Days of Winter Read Online Free PDF Page B

they are. You can’t make just anyone a lady. That happens or doesn’t happen, the minute you come out of your mother’s belly.”
    “I don’t agree with you, darling. There’s an expression. ‘Rosy O’Grady and the captain’s lady are sisters under the skin.’”
    Magda narrowed her eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”
    “That basically people are pretty much the same. In spite of rank and position, we’re all good and bad. Using the proper fork, and being privileged doesn’t necessarily make a fine or virtuous lady.”
    “It helps, though, doesn’t it?”
    “Life, someone said, is like sleight of hand, now you see it, now you don’t.”
    “Well, at the moment I don’t exactly see—”
    “If life had been kinder to you, there would have been no need for me in your life.”
    Suddenly, Magda’s mind returned to Bucharest, when she was twelve … Rubin was right, life had played a dirty trick on her, and just possibly the deity who moved one’s stars was now trying to make it up to her …After a moment she asked, “All right, Mr. Barrister, where do I begin?”
    Rubin smiled, delighted. “There’s a French lady, a countess, in fact …She’s quite poor but she knows all the right people, is accepted into the best society. She’s a friend I’ve known a long time. She’s agreed to become your sponsor—”
    “When did you talk to her?”
    “I phoned her this morning. She’ll live with you, teach you to speak English, teach you … and when you are ready, you’ll become her niece from Bucharest. From then on, your life will be what I … we want for you.”
    “And what if I fail? Then all your efforts would have been for nothing—”
    “You will not fail.”
    “How can you be so sure?”
    “Because you’re Magda.”
    And who is Magda, she wanted to scream. The tart … the Rumanian gypsy? She was terrified.
    “Darling, please don’t cry. Just trust me. I don’t want to change you, only give you the chance to be what I sensed was in you from the moment I saw you.”
    “But how can I be sure that this will last? When you go, won’t you forget me?”
    “No. I won’t forget you. Because I’m Rubin, who loves you.” He wiped her tears and held her very close.
    They clung together, and when he entered her, it was like the creation of a new world unknown to anyone except themselves.
    Later, they lay still, overcome with feelings of peace broken only by the gentle breeze that invaded their privacy as the curtains billowed in and out through the French doors. Rubin looked at her. The Paris night, velvet, soft and fragrant, was barely a match for her.
    He would paint her, oh, would he paint her! That way at least her face would never be forgotten, never be removed from his sight …But with the thought came the sudden pain … soon she would not be with him, and the feeling was too great to accept. Gently removing his arms from her, he got out of bed and walked to the French doors. He looked out beyond the small balcony to the lights of Paris. Whether or not he could share a paradise like this with Magda, at least this would be hers. He was brought back to reality at the sound of Magda’s voice.
    “Light me a cigarette. You see, you’ve already become tired of me, yes? And so soon.” She laughed.
    Handing her the lighted cigarette, he said, “Never, and by now you should know it.”
    “Then come back to bed, I want to talk to you.”
    He was quickly beside her again, taking her into his arms.
    “How did you find this apartment so soon? You must have been a busy little man this morning.”
    “The truth is, it belongs to a very dear friend.”
    “Man or woman?”
    “Would you be jealous if it belonged to a woman?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. Don’t be so damned conceited, I’m only asking. Now tell me about your friend.”
    Rubin laughed. “You do sound a little jealous. That pleases me.”
    “Why should I be jealous?”
    “Because you love me just a little.”
    “ That ,