voice at least.Bertie s smile drifted away. I know, pet. He didn t seem to see Kate s lips part at thenickname. You wouldn t, and you wouldn t need to in any case. What do you mean? Arthur s heart was racing.He hadyelled at Bertie that he hadn t intended to steal the scale and Bertiehad implied that he d known that all along.Now Bertie was tellinghim something that would probably make perfect sense to a dragonand no one else.For the first time in a few minutes, Bertie licked his lips andlooked hesitant.He held out his hand and offered it, palm up, toArthur. Why would you steal what I would give you? He spokeformally but rolled his shoulders in an uncertain gesture and R.Cooper216Arthur s eyes wandered over his shoulders, thinking of his back, ofthe dozens of large scales and the one that was missing, and if thatwas true.Arthur shook his head. I don t want one of your scales.Notthat one, not any of them. Another thought occurred to him and heput a hand to his stomach. Don t, he ordered fiercely. Don t pullone out for me either. Just the idea of Bertie ripping out a scale forany reason made him sick.He shook his head again. Even if itdoesn t hurt though somehow he was sure it did don t.I wouldnever ask you to. It s little more than a fingernail clipping, Arthur, Bertieremarked, his voice low and rich with something he wasn t saying.Arthur snorted, because he doubted that losing a scale was anythingat all like clipping a fingernail, but then Bertie blinked and didn tsay anything else and Arthur realized he was still waiting.Waitingfor something, some reaction from Arthur that Arthur couldn t saynow.He looked over at Kate, who had a strange expression on herface, as if she didn t know what to make of any of that.But shefinally shut her mouth and stared back at him.Her cheeks wereslightly pink, her expression a little flustered. I m going to make breakfast, but I am going to shower andget dressed first, she announced, loud enough to bring Bertie s eyesback to her.Then she crossed her arms over her chest in a vaguelyself-conscious move before she stepped back and hurried out of theroom. I really shouldn t be so surprised, but you continually surpriseme, Arthur, Bertie whispered once she was gone. She s anotherpearl, isn t she? Yes, Arthur answered without thinking, then realized Bertiewas referring to him.After this morning, Arthur was still his pearl.He stopped and looked up.This close and without Bertie s interestaroused by everything he was smelling, Arthur could see the brownin Bertie s eyes and it made him look more human.But he wasn t,and Arthur needed to make sure they understood each other.All the A Boy and His Dragon217things Bertie kept saying, if Bertie meant them, then Arthur shouldspeak to him the same way.He shifted and watched Bertie watch him. But she s mine. It got him a nod, as though that was only natural. Then weshould take good care of her, shouldn t we? Bertie agreed easily.Arthur nodded back at him, though his thinking was getting slowand his legs were getting wobbly.They would take good care of her,because Kate was Arthur s treasure, and that was what one did withtreasure.Treasure was held and cared for and protected.Arthur swallowed.He was grateful Kate had left the room soshe wouldn t see him like this.He always felt different aroundBertie, but this weak feeling was new.He hadn t felt this nakedwhen he actually was naked.He bumped into the wall and realizedhe d taken a small step backward. I thought you wanted me to leave, he said, because he had tosay something. The house& I felt it move. Arthur.Darling.My house and any magic in it do what Iwant, and when have I ever wanted you to leave? Bertie took asecond to obviously compose himself and answer patiently.It madeArthur feel pretty brainless, but then, he deserved it.He d had hisclothes and shoes on and Bertie had come downstairs and must havethought Arthur had been sneaking away.Then Drew showed up,angling for treasure, and Arthur kicked him out and afterwardArthur started babbling about stealing from him and then&.And then Arthur had practically told Bertie that he loved himand run out the door.Perfect.When he failed a test, he failedspectacularly.He shut his eyes for a moment and then took a breathand opened them again. Never? he guessed carefully, though he knew the answer.Hehad a feeling the house had been trying to keep him, that Bertie hadbeen so upset the shaking had just happened, an uncontrollablereaction to Bertie thinking Arthur was leaving.He shook his headjust in case Bertie thought he might still leave.He wouldn t, notever. R.Cooper218 Never. Bertie agreed with another nod, then paused. Well,perhaps in the beginning, when I thought you were delicious, butlet s just say I had no greater designs on you than perhaps somedaygetting you naked on my couch.Then, perhaps, I wouldn t havebegged you to stay quite as much as I would now, but in mydefense, it didn t take me very long to see how special you are,Arthur. Special? Arthur couldn t breathe, couldn t focus. Begged? he repeated blankly.Bertie had asked, but Arthur hadn t thought ofit as begging.Then again, this was a dragon, an aristocratic dragon,as Bertie had often pointed out.Maybe asking that much wasbegging to him.If Arthur hadn t been so scared, Bertie would neverhave had to ask at all.Bertie made a sound of frustration, a small growl, not quite aroar [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Arthur looked back at him and then clearedhis throat.He let his bike helmet fall to the floor. Bertie. He squared his shoulders and moved back and out ofthe way so Bertie could come forward.Then he turned to look atKate, who looked at him like she d never seen him before.It madehim feel warm, as if there was something different about him nowthat Kate could see and that she liked.There wasn t anything Arthur wouldn t do to keep her happy,no matter how much it might terrify him.He swung his gaze back toBertie. Bertie. The name was soft in his mouth, but Arthur couldhear the weight in his words that said he was offering up histreasure.Kate might not understand it, but he knew Bertie would. Bertie, this is my sister, Kate. Bertie must have heard andunderstood, because his expression brightened with interest asArthur went on and said the rest.His hands, his pockets, his mouth, A Boy and His Dragon215all felt empty without Bertie there.He shivered. Kate, this is Dr.Philbert Jones. Please, call me Bertie, Bertie told Kate and took his eyes offArthur again to study her.Arthur kept his gaze right where it was,watching the wicked grin grow wider when Kate hesitated but thenextended her hand for a handshake.Bertie looked over her messy,pillow-styled blonde hair, stared for a moment longer into her blueeyes, and then dropped the grin for a real smile.He didn t lick hislips, but he did inhale. I can t tell you how pleased I am to meetyou. Kate didn t say anything to that, not even to agree to call himBertie, but when the handshake was over she stood there for anothersecond to frown at him.If anything, that only made Bertie seemmore pleased. Arthur wouldn t steal anything. If Kate was afraid of thefire-breathing creature in front of her, Arthur couldn t see it.Hedidn t know if Bertie could, because Bertie wasn t looking at him.He inclined his head at Kate, the way he had when Arthur first methim and promised to work hard for him. Have you tried telling Arthur that? Bertie asked Kateseriously, though his attention was on Arthur.Arthur flinched andscowled at him. I wouldn t, Arthur insisted again, finding his voice at least.Bertie s smile drifted away. I know, pet. He didn t seem to see Kate s lips part at thenickname. You wouldn t, and you wouldn t need to in any case. What do you mean? Arthur s heart was racing.He hadyelled at Bertie that he hadn t intended to steal the scale and Bertiehad implied that he d known that all along.Now Bertie was tellinghim something that would probably make perfect sense to a dragonand no one else.For the first time in a few minutes, Bertie licked his lips andlooked hesitant.He held out his hand and offered it, palm up, toArthur. Why would you steal what I would give you? He spokeformally but rolled his shoulders in an uncertain gesture and R.Cooper216Arthur s eyes wandered over his shoulders, thinking of his back, ofthe dozens of large scales and the one that was missing, and if thatwas true.Arthur shook his head. I don t want one of your scales.Notthat one, not any of them. Another thought occurred to him and heput a hand to his stomach. Don t, he ordered fiercely. Don t pullone out for me either. Just the idea of Bertie ripping out a scale forany reason made him sick.He shook his head again. Even if itdoesn t hurt though somehow he was sure it did don t.I wouldnever ask you to. It s little more than a fingernail clipping, Arthur, Bertieremarked, his voice low and rich with something he wasn t saying.Arthur snorted, because he doubted that losing a scale was anythingat all like clipping a fingernail, but then Bertie blinked and didn tsay anything else and Arthur realized he was still waiting.Waitingfor something, some reaction from Arthur that Arthur couldn t saynow.He looked over at Kate, who had a strange expression on herface, as if she didn t know what to make of any of that.But shefinally shut her mouth and stared back at him.Her cheeks wereslightly pink, her expression a little flustered. I m going to make breakfast, but I am going to shower andget dressed first, she announced, loud enough to bring Bertie s eyesback to her.Then she crossed her arms over her chest in a vaguelyself-conscious move before she stepped back and hurried out of theroom. I really shouldn t be so surprised, but you continually surpriseme, Arthur, Bertie whispered once she was gone. She s anotherpearl, isn t she? Yes, Arthur answered without thinking, then realized Bertiewas referring to him.After this morning, Arthur was still his pearl.He stopped and looked up.This close and without Bertie s interestaroused by everything he was smelling, Arthur could see the brownin Bertie s eyes and it made him look more human.But he wasn t,and Arthur needed to make sure they understood each other.All the A Boy and His Dragon217things Bertie kept saying, if Bertie meant them, then Arthur shouldspeak to him the same way.He shifted and watched Bertie watch him. But she s mine. It got him a nod, as though that was only natural. Then weshould take good care of her, shouldn t we? Bertie agreed easily.Arthur nodded back at him, though his thinking was getting slowand his legs were getting wobbly.They would take good care of her,because Kate was Arthur s treasure, and that was what one did withtreasure.Treasure was held and cared for and protected.Arthur swallowed.He was grateful Kate had left the room soshe wouldn t see him like this.He always felt different aroundBertie, but this weak feeling was new.He hadn t felt this nakedwhen he actually was naked.He bumped into the wall and realizedhe d taken a small step backward. I thought you wanted me to leave, he said, because he had tosay something. The house& I felt it move. Arthur.Darling.My house and any magic in it do what Iwant, and when have I ever wanted you to leave? Bertie took asecond to obviously compose himself and answer patiently.It madeArthur feel pretty brainless, but then, he deserved it.He d had hisclothes and shoes on and Bertie had come downstairs and must havethought Arthur had been sneaking away.Then Drew showed up,angling for treasure, and Arthur kicked him out and afterwardArthur started babbling about stealing from him and then&.And then Arthur had practically told Bertie that he loved himand run out the door.Perfect.When he failed a test, he failedspectacularly.He shut his eyes for a moment and then took a breathand opened them again. Never? he guessed carefully, though he knew the answer.Hehad a feeling the house had been trying to keep him, that Bertie hadbeen so upset the shaking had just happened, an uncontrollablereaction to Bertie thinking Arthur was leaving.He shook his headjust in case Bertie thought he might still leave.He wouldn t, notever. R.Cooper218 Never. Bertie agreed with another nod, then paused. Well,perhaps in the beginning, when I thought you were delicious, butlet s just say I had no greater designs on you than perhaps somedaygetting you naked on my couch.Then, perhaps, I wouldn t havebegged you to stay quite as much as I would now, but in mydefense, it didn t take me very long to see how special you are,Arthur. Special? Arthur couldn t breathe, couldn t focus. Begged? he repeated blankly.Bertie had asked, but Arthur hadn t thought ofit as begging.Then again, this was a dragon, an aristocratic dragon,as Bertie had often pointed out.Maybe asking that much wasbegging to him.If Arthur hadn t been so scared, Bertie would neverhave had to ask at all.Bertie made a sound of frustration, a small growl, not quite aroar [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]