"Philip Jose' Farmer. The Green Odyssey (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

She rang a bell and told Inzax, a pretty little blonde, to go into the
cellar and bring up a quart of Chalousma. One of the clerks popped his
head in the kitchen door and told her that a Mr. Sheshyarvrenti, purser of
an Andoonanarga vessel, wanted to see her about the disposition of some
rare birds that she had ordered seven months before. He would deal with no
one but her.

"Let him cool his heels for a while," she said. The clerk gulped and his
head disappeared.

Green took Paxi, his daughter, and played with her while Amra poured their
wine.

"This can go on only so long," she said. "I love you, and I'm not getting
the attention I'm accustomed to. You should find some pretense to break
off with the Duchess. I'm a vigorous woman who needs a lot of love. I want
you here."

Green had nothing to lose by agreeing with her, since he planned to be
leaving in a very short time. "You're right," he said. "I'll tell her as
soon as I think up a good excuse." He fingered his neck at the place where
a headsman's ax would come down. "It had better be a good one, though."

Amra seemed to glow all over with happiness. She held her glass up and
said, "Here's to the Duchess. May demons carry her off."

"You'd better be careful, saying that before the children. You know that
if they innocently repeated that to someone and it got back to the Duchess
you'd be burned in the next witchhunt."

"Not my children!" she scoffed. "They're too clever. They take after their
mother. They know when to keep their mouths shut."

Green gulped his wine and stood up. "I must go."

"You'll come home tonight? Surely the Duchess will let you out one night a
week?"

"Not one single night. And I can't come here this evening because I'm to
meet Miran the Merchant at the House of Equality. Business, you know."

"Oh, I know! You'll dillydally about the whole matter, and put off acting
for one reason or another, and the first thing you know, years will go by,
and--"

"If this keeps up I'll be dead in six months," he said. "I'm tired! I
have to get some sleep."

She changed instantly from anger to sympathy. "Poor dear, why don't you
forget that appointment and sleep here until time to go back to the