"Zelazny, Roger - Amber 03 - Sign Of The Unicorn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zelazny Roger)

     "Yes?"
     "Well... he was--somewhat--aware--of the possibility."
     She paused and rearranged her gloves on the seat beside her.
     "Uh-huh," I said. "Just what did he tell you?"
     "That it might be the real you," she said. "He told me there had been--an accident."
     "Really?"
     "Well, no," she admitted. "Not an accident. He said there had been a fight and he had injured you. He thought you were going to die, and he did not want the blame. So he transported you off into Shadow and left you there, in that place. After a long while, he decided that you must be dead, that it was finally all over between you. My news naturally disturbed him. So he swore me to secrecy and sent me back to keep you under surveillance. I had a good excuse for being there, as I had already told everyone how much I liked the place."
     "You didn't promise to keep silent for nothing, Flora. What did he give you?"
     "He gave me his word that should he ever come into power here in Amber, I would not be forgotten."
     "A little risky," I said. "After all, that would still leave you with something on him--knowledge of the whereabouts of a rival claimant, and of his part in putting him there."
     "True. But things sort of balanced out, and I would have to admit having become an accomplice in order to talk about it."
     I nodded.
     "Tight, but not impossible," I agreed. "But did you think he would let me continue living if he ever did get a chance at the throne?"
     "That was never discussed. Never."
     "It must have crossed your mind, though."
     "Yes, later," she said, "and I decided that he would probably do nothing. After all, it was beginning to seem likely that you had been deprived of your memory. There was no reason to do anything to you so long as you were harmless."
     "So you stayed on to watch me, to see that I remained harmless?"
     "Yes."
     "What would you have done had I shown signs of recovering my memory?"
     She looked at me, then looked away.
     "I would have reported it to Eric."
     "And what would he have done then?"
     "I don't know."
     I laughed a little, and she blushed. I could not remember the last time I had seen Flora blush.
     "I will not belabor the obvious," I said. "All right, you stayed on, you watched me. What next? What happened?"
     "Nothing special. You just went on leading your life and I went on keeping track of it."
     "All of the others knew where you were?"
     "Yes. I'd make no secret of my whereabouts. In fact, all of them came around to visit me at one time or another."
     "That includes Random?"
     She curled her lip.
     "Yes, several times," she said.
     "Why the sneer?"
     "It is too late to start pretending I like him," she said. "You know. I just don't like the people he associates with--assorted criminals, jazz musicians.... I had to show him family courtesy when he was visiting my shadow, but he put a big strain on my nerves, bringing those people around at all hours--jam sessions, poker parties. The place usually reeked for weeks afterward and I was always glad to see him go. Sorry. I know you like him, but you wanted the truth."
     "He offended your delicate sensibilities. Okay. I now direct your attention to the brief time when I was your guest. Random joined us rather abruptly. Pursuing him were half a dozen nasty fellows whom we dispatched in your living room."
     "I recall the event quite vividly."
     "Do you recall the guys responsible--the creatures we had to deal with?"
     "Yes."
     "Sufficiently well to recognize one if you ever saw another?"
     "I think so."
     "Good. Had you ever seen one before?"
     "No."
     "Since?"
     "No."
     "Had you ever heard them described anywhere?"
     "Not that I can remember. Why?"
     I shook my head.
     "Not yet. This is my inquisition, remember? Now I want you to think back for a time before that evening. Back to the event that put me in Greenwood. Maybe even a little earlier. What happened, and how did you find out about it? What were the circumstances? What was your part in things?"
     "Yes," she said. "I knew you would ask me that sooner or later. What happened was that Eric contacted me the day after it occurred--from Amber, via my Trump."
     She glanced at me again, obviously to see how I was taking it, to study my reactions. I remained expressionless.
     "He told me you had been in a bad accident the previous evening, and that you were hospitalized. He told me to have you transferred to a private place, one where I could have more say as to the course of your treatment."