The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman Read Free Book Online Page A

they were seated at an enormously long table so it was nearly impossible to talk to anyone. So much the better. When the bride- and the groom-to-be arrived, quite late, actually, which was not Allie's style, everyone stood and applauded. The first course had already been served, a cold pâté with garlic toast. Paul's parents, Frieda and Bill, seemed nice enough, and there were several other relations and friends from Reading. Maddy recognized Mrs. Ridge, the older woman who lived in Kensington. She wore a black Chanel suit, and again, a hat; from certain angles she appeared ageless. Thankfully, she hadn't seen Maddy close up on that unfortunate day in April.
    â€œHey,” Allie said when she found her sister in the crowd.
    â€œHey, yourself.”
    â€œYou're not staying at the Mandarin?”
    â€œI'm just around the corner. At that place Mom used to talk about.”
    â€œWell, I'm glad you're here.” Allie looked exhausted. She'd lost weight. Maddy wondered if her wedding suit would still fit. “Paul hates this kind of thing. I think he's made his escape.”She nodded toward the bar. “God, maybe I should take off as well. Permanently.”
    â€œWhat's that supposed to mean?” Maddy asked. When Allie didn't answer, she pressed on. “You're not happy?”
    Allie wasn't wearing any makeup. She looked especially pale, run-down. “Do I seem happy?”
    Allie was scooped up by her friends, who wanted to know all about the celebrations to come, so she waved and went off with them. There was only one way to get through this event; Maddy drank too much. Enough so that her father noticed.
    â€œWhat's wrong with you?” Bob Heller asked.
    â€œWhy does everyone always assume there's something wrong with me? I'm fine,” Maddy told him.
    As soon as she could, she sneaked into the bar. Paul was there, drinking a scotch. The lamplight was yellow and fell in little moon-shaped pools. His eyes seemed weirdly large.
    â€œShe knows about us,” Maddy said. “She said she's not happy.”
    Paul looked at her blankly, almost as though he didn't recognize her.
    â€œI'm serious.” Maddy began to realize just how drunk she was. “She knows, doesn't she? Are you glad that you've hurt her?”
    â€œI did everything in my power to get her to leave me. Only she wouldn't. She's not disloyal. I don't think she'd know how to be.” Paul looked drained. “So we're getting married. You really should congratulate me.”
    â€œJust tell me. Why me? Why couldn't you have cheated with someone else?”
    â€œYou were there. You were willing. You would have hurt her the most.”
    â€œYou really are a sick bastard.”
    â€œI am. Precisely. I thought you knew.”
    Maddy stood and left the bar. She thought he would try to stop her, but he didn't. She made her way downstairs to the exit. If she fell and broke her neck no one would care. The younger sister who has nothing. Compare and contrast: the dark and the light, the full and the empty, the lost and the found.
    She took a taxi back to her hotel. Before going up to her room, she stopped by the bar. There were a few more people than usual, some businessmen, the same young couple as the night before and the older man at the end of the bar with both a whisky and a coffee in front of him.
    â€œI'll have what he's having,” Maddy said.
    â€œTeddy Healy?” the bartender said. “He's here every night, you know. He's cut back on his drinking. One coffee for every two whiskies.”
    Maddy raised her glass, then drained her whisky. She took the lift up and made her way to her room. Later, she didn't remember how she'd gotten there. She had never drunk as much as she had in London. Betrayals bred betrayals. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone, and she'd wound up hurting everyone, including herself. She got up and went to the window. From this vantage point all she could see were the angles of