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

acquaintances would've described as cheerful and outgoing. She regarded courtesy as the most important

social virtue, however, and she'd just been discourteous to her hostess.

Quickly she went on before Lira Kearnes could resume speaking, "I received an invitation as

Mundy of Chatsworth, mistress. The invitation to the officers of the Princess Cecile was limited to the

commissioned officers. Or in the case of the midshipmen, those who will be commissioned. I'm a

technician; a warrant officer, in RCN terms."

The orchestra was playing a rigadoon. It was more sprightly than most of the guests cared to

attempt, but Midshipman Dorst of the Princess Cecile danced with the athletic grace with which he'd

carried out any task requiring physical strength and dexterity. His partner was a red-haired civilian,

strikingly attractive and just as good a dancer as Dorst was.

Midshipman Vesey, also of the Sissie and Dorst's lover, watched from the edge of the dance

floor with a careful lack of expression. Daniel regarded Vesey as a very respectable astrogator. That was

high praise, as it came from a man whom the RCN held the near equal of the incomparable Stacey

Bergen, Daniel's uncle and the man who'd trained him in everything to do with a starship. Vesey was

even attractive... but not the way the redhead was attractive.

As best Adele could tell, Dorst loved Vesey; certainly he'd willingly put his tall, muscular body

between her and any danger. But tonight was likely to be a difficult time for Vesey, who seemed

completely oblivious of the bevy of civilian nobles trying to catch her attention.

Adele sighed. She herself had no more interest in sex than the busts on either side of the marble

mantelpiece did. There were others--Daniel Leary was a member of the class--who had an obvious

animal enthusiasm for the business but then got on with the rest of their lives, utterly unscathed by those

activities.

And then there were the Midshipman Veseys and apparently the majority of humanity, who were

regularly turned inside out by what could've been a matter of simple biology. Adele's philosophy hadn't

had room for a deity even before the slaughter of her family, but it sometimes seemed to her that the