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"Oh, come on man!" big John bellowed. Galfridus winced at the words, at how eagerly his body responded to the temptation of ale. "You can't leave us without having a bloody drink!"
"I can't," he said, much too quietly to be heard. He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder half-heartedly. "I have to get back..."
The Captain approached now. "I better've heard that wrong, that you're refusing a drink. Come on, we're square now. Water under the bridge. You've paid your debt with that trip. I ain't keeping you on, but I sure as hell ain't sending you away on bad terms, after the shit we've done." Galfridus opened his mouth again, perhaps to protest, but with no sound at all this time. Several more of the crew surrounded him now, all grinning, glint-eyed with adrenaline at the prospect of a night on the town. It was already dark, the ship creaked beside them in her moorings. The nearby bustle of the harbourside was electric after months at sea.
"No, I'm sure I misheard." the captain continued, turning away from Galfridus and to his audience of crewmen. "No bastard would refuse a drink from his captain and his boys 'fore they part company. Come on." And with that he walked away from the harbours edge towards the nearest of several pubs that punctuated the dark waterside storehouses with leaking light and noise. The crew followed after him, and, swept along in their midst and resigned now to his fate, Galfridus rolled his eyes and grinned.
ВЫ ЧИТАЕТЕ
Light Come, Light Go
УжасыDaisy and her family are starting a new life on a small island of the south coast of England. Her father is writing a historical horror novel about the Black Death, guided by vivid and disturbing dreams of the island's past. Meanwhile Daisy strugg...
