"David Drake - RCN 01 - With the Lightnings" - читать интересную книгу автора (Drake David)

YouтАЩd like to find the apartments of the Cinnabar citizens staying here, I suppose?тАЭ
тАЬNot at all,тАЭ said Daniel, passing the coin to the Kostroman with a sweep of his hand. тАЬMy uncle was a great
explorer himself, and I hope to follow his -example. I came here to see what information may be in the Electoral Library.тАЭ
He beamed at the blinking clerk.

If Adele Mundy had spent the past hour talking to the wall of the cabinet shop, she wouldnтАЩt now feel a burning
desire to flay the wall with a riding whip. That was the only difference she could see between that and her discussion
with Master Carpenter Bozeman.
If she heard the phrase тАЬIтАЩm sorry, mistress, but we do things different here on KostromaтАЭ just one more time,
sheтАЩd scream.
There were four people in the library: the two lovers, who were ignoring the stranger deliberately instead of
merely being concerned with their own activity; Vanness, who because he couldnтАЩt ignore the stranger but wasnтАЩt
sure he ought to approach the fellow, was bouncing like a child who needs a toilet; and the stranger himself.
The stranger was a man wearing a gray suit with closer -tailoring than the Kostroman fashion. His back was to
the door, and he was leafing through a folio volume that dated from before the Hiatus.
тАЬSir!тАЭ Adele said. тАЬIтАЩm the Electoral Librarian. May I ask who you are?тАЭ
If he dropped the book or tore a page, sheтАЩdтАФ
The fellow turned. The gray suit was a uniform. He was a little on the plump side, with sandy hair and a smile that
made him look even more of a boy than he clearly was.
тАЬHonored to meet you, mistress,тАЭ he said. тАЬIтАЩm Lieutenant Daniel Leary, Republic of Cinnabar Navy. Sorry I canтАЩt
shake hands with you butтАФтАЭ
 He waggled the folio slightly. He had a hand -under either board. To turn pages heтАЩd apparently rested a corner
on the stack of deed boxes beside him in lieu of a proper reading table.
тАЬтАФa book like this takes precedence over courtesy. Did you realize this is a first edition of MoschelitzтАЩs
Zoomorphology of the Three Systems? I canтАЩt read the Russiche, but I recognize the plates from DitmarsтАЩs translation.
This original color is so much better!тАЭ
тАЬYes, I do recognize Moschelitz,тАЭ Adele said dryly; though she might not have, and it was a wonder equal to a
western sunrise than anybody else on Kostroma did. тАЬYouтАЩre an information specialist yourself, sir?тАЭ
Leary closed the huge volume with the care its size and age required. HeтАЩd taken it from the middle of a stack. It
was a knife to AdeleтАЩs heart that somebody who understood books should know that sheтАЩd allowed it to lie with that
weight on it simply because the task of organizing this mire of information had daunted her.
тАЬNo, not me,тАЭ Leary said. His engaging grin slipped a trifle as heтАФand Adele, from where she stoodтАФlooked for
a place he could safely put Moschelitz down. тАЬIтАЩm a bit of an amateur naturalist, though. My uncle, Commander Stacey
BergenтАФperhaps youтАЩve heard of him?тАЭ
тАЬNo, IтАЩm afraid the nameтАЩs new to me,тАЭ Adele said. тАЬHere, IтАЩll take that. Perhaps I can store it. . . .тАЭ
тАЬAt my lodgings,тАЭ sheтАЩd been about to say, but her room was apt to be broken into at any time. If the concierge,
Ms. Frick, wasnтАЩt a scout for burglars, then her face sadly belied her.
The only safety for the folio was that nobody knew how valuable it was. To that end, leaving it as part of the
undifferentiated mass of the library was the best chance of safety.
тАЬI think maybe on that stack there,тАЭ Leary said, nodding -toward three wooden boxes that Adele hadnтАЩt gotten
around to opening. They might be filled with business ledgers for all she knew. He didnтАЩt hand over the book. тАЬI know
itтАЩs a little high, but it seems a solid base.тАЭ
тАЬYes, all right,тАЭ Adele said. She couldnтАЩt lift the folio down herself without a ladder, but she wasnтАЩt likely to need
to. Vanness could reach it. . . .
Leary walked to the piled boxes, stepping over and around other stacks with an ease that Adele envied. Part of
being in the navy, she supposed. Certainly the starships on which sheтАЩd travelled, even the luxury liner that took her
from Cinnabar to Blythe, had been cramped. Warships were probably worse.
Leary raised the folio over his head, holding it at the balance. He put the book squarely on top of the pile without
rubbing the cover on the wood as sheтАЩd feared.
тАЬThe reason I asked if youтАЩd heard of my uncle,тАЭ he said as he concentrated on his task, тАЬis that youтАЩve a