Son of Heaven Read Online Free PDF Page B

was in deep shadow. Only one figure sat there now, hunched in to herself, as if against the cold.
    ‘Mary? Where are the others?’
    ‘Gone off.’ She smiled at him, then patted the bench beside her. ‘Come and sit with me.’
    He sat, feeling her shuffle up to him, her warmth against his side.
    ‘Been putting the world to rights, have you?’
    He smiled. ‘Tom’s gone home.’
    ‘I know.’ She took his arm, put it round her shoulders.
    ‘Mary?’
    ‘I’m cold, is all.’
    He closed his eyes, feeling her snuggle in against him. It felt nice. Warm and friendly.
    ‘Jake?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘What we said earlier. About you needing a woman…’
    He looked at her again; saw how intently she was watching him.
    ‘What’s goin’ on? You and Tom. You’ve been odd tonight, the pair of you.’
    ‘ Odd? ’ She feigned offence, then smiled. ‘It’s nothing… You want to dance?’
    ‘I don’t do dancing.’
    ‘No?’ She sighed. ‘Oh, go on… Please, Jake. For me. Just one dance? I’d dance with Tom, only Tom’s not here…’
    Jake shrugged. ‘All right. But just the one. Cos Tom’s not here.’
    She held his hand as they walked across. The song ended. As the next began he took her in his arms. It was The Verve. ‘Lucky Man’.
    ‘Oh, Jake… I love this song…’
    He held her close, closing his eyes, letting himself succumb to the warmth of her. Enjoying the way she pressed against him, swaying gently, the way she softly sang along to the words of the old
song.
    ‘You know what?’
    ‘What?’ She spoke into his neck, a lazy drawl, her breath warm against his flesh.
    ‘I feel like I’ve been set up.’
    She laughed, then drew her face back slightly, looking up into his face. She was about to say something more, then changed her mind. She looked down, away from him.
    He slowed, then stopped. ‘What?’ he asked gently. ‘What is it?’
    ‘Nothing…’ She met his eyes again and smiled, as if to reassure him, but there was a shadow now behind the smile.
    ‘ What? Tell me.’
    ‘It’s nothing. Really . Just hold me, Jake. Just dance with me.’
    Peter drew his face back, away from Meg’s, then gave a little shiver. Her mouth was so soft, so sweetly moist, so deliciously yielding to his own. And her
eyes…
    He squeezed her hands, which lay in his, and smiled.
    They were leaning against the castle wall, at the top of the great slope, the ruins of the King’s Tower silhouetted against the sky at their backs. Below them and to the left, they could
see the inn, its long, walled garden seeming to glow like a broad gash of gold against the darkness of the surrounding countryside. From where they were they could see people coming and going, hear
the music drifting up from below.
    ‘Do you think we’re always gonna live here?’
    ‘I dunno,’ she said. ‘I s’pose so. Unless we get our own place…’
    ‘Is that what you want?’
    ‘Don’t you?’
    ‘Yeah… I s’pose so. Only…’
    He looked away, across the dark countryside towards the sea.
    ‘Go on,’ she said. ‘Only what?’
    ‘Only I’d like to see things. You know…’
    She smiled then shook her head. ‘No, I don’t, silly. Tell me. What kind of things?’
    ‘Oh… things . Places, I guess. I mean, it’s daft. I’ve never even been to Dorchester!’
    ‘You will. When you’re older.’
    ‘Yeah, but that’s not what I meant. I want to see lots of different places. London, for instance…’
    ‘ Lunnun? ’ She gave him a look of horror. ‘What d’you wanna go see that for? It’s a horrible place. A place of living corpses.’
    ‘So they say. But what if they’re wrong?’
    ‘They ain’t wrong. They’ve spoken to people who’ve been there. There’s cannibals there… yeah, and worse things!’
    He looked away, impatient with her suddenly, then relented. It wasn’t her fault. It was this place. It was like his dad said, the locals devoured rumours, and the more garish the rumour
the more gullible they