"P. N. Elrod - Jonathan Barrett 01 - Red Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elrod P N)

"But until then nothing is settled," he said.
"Why are you worried?"
"I heard some things in the kitchen. She was talking to Mrs. Nooth and I was
n't supposed to be listening."
"Never mind that. What was said?"
"She wanted Mrs. Nooth to be asking around to find a proper English servant
to look after you."
For several moments I lost the power of speech. "To .. . to...?"
"To take my place," he said calmly.
"Impossible. She can't mean it."
"But she does. And she plans to sell me."
The blood hit the top of my head so hard that blue and purple smoke cloude
d my vision. Without knowing how I got there, I found myself up and pacing
the length of the room. Nothing intelligible came out of me for quite som
e time and Jericho knew me well enough not to interrupt.
"It's not going to happen," I told him finally. "It's absolutely not going to hap
pen. It's ridiculous . . . utterly .. . stupid." Then a cold thought rushed past.
"Unless you want to ... ?"
Now it was his turn to be upset, though he was so self-disciplined that in n
o wise was it comparable to my own display. "No. A man must work and if I mu
st work then I would rather work here. I do not wish to be sold. But your fa
ther might still do it for the sake of peace in the family."
I shook my head. "Mother can throw whatever sort of fit she pleases, but you
are not going to be sold."
He looked reassured. "I have hope then. This is a good place to be and I kno
w of no better. When other servants visit with their masters I hear of the m
ost terrible things. Here we are treated well and given good care. No beatin
gs, no starvations."
"That's something the whole world can do without," I added. He seemed to fe
el better, but I continued to pace. "Suppose
Father arranged for your freedom? Then I could hire you. Mother wouldn't ha
ve anything to do with it."
"Except dismiss me, then hire a replacement. You have no rights of your own
until your twenty-first birthday."
"Blast. Well, no matter what, I won't let it happen. I'll run away to sea firs
t and you can come with me."
A smile crossed his dark features. "But then you would be guilty of theft."
"Jericho, you've been hanging about with lawyers too long."
The smile broadened for a moment, then gradually fell in upon itself. I sto
pped my restless pacing and leaned against a wall and wished Father home im
mediately. "Why on earth does she want to hire another valet for me? You're
the best there ever was."
He nodded regally at the compliment. "It is not a question of finding someon
e better. It is because Mrs. Barrett is extremely fond of all things English
. She wants an English servant."
"No, thank you. He'd only put on airs, correct my speech, and rearrange my c
lothes so that I couldn't find anything for myself. And who would I have for
company? Except for you and old Rapelji, there's no one intelligent to talk
to."
His brows pinched together. "But your sister and father—"