"David Drake - RCN 04 - Glory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Drake David)

Christine touched one medal after another, her lips working silently. A circle of guests was

forming about them like mother-of-pearl coating a sand grain in the mantle of a shellfish; not pressing, but

rapt in anticipation of what they might hear. Powerful nobles and very beautiful women, wondering what

the heroic Lieutenant Leary might say!

Daniel knew it didn't matter. These same people would howl and kick his naked body down the

street tomorrow if he were disgraced and executed; they'd done that with many of those implicated in the

Three Circles Conspiracy. The folk quickest to spurn the fallen were those who'd cheered the loudest in

the days before their overthrow.

It didn't matter--but he was young and he was human. "That...," Daniel said as Christine ran the

sash of red silk and cloth-of-gold between her fingers. He spoke to the older woman, but his eyes met

those of the petite blonde beaming from just beyond her. "... makes me a Royal Companion of Novy

Sverdlovsk as I understand it. I was fortunate enough to recover a valuable artifact for the throne and

gained Sverdlovsk's support for a Cinnabar initiative in the Galactic North as a result."

The artifact was a diamond engraved with the continents of Old Earth before the wars in which

asteroids had smashed the planet out of its former shape. Daniel had traded it for a warship, and with that

ship he--and the finest crew that ever blessed an RCN captain--had smashed an Alliance squadron. The

sash was showy. For the same incident Admiral Keith had awarded Daniel the Medal of the Republic in

Red--a small bronze cross with a ruby point in the center.

Civilians marveled at the sash. RCN officers braced to attention and saluted when they saw the

medal.

The orchestra played a few bars as a signal. Couples began forming for a sarabande.

"Now, Daniel," Christine said, holding his right hand with her left but turning to take the hand of

the blonde beside her. "May I present Thora, the daughter of my great friend Senator Bencini?"

She brought their hands together. Thora simpered becomingly; her fingers gripped Daniel with
more than formal enthusiasm.

"RCN forever," called a dry, carrying voice from across the circle of spectators. Daniel looked