Read Online Unobtainium 1: Kate on a Hot Tin Roof by Niall Teasdale - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Niall Teasdale
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her pace to consider and then shaking her head. ‘I cannot express it, for I have no frame of reference and no words to describe it. The world seems sharper, the scents stronger. I am stronger, I know that. There are times when I am practising Master Sun’s forms that I can feel the power within me, just as he says I should. The perfect balance of yin and yang, the taiji he calls it. I can feel that power and it scares me a little, but it also makes me feel… exhilarated.’
‘Perhaps I should try Master Sun’s exercises myself. What is it he calls them?’
‘Taiji chuan, which I am given to understand means “supreme ultimate fist.” It is an art which has been taught in China for centuries.’
‘You understand some Chinese?’
‘I have learned a little Mandarin Chinese and some French, which Mrs Morton says can be of use.’
‘It can indeed. Mandarin less so, but for trade. I myself speak Afrikaans and a little Zulu and Gikuyu. Enough to get by in the regions of the Dark Continent I visit.’
‘Oh, it must be exciting to travel to such remote locales. You said that you were knowledgeable of the jungles of the Congo. I should love to see a jungle one day.’
Antonia laughed. ‘I believe you might, and I have no doubt you would brave the dangers there with the ease you have shown in braving the dangers of the English drawing room. Trust me when I say that the latter is a far more treacherous place, though less likely to result in physical injury.’
‘Believe me, Antonia, when I say that I can well understand your words to be true. I fear we must return. I must spend my afternoon in a different kind of light.’
‘Time for the reactor?’
‘Indeed, though I admit the solitude is not usually disagreeable. Today I have someone to converse with which makes it more so.’
~~~
‘The first occurrence was on the eighteenth of February,’ Charles said, ‘and the second began on April tenth. Mrs Morton noted them in her diary, for the first was unusual and the second cause for concern.’
‘And you’re sure of the dates?’ Antonia asked.
‘When I wish to remember something, I do, Mrs Wooster.’
‘Of course. And Kate said that each episode lasted six days…’
‘Which would give a forty-six-day gap between.’
Antonia smiled. ‘A good memory and an ability with calculation second to none. Forty-six days… Were the pattern repeated, her next episode would begin…’
‘Tomorrow. Of course this phase could be transitional. We have insufficient data to say that this will definitely follow that pattern.’
‘No, but we should be watchful.’ She pursed her lips musingly. ‘Forty-six days… And the way she describes her mood. This reminds me of something and my lack of recollection taxes my patience. Did your grandfather have many books on animal biology?’
‘That was not an area with which he was particularly concerned, though there may be a few. He read voraciously.’
The door of the little drawing room in which they sat opened and Lilian walked in. ‘If either of you stand,’ she said, ‘I shall be most cross.’ And then she made her way to one of the chairs which was still in the sun.
Far from being in the flush of youth, Lilian Barstow-Hall was nevertheless a strong woman who still carried with her some of the beauty which had graced her features when she had married Hunter Hall. Her hair was white now where once it had been a rich gold and her blue eyes were greyer but still had a sharp intelligence about them. Her figure had gone a little over the years and her waist could no longer handle the waspish form it had accepted before, but she was still slim and quite fit. She had loved walking in the hills when she was younger, and still did though her walks had had to be shortened. She hated formality as much, if not more, than Antonia did and tolerated it only when it was absolutely required.
‘Lilian,’ Antonia said, bowing her head.
‘What brings you down from your
‘Perhaps I should try Master Sun’s exercises myself. What is it he calls them?’
‘Taiji chuan, which I am given to understand means “supreme ultimate fist.” It is an art which has been taught in China for centuries.’
‘You understand some Chinese?’
‘I have learned a little Mandarin Chinese and some French, which Mrs Morton says can be of use.’
‘It can indeed. Mandarin less so, but for trade. I myself speak Afrikaans and a little Zulu and Gikuyu. Enough to get by in the regions of the Dark Continent I visit.’
‘Oh, it must be exciting to travel to such remote locales. You said that you were knowledgeable of the jungles of the Congo. I should love to see a jungle one day.’
Antonia laughed. ‘I believe you might, and I have no doubt you would brave the dangers there with the ease you have shown in braving the dangers of the English drawing room. Trust me when I say that the latter is a far more treacherous place, though less likely to result in physical injury.’
‘Believe me, Antonia, when I say that I can well understand your words to be true. I fear we must return. I must spend my afternoon in a different kind of light.’
‘Time for the reactor?’
‘Indeed, though I admit the solitude is not usually disagreeable. Today I have someone to converse with which makes it more so.’
~~~
‘The first occurrence was on the eighteenth of February,’ Charles said, ‘and the second began on April tenth. Mrs Morton noted them in her diary, for the first was unusual and the second cause for concern.’
‘And you’re sure of the dates?’ Antonia asked.
‘When I wish to remember something, I do, Mrs Wooster.’
‘Of course. And Kate said that each episode lasted six days…’
‘Which would give a forty-six-day gap between.’
Antonia smiled. ‘A good memory and an ability with calculation second to none. Forty-six days… Were the pattern repeated, her next episode would begin…’
‘Tomorrow. Of course this phase could be transitional. We have insufficient data to say that this will definitely follow that pattern.’
‘No, but we should be watchful.’ She pursed her lips musingly. ‘Forty-six days… And the way she describes her mood. This reminds me of something and my lack of recollection taxes my patience. Did your grandfather have many books on animal biology?’
‘That was not an area with which he was particularly concerned, though there may be a few. He read voraciously.’
The door of the little drawing room in which they sat opened and Lilian walked in. ‘If either of you stand,’ she said, ‘I shall be most cross.’ And then she made her way to one of the chairs which was still in the sun.
Far from being in the flush of youth, Lilian Barstow-Hall was nevertheless a strong woman who still carried with her some of the beauty which had graced her features when she had married Hunter Hall. Her hair was white now where once it had been a rich gold and her blue eyes were greyer but still had a sharp intelligence about them. Her figure had gone a little over the years and her waist could no longer handle the waspish form it had accepted before, but she was still slim and quite fit. She had loved walking in the hills when she was younger, and still did though her walks had had to be shortened. She hated formality as much, if not more, than Antonia did and tolerated it only when it was absolutely required.
‘Lilian,’ Antonia said, bowing her head.
‘What brings you down from your
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