Pearly woman. Prose in English. Natalia Patratskaya
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fell asleep.
Count Peacock slept alone. Two guards, with whom he shared with Alla, slept behind his door, sitting in chairs. His conscience did not torment him, he grew old. Women needed him less and less. Alla already started it twice, which was already a great rarity and a joy for him. And the guards, he was supposed to please? So he shared his last love, as the last piece of bread. He thought that Alla would be silent about it.
Morning shed rain. In the boarding house, everyone sat in their rooms, and in the dining room they walked along the transitions between the buildings. Musicians raked rackets on the white balls. A knock and a shout could be heard far down the corridors of the building. The musician director was sitting alone in the room, he was thinking about a powder that cost a lot of money, although it was not a drug (that was its value), and the effect on the human body was quite definite – a sleeping pill. He already knew that they had fished the suitcase, but how to get it? Ilya himself came to his room and asked directly about the powder. The musician director shuddered.
– Where is Victoria Lvovna? – Ilya asked the director-musician.
“I don’t know that,” the musician shyly shuddered.
– Did she have a white powder in her suitcase?
– There was, but it is not a drug, it is a sleeping pill, a sedative, not compressed into tablets at the request of the customer.
– Where is the powder for whom he? – Ilya continued the interrogation.
– From a pharmaceutical factory. Who was meant, I do not know. I had to take it to the caretaker of the tower. The further path of the powder is not known to me.
– I’ll give you the powder, you will take it to the caretaker, and we will see where it goes further. Do you agree?
– I have no choice. And about the singer Victoria Lvovna – she must wait a week, if she doesn’t appear, then look for her. With her, this already happened, she ran away from everyone.
– Here is the powder. Act as agreed.
Ilya, closing the door, felt lightness because it was not necessary for Bella to be involved in this matter. She was dear to him.
The rain stopped. People began to leave the buildings. Four of the case headed for the dance veranda. Ilya, seeing their procession, approached them closer.
“Bella, I don’t want to go to your town,” said Pasha.
“Who would doubt that,” said Bella, distressed.
“That’s right, Bella and I will go home to ourselves,” Alla said without emotion.
“We will leave for our homes, and this will be the end of it,” said Yura indifferently.
– Men, and where is the singer Victoria Lvovna, did you help her escape? – asked Bella, depicting an interest in someone else’s fate.
“Slaughter, you can’t hide anything from you!” Yes, we brought it to the pier. The yacht was waiting on the horizon. “They sent out a boat for Victoria Lvovna,” answered Pasha.
“Why did you find her things?” – Alla asked.
“I don’t know that,” answered Pasha honestly.
– I wonder where she is now? – Alla asked, without contacting anyone.
– Alla, she is where you were, – said Yura irritably.
– What? She has Count Pavlin? – blurted out jealously Alla.
– And you want him? – Pasha asked sarcastically.
– Want! I want, and that’s all! Yes, I want to see him, but he does not want me, and now he still has this singer Victoria Lvovna! – Alla shouted.
“Alla, we can take you to Peacock’s palace on a white boat, he goes there in a day,” Yura told her with mocking notes in her voice.
– I will leave myself! – shouted Alla, full of jealousy to the rival.
– That’s what love came to! The woman to the peasant was going to go, and he has another one! – yelled Yura.
– Dont spoil spirit! There is no money, otherwise it would have gone, Alla shouted.
– Alla, so we will scrape you on the track, – said Yura, – we will carry you to the ship, and you will become the owner – maybe you will not forget about us.
– Oh, radishes! Here are fun! – Alla started and left the terrace.
“Bella, where are you going?” Do you play dominoes? – asked Pasha.
– Ilya did not scoff at me like you! Pasha, do not come to me anymore! I believe that I worked pension, – said Bella.
Ilya listened to all four of them and quietly left his vantage point in the bushes. He realized that the singer would return, even if not immediately, but he would return. The white yacht in these places was only at Count Pavlina. Ilya went to report on the events to the director of the boarding house: everyone has a boss in his life. The director should know everything, but almost nobody knew him or saw him.
The director of the boarding house was an unforgettable gentleman, he calmly sat in the office as a simple official with the usual name Ivan Sergeevich. But the fact that the director of the boarding house, Ivan Sergeyevich Pavlinov and the notorious Count Peacock, is one person, few people knew. Illya himself did not know this, he only guessed, telling the director everything he knew.
Alla could have recognized the director, but Yura did not see him when they were at his castle. For them and their love, Count Peacock, out of boredom, watched through a cunning mirror: he saw them, and they did not see him. And who will let Alla to the director? No one! But about the wishes of Alla, Ilya informed the director of the boarding house.
The director gave Ilya a prize. Detective, happy, went to his gatehouse to play dominoes.
Count Peacock thought. It turns out that Alla did not forget him. Moreover, she was jealous of him! It was a complete surprise. It was a pleasant surprise!
“Oh, how boring,” he thought. “I know everything, there is no serious opponent.”
– There is! Said the Count Peacock, sitting deep in it. “We need Bella to watch the caretaker when they give him the powder.”
He called Ilya.
– Ilya, Ivan Sergeyevich is bothering you, make your wise Bella follow the music director when he passes the powder to the superintendent. Do not miss the moment. Let her lead this powder to Count Peacock!
– It will be done, now everything is at dinner, I will meet them at the dining room, – Ilya mentally grinned, but kept himself from commenting.
– Take the car! It is important for Bella to see the moment of transfer of the goods, tear her off from those accompanying her under any pretext! On the map of honor boarding!
Count Peacock loved to be a two-faced Ivan Sergeyevich.
Ilya looked into the dining room: the musicians ate, drank. On the lap of the musician-director lay the package, the goods were in place. All four were assembled. He went to his table, ate quickly, went to Belle. Pasha made a displeased face. Bella approached Ilya.
– Bella, come with me! You and I will go to the tower.
“Interesting, let’s go, Illya,” Bella said and waved to the others.
Bella and Ilya, without looking around, went to the central exit of the boarding house, where there was a company car for traveling. He himself got behind the wheel.
“Bella, I’ll give you a lift, but I shouldn’t be near you, you will follow the entrance to the tower.” There is an assumption that today smuggling will be transferred to the superintendent. You follow up who will