"Peter David - Sir Apropos 01 - Sir Apropos Of Nothing" - читать интересную книгу автора (David Peter)

Rosalie, bless her heart, read my mind. She was lying there, naked and waiting. And she was holding
her crystal ball.

Now, Rosalie had no knack for fortune-telling, but she fancied that she did. She obtained the large
crystal from a woman purporting to be an oracle, and she would stare into the crystal ball for hours on
end, trying to discern her future. Every so often she would make thoughtful pronouncements in a voice
that I think she thought was great and profound. In point of fact, it just sounded like Rosalie talking
oddly. I never paid any mind to it. It seemed a harmless enough diversion.

"Did you see me coming in that?" I asked teasingly.

She smiled in that odd way that she had, that made the edges of her eyes all crinkly. "In a manner of
speaking," she said, and laid the crystal ball on the floor.

My tunic was off and my leggings were just descending below my knees when the door burst open.
There was Granite, looking considerably larger than he had when he'd been riding off into the distance
minutes before.

I caught only the briefest of glimpses, though, because the moment the door opened, I had already
rolled off the bed, landing on the far side, out of view. I may not have had a good deal going for me, but
my reactions had always been formidably quick. Long practice, I suppose in keeping one eye behind me
at all times. I lay paralyzed on the floor. The door slamming back against the wall had covered the noise
of my thudding to the ground, but I was concerned that any further movement on my part might attract his
attention. Granite was a formidable warrior with a sense of hearing only marginally less sharp than his
blade. I held my breath so that he didn't hear it rasping against my chest, but I was positive that he could
nonetheless detect my heart slamming in my rib cage. In any event, I certainly didn't want to risk making
scrabbling noises against the floor. That would tip him for sure.

Rosalie was not the brightest of things, but barely controlled panic gave wings to her moderately
capable brain. Upon the door slamming open, she had automatically clutched the sheet under her chin,
covering herself. "Milord!" she burst out. She certainly did not need to feign her surprise. "I...I..."

I practically heard the scowl in his voice. "What are you about?" he demanded.

"I...I..."

"Well?!"

She suddenly tossed the sheet aside, wisely letting it tumble atop me to further hide me,
although--truth be told--I'm not entirely certain how effective a disguise it would have been, since piles of
laundry do not generally tend to quiver in fear. "I was...waiting for you, milord!" she said, throwing her
arms wide and no doubt looking rather enticing in her utter nudity. "Take me!"

I still held my breath, which, actually, was no great trick, because my chest was so constricted I
couldn't exhale if I'd wanted to. My heart had also stopped beating, and I was fairly sure my brain was in
the process of shutting down. I was hoping, praying that Granite would go for the bait. If he did, and she
distracted him sufficiently, I could creep out on hands and knees while they were going at it.
 "Take you where?" demanded Granite, never one to pick up on a cue.

"Here! Now!"