Read Online Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carré - Free Book Online
Authors: John le Carré
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for five seconds. And beyond skinny. Skeletal. We put him down as a new arrival to the Dima household. We’d decided the Dimas had a high turnover of cousins from Perm.’
‘So Perry took one look at the children, didn’t you?’ Gail said. ‘The boys particularly – and you thought, Christ what do we do with this lot? Then you had your one brilliant idea of the holiday: cricket . Well, I mean, not so brilliant if you know Perry. Give him a dog-chewed ball and a bit of old driftwood and he’s lost to all non-cricketing mankind. Aren’t you?’
‘We took the game extremely seriously, as one should,’ Perry agreed, frowning unconvincingly through his smile. ‘We built awicket out of driftwood, put twigs on top for bails, the marina people found us a bat and ball of sorts, we rounded up a clutch of Rastas and ancient Brits for the outfield, and all of a sudden we had six a side, Russia versus the rest of the world, a sporting first. I sent the boys off to persuade Natasha to come and keep wicket, but they came back saying she was reading some guy called Turgenev they pretended they’d never heard of. Our next job was imparting the sacred Laws of Cricket to’ – the smile widening into a broad grin – ‘well, some pretty lawless chaps. Not the ancient Brits or the Rastas, of course. They were cricketers born and bred. But the young Dimas were internats . They’d played a bit of baseball, but didn’t take at all kindly to being told they had to bowl a ball and not chuck it. The small girls needed a bit of handling, but once we’d got the ancient Brits batting we could use them as runners. If the girls got bored, Gail swept them off for drinks and a swim. Didn’t you?’
‘We’d decided that the great thing was to keep them moving,’ Gail explained, determinedly sharing Perry’s brightness. ‘Not give them too much time to brood. The boys were going to have a high old time whatever we did. And for the girls – well, as far as I was concerned, just getting a smile out of them was … I mean, Christ …’ and left the rest unsaid.
Seeing Gail in difficulties, Perry quickly stepped in:
‘Very difficult to make a decent cricket pitch out of that soft sand,’ he explained to Luke, while she collected herself. ‘Bowlers get bogged down, batsmen capsize, you can imagine.’
‘I can indeed,’ Luke agreed heartily, quick to pick up Perry’s tone and match it.
‘Not that it mattered a hoot. Everyone had a blast and the winning side got ice creams. We called it a draw so both sides got ’em,’ said Perry.
‘Paid for by the new presiding uncle, I trust?’ Luke suggested.
‘I’d put a stop to that,’ Perry said. ‘The ice creams were strictly on us.’
With Gail recovered, Luke’s voice took on a more serious note:
‘And it was while both sides were winning – actually quite late inthe match – that you saw inside the parked people carrier? Have I got that right?’
‘We were thinking of drawing stumps,’ Perry agreed. ‘And suddenly the side door of the carrier opened and there they were. Maybe they wanted a bit of fresh air. Or a clearer look. God knows. It was like a royal visit. An incognito one.’
‘How long had the side door been open?’
Perry on guard over his celebrated memory. Perry the perfect witness, never trusting himself, never answering too fast, always holding himself to account. Another Perry that Gail loved.
‘Don’t know actually, Luke. Can’t say exactly. We can’t’ – with a glance at Gail, who shook her head to say she couldn’t either. ‘I looked; Gail saw me looking, didn’t you? So she looked. We both saw them. Dima and Tamara, side by side and bolt upright, the dark and the light, the thin and the fat, staring at us from the back of the carrier. Then wham , and the door slides shut.’
‘Staring, not smiling, as it were,’ Luke suggested lightly, while he made a note.
‘There was something – well, I said it already – regal about him.
‘So Perry took one look at the children, didn’t you?’ Gail said. ‘The boys particularly – and you thought, Christ what do we do with this lot? Then you had your one brilliant idea of the holiday: cricket . Well, I mean, not so brilliant if you know Perry. Give him a dog-chewed ball and a bit of old driftwood and he’s lost to all non-cricketing mankind. Aren’t you?’
‘We took the game extremely seriously, as one should,’ Perry agreed, frowning unconvincingly through his smile. ‘We built awicket out of driftwood, put twigs on top for bails, the marina people found us a bat and ball of sorts, we rounded up a clutch of Rastas and ancient Brits for the outfield, and all of a sudden we had six a side, Russia versus the rest of the world, a sporting first. I sent the boys off to persuade Natasha to come and keep wicket, but they came back saying she was reading some guy called Turgenev they pretended they’d never heard of. Our next job was imparting the sacred Laws of Cricket to’ – the smile widening into a broad grin – ‘well, some pretty lawless chaps. Not the ancient Brits or the Rastas, of course. They were cricketers born and bred. But the young Dimas were internats . They’d played a bit of baseball, but didn’t take at all kindly to being told they had to bowl a ball and not chuck it. The small girls needed a bit of handling, but once we’d got the ancient Brits batting we could use them as runners. If the girls got bored, Gail swept them off for drinks and a swim. Didn’t you?’
‘We’d decided that the great thing was to keep them moving,’ Gail explained, determinedly sharing Perry’s brightness. ‘Not give them too much time to brood. The boys were going to have a high old time whatever we did. And for the girls – well, as far as I was concerned, just getting a smile out of them was … I mean, Christ …’ and left the rest unsaid.
Seeing Gail in difficulties, Perry quickly stepped in:
‘Very difficult to make a decent cricket pitch out of that soft sand,’ he explained to Luke, while she collected herself. ‘Bowlers get bogged down, batsmen capsize, you can imagine.’
‘I can indeed,’ Luke agreed heartily, quick to pick up Perry’s tone and match it.
‘Not that it mattered a hoot. Everyone had a blast and the winning side got ice creams. We called it a draw so both sides got ’em,’ said Perry.
‘Paid for by the new presiding uncle, I trust?’ Luke suggested.
‘I’d put a stop to that,’ Perry said. ‘The ice creams were strictly on us.’
With Gail recovered, Luke’s voice took on a more serious note:
‘And it was while both sides were winning – actually quite late inthe match – that you saw inside the parked people carrier? Have I got that right?’
‘We were thinking of drawing stumps,’ Perry agreed. ‘And suddenly the side door of the carrier opened and there they were. Maybe they wanted a bit of fresh air. Or a clearer look. God knows. It was like a royal visit. An incognito one.’
‘How long had the side door been open?’
Perry on guard over his celebrated memory. Perry the perfect witness, never trusting himself, never answering too fast, always holding himself to account. Another Perry that Gail loved.
‘Don’t know actually, Luke. Can’t say exactly. We can’t’ – with a glance at Gail, who shook her head to say she couldn’t either. ‘I looked; Gail saw me looking, didn’t you? So she looked. We both saw them. Dima and Tamara, side by side and bolt upright, the dark and the light, the thin and the fat, staring at us from the back of the carrier. Then wham , and the door slides shut.’
‘Staring, not smiling, as it were,’ Luke suggested lightly, while he made a note.
‘There was something – well, I said it already – regal about him.
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