Read Online The Godson by Robert G. Barrett - Free Book Online

barrier and moved down as Peregrine followed.
    â€˜I’m Les, anyway,’ said Norton, as Peregrine brought his trolley to a halt. ‘I’ll be looking after you while you’re out here.’ They exchanged a brief but warm handshake.
    â€˜Pleased to meet you, Les.’ Peregrine’s voice was clipped but extremely well-modulated.
    Les picked up the heavier of the two bags. ‘Follow me. The car’s just over here.’ Peregrine picked up his overnight bag and trench-coat and followed Les out of the terminal, stopping momentarily to take a pair of sunglasses from his inside coat pocket and slip them on.
    â€˜How was the trip over?’ asked Les.
    â€˜Absolutely ghastly,’ replied Peregrine tightly.
    â€˜Yeah?’ Norton was surprised. ‘I thought they looked after you on British Airways.’
    â€˜Oh, the food and service was quite marvellous — as one would expect. But we hit this bloody turbulence nearly all the way. I don’t think anyone got a wink of sleep.’
    The way Peregrine hesitated, almost spluttering when he used the word bloody suggested to Les that this might be the absolute height of his vocabulary of swear words. He made a mental note to watch his Ps and Qs, for the time being anyway. ‘Oh well. You’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight, anyway.’ Peregrine didn’t bother to reply.
    They arrived at Norton’s old Ford and Les opened the door. Peregrine looked at the old banger like he’d never seen anything like it before and stepped inside as if he expected something to jump out of the seat and bite him.
    â€˜You ever been to Sydney or Australia before?’ asked Les, climbing behind the wheel after slinging Peregrine’s bag on the back seat. Peregrine shook his head. ‘Well, I live at Bondi. You’ll be staying at my place for a couple of days then we’ll be heading up the North Coast.’
    Peregrine nodded disinterestedly. ‘Are we going in this?’ he asked.
    â€˜No. I’m getting the loan of another car on Monday. Tomorrow.’
    Peregrine nodded again and stared indifferently out of the windscreen.
    Figuring Peregrine was tired and a little testy after his long flight, Norton didn’t bother him with any small talk on the way to Bondi. Referring to Les’s limousine as ‘in this’ didn’tgo over too well, but he could understand the Englishman’s irritability and reasoned he’d be okay once he was settled down and had a cup of coffee and a bit of a feed. They arrived at Norton’s house in silence.
    â€˜Which is yours?’ asked Peregrine dully, as he surveyed the row of semis once they were out of the car.
    â€˜This one,’ smiled Les. ‘Come on.’
    If Peregrine Normanhurst’s stiff upper lip was beginning to curl a little when he walked in the front door, it almost rolled up his face and over his head when he stepped into the spare room.
    â€˜Well, what do you reckon?’ grinned Norton. ‘It’s nothing marvellous, but at least you’ll be safe here.’
    Peregrine surveyed the room like it was the scene of an axe murder. ‘What do I reckon?’ He had another look around the room then turned to Les. ‘Do you know how to get to Kings Cross from here?’ Norton nodded. ‘Do you know the Sebel Town House?’ Norton nodded again. ‘Right. Then let’s go.’
    â€˜You don’t like this?’ asked Les.
    â€˜It’s rather nice actually,’ replied Peregrine, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘I’m just curious as to who lived here before me. The hunchback of Notre Dame? Or do you use it to breed some sort of animals for scientific purposes?’ Without waiting for a reply, Peregrine picked up his bags and tramped back down the hallway. They were halfway up Old South Head Road before Norton found the heart to speak.
    â€˜Listen, Peregrine,’ he said. ‘I