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her storm-cloud indigo skirts, a silver grey bolero jacket covering her shoulders,
a little silver cap on her burning hair
He had raised his voice, which he didn t need to. ?I am not Irish, she said,
turning her head reluctantly, the cut-crystal vowels very apparent.
?Aye, well. Half-Irish, I meant to say.
Chip and Ver and Dilip had just appeared, towelling themselves with sodden
teeshirts. They stopped short. A frisson went round the whole party. You can t
talk about Fiorinda s Irish ancestry !What s Fergal thinking of?
The rock and roll brat shrugged. ?Tuh. My father was born in Chicago.
?Ye can be Irish by adoption,  tis a culture, not a race. Rufus O Niall: born in Chicago of Black and
Irish American ancestry, raised
in Northern Ireland by his adoptive parents, a minor Hollywood actress and a
Belfast businessman. Became a megastar with a band called The Wild Geese.
Married twice, divorced twice, nasty taste for very young girls. Had a daughter
with London rock journalist Suzy Slater, a relationship that broke up when the
child was four. When that daughter was twelve she was groomed by her aunt,
procuress to the famous, and delivered to Rufus. The little girl became pregnant
by him. She had no idea he was her father. Opinion differs as to whether Rufus
knew what he was doing.
Everyone knows the story. Shut up, Fergal. But no, he can t stop digging
?Yer dad s a black-hearted swine, Fiorinda, as yez don t need me to tell ye.
He s one of the bastards I was just talking of. But I hate the whole fockin Irish
nation meself, an I m still an Irishman.
?I don t follow your logic.
?Jaysus, girl, I m saying don t turn yer back on yer heritage, because one man
did ye a terrible wrong when ye was too young to know 
?What Iwant to know, announced Chip, loudly, flopping down in an empty
chair, ?is, when are we going to see some Gay Pride from Aoxomoxoa?
?Oh come on, said Rob, equally loud, lamming some of those art-workshop
sparks at the insolent kid (Rob s were acid yellow). ?Leave the guys some dignity.
You want Fiorinda to make you a video or something?
?Hey, it s a plan. That could be a nice little earner. ?The words tigers and vaseline come to mind 
sighed Felice, rolling her
eyes.
?He d never do it, said Allie, with regret, ?not after everything he s said about
gays. He s such a hypocrite. Okay, we use a body double. Should be easy. I ll
check my personal database.
?Nah. Has to be the boss. We ll let  im have his mask 
?Why is it always me? demanded Sage. ?Why don t you fuckers pick on Ax?
?Because I m the great dictator, said Ax, leaning beside his Minister on the
sofa they were sharing, grinning complacently. ?They wouldn t dare.
?You re his bitch, Sage, said Dilip. ?We thought you knew.
Fergal, looking confused, joined in the general laughter.
Fiorinda had escaped to the toilets, got there in time to throw up, violently,
copiously. She clung to the porcelain anchor of a wash basin, staring through the
face in the mirror. The raffish splendour of the State Apartments didn t extend
behind the scenes. Here there were broken tiles, ancient fittings, dirt in the
corners. Such is the shabby little hothouse of the Rock and Roll Reich, where
every trapped soul knows what you mustn t say to Fiorinda, where everyone
jumps a mile if someone dares to mention the dreaded name. Oh fuckit, this is
ridiculous, put it behind you, worse things have happened to plenty of nicer
twelve-year-olds, I was asking for it, why am I fucking shaking? Thank God Fergal
Kearney would never know the abyss into which he had plunged her Shit, what did I say to Areeka
before I scooted? I was filthy rude to her, I
know I was. Shit. Have to fix that.
Now I m going back, and I ll behave like a human being. I can do it.
She opened the door. Sage and Ax were in the dark passageway outside
(biological sex not an issue, but you don t invade the Ladies at the San unless
you are dressed like a lady). Ax had her bag.
?Moving on, he said, tucking it onto her shoulder.
?Raves to rave, said Sage, kneeling to put her sandals on her feet.
?The night to explore.
?What are you doing? I m finem, we have guests, let s get back.
?Not fucking likely, said Ax. ?Fergal has had his audience. Let s hit the town.
London was dark, motorised traffic scarce, but the night was warm and the
streets were full of people: carrying their own lights, looking for the party. Sage
and Ax and Fiorinda joined the shadowy carnival. Some unmarked time later [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]