"Barrayar 15 - Miles Vorkosigan 13 - Diplomatic Immunity" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bujold Lois McMaster)

УWhat should I wear?Ф

УSince you'll have to play the whole entourage, something effective.Ф He smiled crookedly. УThat red silk thing ought to be distractingly civilian enough for our Stationer hosts.Ф

УOnly the male half, love,Ф she pointed out. УSuppose their security chief is a female quaddie? Are quaddies even attracted to downsiders?Ф

УOne was, apparently,Ф he sighed. УHence this mess.... Parts of Graf Station are null-gee, so you'll likely want trousers or leggings instead of Barrayaran-style skirts. Something you can move in.Ф

УOh. Yes, I see.Ф

A knock sounded at the cabin door, and Armsman Roic's diffident voice, УMy lord?Ф

УOn my way, Roic.Ф Miles and Ekaterin exchanged placesЧfinding himself at her chest height, he stole a pleasantly resilient hug in passingЧand he exited to the courier ship's narrow corridor.

Roic wore a slightly plainer version of Miles's Vorkosigan House uniform, as befitted his liege-sworn armsman's status. УDo you want me to pack up your things now for transfer to the Barrayaran flagship, m'lord?Ф he asked.

УNo. We're going to stay aboard the courier.Ф

Roic almost managed to conceal his wince. He was a young man of imposing height and intimidating breadth of shoulder, and had described his bunk above the courier ship's engineer as Sort of like sleeping in a coffin, m'lord, except for the snoring.

Miles added, УI don't care to hand off control of my movements, not to mention my air supply, to either side in this squabble just yet. The flagship's bunks aren't much bigger anyway, I assure you, Armsman.Ф

Roic smiled ruefully, and shrugged. УI'm afraid you should've brought Jankowski, sir.Ф

УWhat, because he's shorter?Ф

УNo, m'lord!Ф Roic looked faintly indignant. УBecause he's a real veteran.Ф

A Count of Barrayar was limited by law to a bodyguard of a score of sworn men; the Vorkosigans had by tradition recruited most of their armsmen from retiring twenty-year veterans of the Imperial Service. By political need, in the last decades they'd mostly been former ImpSec men. They were a keen but graying bunch. Roic was an interesting new exception.

УWhen did that become a concern?Ф Miles's father's cadre of armsmen treated Roic as a junior because he was, but if they were treating him as a second-class citizen...

УEh...Ф Roic waved somewhat inarticulately around the courier ship, by which Miles construed that the problem lay in more recent encounters.

Miles, about to lead off down the short corridor, instead leaned against the wall and folded his arms. УLook, RoicЧthere's scarcely a man in the Imperial Service your age or younger who's faced as much live fire in the Emperor's employ as you have in the Hassadar Municipal Guard. Don't let the damned green uniforms spook you. It's empty swagger. Half of 'em would fall over in a faint if they were asked to take down someone like that murderous lunatic who shot up Hassadar Square.Ф

УI was already halfway across the plaza, m'lord. It would've been like swimming halfway across a river, deciding you couldn't make it, and turning around to swim back. It was safer to jump him than to turn and run. He'd 'a had the same amount of time to take aim at me either way.Ф

УBut not the time to take out another dozen or so bystanders. Auto-needler's a filthy weapon.Ф Miles brooded briefly.

УThat it is, m'lord.Ф

For all his height, Roic tended to shyness when he felt himself to be socially outclassed, which unfortunately seemed to be much of the time in the Vorkosigans' service. Since the shyness showed on his surface mainly as a sort of dull stolidity, it tended to get overlooked.

УYou're a Vorkosigan armsman,Ф said Miles firmly. УThe ghost of General Piotr is woven into that brown and silver. They'll be spooked by you, I promise you.Ф

Roic's brief smile conveyed more gratitude than conviction. УWish I could've met your grandfather, m'lord. From all the tales they told of him back in the District, he was quite something. My great-grandfather served with him in the mountains during the Cetagandan Occupation, m'mother says.Ф

УAh! Did she have any good stories about him?Ф