"Duncan, Dave - Impossible Odds v1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

It was only a formality.

Two lights came into view and soon resolved themselves into
torches set in sconces on either side of an imposing doorway, the
entrance to Quamast House. The Grand Duke had been lodged a
long way from the main palace, and Sir Bernard had assured Trudy
that this was the Blades’ doing. Most visitors were bunked in the
West Wing, but the Blades never took chances with unidentified
spirituality.

Under each sconce stood a pike man in shiny breastplate and
conical steel hat. The one on the right stamped his boots,
advanced one of them a pace, lowered his halberd, and
pro­claimed, “Who goes there?”

3 Impossible Odds

That was a very stupid question when he knew the answer already.
The Royal Guard scorned such folderol as pass­words, Bernard
had told her, because they all knew one an­other and because they
tried to do nothing the Yeomen did, or at least never in the way the
Yeomen did it.

“The nightingale sings a sad song!” Sergeant Bates pro­claimed at
Trudy’s back. That was not true, because nightin­gales had
finished singing back in Fifthmoon, and he said it loud enough for
any skulking trespasser to overhear.

The man-at-arms resumed his former position, slamming the butt
of his halberd on the stone. “Pass, friend.”

One of the footmen opened the right-hand flap of the dou­ble door.
As Trudy followed Mother Celandine through it, she caught a
startling whiff of... of she was not sure what. She did not stop to
investigate.

She found herself in a pillared hall that must take up most of the
ground floor of the building. A very inadequate light was shed by a
pair of enormous bronze candelabra standing at the foot of a
showy marble staircase set in the center of the hall, which seemed
an inefficient use of space. Much vague sculpture loitered in the
shadows along the walls. The marble floor supported some
random rugs and a few ugly sofas and chairs, poorly arranged.

A voice at her elbow said, “Good chance, Trudy.”

She jumped and turned to meet his grin. “Bernard!” He had not told
her he would be here!