The Tied Man Read Online Free PDF

maintain this tranquillity, we respectfully request that you leave behind any recording and electronic equipment, including laptop computers, cameras, mobile phones and music-playing technology.  Please note that to this end,
    there is no electrical supply to any of our guests’ suites.
    Although we acknowledge that this may initially involve a tearful separation, we assure you that the ensuing harmony with your environment will prove a more than adequate reward.  Why not take the time to discover the romance of candlelight and open fires, and explore a life free from the constraints of the Twenty-First Century?
     
    We look forward to welcoming you to Albermarle – A World Away.
     
    Blaine Albermarle and Staff.
     
    I ripped the paper in two and said ‘fuck’ loud enough to receive irritated glances from the businessmen twenty yards across the lounge. 
    Normally the first to read the small print, I had deliberately hidden away any paperwork that referred to this ridiculous task, and now I found myself kissing goodbye to a laptop, a mobile phone and two fully-loaded MP3 players, not to mention the halogen light that allowed me to work through the night if I so desired.  I stared disconsolately out over the shimmering tarmac and  wondered if I might be granted permission to shave my legs.
    *****
    Once on board, I took refuge behind the First Class curtain.  I retrieved a sketch pad and a pencil from my hand luggage and fell back into my seat, kicking off my shoes again and pulling my bare feet under my thighs.  Only then did I glance around to see who my travelling companions were.
    The early flight was almost deserted.  My only company was a black-clad young man sprawled across two seats directly across the aisle, and I recognised him immediately: Gabriel James was the singer-songwriter whose face was plastered across every music magazine as the Next Big Thing.  A mop of chestnut pre-Raphaelite curls fell over a delicate, arrogant face and Ray Bans hid his eyes from non-existent glare, or more likely sheltered pupils dilated by whatever he had necked on the way to the airport.
    ‘God, aren’t you pretty?’ I found a clean page to capture his profile. 
    We had been in the air for no more than fifteen minutes when Gabriel pulled a duty-free carrier bag from his overhead locker, ripped open its seal, and extracted a litre bottle of Bourbon.  He had just poured a half a pint into a plastic cup when a flight attendant with a face like a granite slab approached.
    ‘Excuse me, sir, but I’m afraid you’re not allowed to open your duty free whilst airborne.’
    Gabriel gave her an angelic smile of contrition.  ‘Oops. Sorry.  Really, really sorry.’  He stuffed the bottle and its carrier back into the locker.  ‘There.  All gone.  Want to join me?’  he asked in a heightened cockney drawl, and proffered his cup to the highly unamused woman.
    ‘It’s a little too early for me, sir ,’ she replied, and gave a tight smile that didn’t quite meet eyes weighed down with mascara.
    ‘Oh.  Fair nuff.  Got any ice?’
    I watched the imposing backside disappear down the aisle and bit my thumb to stop myself laughing out loud.
    Gabriel glanced in my direction.  ‘Hey, you drawin’ me?’ 
    ‘Do you have a problem with that?’
    He thought for a moment then gave a lazy, stoned smile.  ‘Nah.’  He raised his sunglasses.  ‘Shit, you’re Lilith Bresson, aren’t you?  Got one of your nudes on my studio wall.  S’fuckin’ gorgeous.  Looks like the first bird I ever shagged, but without the evil gob on her.’ 
    ‘I’m pleased you like it.’
    His eyes wandered down to where my bare legs now stretched out under the seat in front.  ‘She’s nearly as sexy as you.  I don’t suppose you fancy getting a close-up?  I fuckin’ hate flyin’ by myself.’  He pulled himself upright and patted the seat next to him.
    I considered the promise I’d made to keep my mind on business until this