The Thief of Time by John Boyne Read Free Book Online

anyway, although I dare say he would have accepted any offers I might have made. We continued to be friends during that year, but it was a slightly distant friendship, linked as it was through Amelia, whom Constance refused to let out of her sight for very long.
    â€˜The man’s a lech,’ she told me. ‘It’s one young thing after another. I’m amazed he’s kept up with her this long. I want to be there when he throws her aside though. She’ll be eighteen soon and he’ll want to be rid of her then.’
    My feelings for Constance had grown considerably, to the point where I believed I had fallen in love with her. For her part, she linked her romantic life exclusively to me but showed no great interest in mutual declarations of affection. Passionate cries of ‘I love you’ from me would most often be followed by an ‘Aren’t you sweet?’ or a ‘How kind of you to say’ from her. It wasn’t that she was cold – indeed, she could be extremely affectionate in showing delight at my arrival to take her to dinner or to a show – it was simply that she was suspicious of amorous declarations or any form of public affection. I started to spend most nights at her apartment and considered giving up my house, which was far too large for my needs anyway, in order to move in with her but she urged me to hold on to it, just in case.
    â€˜I don’t want to feel that we’re married already,’ she told me, ‘like there’s no turning back. Knowing you still have your own house gives me a sense of security.’
    I had thought of that too and considered asking her to marry me but I had been down that road so many times already with such mixed success that I was loath to see another union go awry, another friendship destroyed. We spoke of our pasts to each other in some detail, although I made sure not to go back further than about 1900 to begin my romantic life. I have always found it best not to bore people with the details of my ageing process as I suspect that their interest in me would be superseded by their interest in it.
    â€˜I’ve never been married,’ I lied to her. ‘There was only one girl I ever really wanted to marry but it didn’t work out.’
    â€˜Throw you over for another Joe?’ she asked me and I shook my head.
    â€˜She died,’ I said. ‘There was ... some trouble. We were both very young. It was a long time ago.’
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ said Constance, looking away, unsure whether I wanted consolation or whether she was even the right person to give it or not. ‘What was her name?’
    â€˜Dominique,’ I said quietly. ‘It doesn’t matter. I don’t like to talk about her. Let’s -’
    â€˜And there’s been no one else? You’ve never been in love since?’
    I laughed. ‘Oh, there’ve been others, of course,’ I said. ‘I’ve lost track of the number of people I’ve become involved with, and there’ve been one or two of course that I’ve developed strong feelings for, feelings that could rival those I had for Dominique. You, for example.’
    She nodded and lit another cigarette, looking away as she breathed the smoke out through her nose. I stared at her but her eyes refused to meet mine. ‘How about you?’ I asked her eventually, in order to break the silence. ‘When am I going to hear all about your wonderful past?’
    â€˜I thought that a gentleman didn’t want to end up with a woman with a past,’ she said with a smile. ‘Isn’t that what all the young ladies are taught? To keep themselves pure and virginal for their husbands?’
    â€˜Believe me, I’m in no position to talk,’ I acknowledged with a smile. ‘You’ve no idea how far back my past goes.’
    â€˜I’ve never really got involved with people,’ she told me hesitantly. ‘After my