"Cornwell, Bernard - Grail Quest 1 - Harlequin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cornwell Bernard)

suggested to the villagers that Father Ralph was indeed a high-born
man who had fallen low through being possessed of devils. The
silver chalice seemed to shimmer in the light of two immensely tall
candles which would burn through the whole long night. Most
villages could not afford proper Easter candles, but Father Ralph
purchased two from the monks at Shaftesbury every year and the
villagers would sidle into the church to stare at them. But that
night, after dark, only the five men saw the tall unwavering flames.
Then John, a fisherman, farted. Reckon that's ripe enough to
keep the old devil away," he said, and the other four laughed. Then
they all abandoned the chancel steps and sat with their backs against
the nave wall. John's wife had provided a basket of bread, cheese
and smoked fish, while Edward, who owned a saltworks on the
beach, had brought ale.
In the bigger churches of Christendom knights kept this annual
vigil. They knelt in full armour, their surcoats embroidered with
prancing lions and stooping hawks and axe heads and spread-wing
eagles, and their helmets mounted with feathered crests, but there
were no knights in Hookton and only the youngest man, who was
called Thomas and who sat slightly apart from the other four, had
a weapon. It was an ancient, blunt and slightly rusted sword.
You reckon that old blade will scare the devil, Thomas?" John
asked him.
My father said I had to bring it," Thomas said.
What does your father want with a sword?"
He throws nothing away, you know that," Thomas said, hefting
the old weapon. It was heavy, but he lifted it easily; at eighteen,
he was tall and immensely strong. He was well liked in Hookton
for, despite being the son of the village's richest man, he was a
hard-working boy. He loved nothing better than a day at sea hauling
tarred nets that left his hands raw and bleeding. He knew how to
sail a boat, had the strength to pull a good oar when the wind
failed; he could lay snares, shoot a bow, dig a grave. geld a calf, lay
thatch or cut hay all day long. He was a big, bony, black-haired
country boy, but God had given him a father who wanted Thomas
to rise above common things. He wanted the boy to be a priest.
which was why Thomas had just finished his first term at Oxford.
What do you do at Oxford, Thomas?" Edward asked him.
Everything I shouldn't," Thomas said. He pushed black hair away
from his face that was bony like his father's. He had very blue eyes,
a long jaw, slightly hooded eyes and a swift smile. The girls in the
village reckoned him handsome.
Do they have girls at Oxford?" John asked slyly.
More than enough," Thomas said.
Don't tell your father that," Edward said, or he'll be whipping
you again. A good man with a whip, your father."
There's none better," Thomas agreed.
He only wants the best for you," John said. Can't blame a man
for that."
Thomas did blame his father. He had always blamed his father.