"I ran up, past the old school, flying across the roads, ignoring cars, even rolling over the bonnet of one car." The Green Man spoke urgently, still looking out to sea. One hand was on my gun. I was looking for any trace of what had happened to Sparrowhawk. Finding Powell Street, a little street, scarcely more than an alley, I ran up it, not adring to think what I might find."In the middle of the street, on my left, was a towering chapel, dark and glowering. It looked almost derelict, the black noticeboard peeling, white letters proclaiming 'Y Tabernacl.' There was a monument within railing to one side of the chapel's portico, while a dropped gun lay in the gutter.
"This had to be a sign that Sparrowhawk had been there. I looked for another trace of her, my heart sinking. I looked for the lady I loved, praying that she should not be dead.
"A glimpse of brown leather out of the corner of my eye told me that I had found her. She lay within one set of railings, her lovely form bearing the traces of a terrible assault. Her hard-wearing costume was scored with knife-thrusts, while a pool of blod was forming under her. Blood trickled from her mouth. Only the slow movement of her chest showed she was alive. And her mask was off. I recognised the woman behind the mask, and knew why she had been so careful to hide her identity.
"I was able to hide her identity, as a local doctor treated her. I took her to an isolated house by the sea, outside Aberystwyth. For eight months I did nothing more than look after her. Of course it was without my mask. I knew now who this courageous young woman was, and I could not hide myself from her.
"Although her body healed, her mind remained broken, hopelessly lost. She didn't seem to recognise me. I once found her standing out on the beach, looking out so sea. At last I had to bow to the inevitable. She's still living, at a private nursing home in the countryside. And I still hope that she will recover one day."
"And what does that have to do with me?" Sian asked breathlessly.
4 comments:
What about The Girl in Grey?
Yeah? Kind of hurts a girl when she finds out the man she loves has been... well, doing that!
Sources au fait with Aberystwyth indicate that the story told by the Green Man to Sian Rule must have taken place almost a decade ago.
That's fine, then. Almost. After all, I was still a kid then.
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