Таємничий сад
XXIII. Magic
“Hewon’tgetMisselthwaiteatallnowI’mnotgoingtodie.”
“I’msorryforhimbecauseofthat,ofcourse,”saidMary,“butIwasthinkingjustthenthatitmusthavebeenveryhorridtohavehadtobepolitefortenyearstoaboywhowasalwaysrude.Iwouldneverhavedoneit.”
“AmIrude?”Colininquiredundisturbedly.
“Ifyouhadbeenhisownboyandhehadbeenaslappingsortofman,”saidMary,“hewouldhaveslappedyou.”
“Buthedaren’t,”saidColin.
“No,hedaren’t,”answeredMistressMary,thinkingthethingoutquitewithoutprejudice.“Nobodyeverdaredtodoanythingyoudidn’tlike—becauseyouweregoingtodieandthingslikethat.Youweresuchapoorthing.”
“But,”announcedColinstubbornly,“Iamnotgoingtobeapoorthing.Iwon’tletpeoplethinkI’mone.Istoodonmyfeetthisafternoon.”
“Itisalwayshavingyourownwaythathasmadeyousoqueer,”Marywenton,thinkingaloud.
Colinturnedhishead,frowning.
“AmIqueer?”hedemanded.
“Yes,”answeredMary,“very.Butyouneedn’tbecross,”sheaddedimpartially,“becausesoamIqueer—andsoisBenWeatherstaff.ButIamnotasqueerasIwasbeforeIbegantolikepeopleandbeforeIfoundthegarden.”
“Idon’twanttobequeer,”saidColin.“Iamnotgoingtobe,”andhefrownedagainwithdetermination.
Hewasaveryproudboy.HelaythinkingforawhileandthenMarysawhisbeautifulsmilebeginandgraduallychangehiswholeface.
“Ishallstopbeingqueer,”hesaid,“ifIgoeverydaytothegarden.
