"Linda Evans - Time Scout 2 - Wages of Sin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Evans Linda)

you! I hate you! All you wanted was a chance to sneak away and make a bunch of
illegal bets!"
"Now, Agnes-"
"I could lose my job!" Tears in her eyes sparkled in the lamp light, but
they were angry tears more than fear. "I can't believe you would do this to
me." She hugged both arms around herself and refused to look him in the eye.
"Look, kid, you're a nice girl. I happen to like you a lot. But business is
business. Good God, Agnes, you take a bunch of bloodthirsty perverts to the
arena to watch men butcher each other, you ferry around zipper jockeys so they
can rape prostitutes in downtime brothels, and you don't bat an eyelash, but
let a man make a little wager-"
"Get out of my sight! I wish I'd never laid eyes on you, Skeeter Jackson!
If I thought I could get away with it, I'd ... I'd maroon you here! That'd be
rich, leave you stuck in Rome with all the people whose money you swindled!"
Skeeter gave up. He'd broken up with his share of women, although he rarely
understood why, exactly, but he'd never had one react this violently. Well,
there was the exception of Margo. She'd said a few choice things to him, after
she'd found out he wasn't a time scout after all. And he hadn't even managed
to get her into bed!
All of which was useless to pursue. He would miss Agnes' company,
particularly in the sack, but the amount of gold in the pouches at his belt
was more than incentive to dismiss her serious overreaction. It'd only been
one little day's wagering, for God's sake. Yesukai would've been singing his
praises to the entire clan around the cookpots.
Oh, well. Easy come, easy go. So much for this scheme. Guess Ill have to
come up with something else that doesn't involve a downtime gate. Of course,
with his winnings today, he could take all the time he wanted, deciding his
next intrigue. He left Agnes sitting in her private room at the Time Tours Inn
and rejoined the festivities in the dining room, aware that she was crying as
he shut the door, aware of a pang of guilt down inside himself, but also aware
that she'd brought most of her anguish on herself.
Sheesh. One little bet.
You'd have thought he'd stolen her heart or something. Women. Can't figure
'em, any way you look at it. When he got back to TT-86, he was going to march
straight into the Down Time Bar & Grill and get roaring drunk. Hell, he'd buy
drinks for everybody there and get well-and-truly Mongolian drunk with
friends. After the fit she'd pitched, he deserved a little celebration.
Maybe he'd even find someone willing to console him in the privacy of his
apartment afterwards. Some sweet, soft-skinned tourist willing to assuage the
sense of loss and loneliness he couldn't quite dismiss as he entered the
raucous main room of the Time Tours Inn. Yeah, that was the ticket. Wine and
women. Age-old cure for what ailed the heart.
 Skeeter put on his best smile and wondered how many pockets he might have
the chance to pick before the Porta Romae Gate cycled a few hours hence.
The thief had taken up lodgings at an inn situated pleasantly on the
Aventine. It bustled with customers. Lupus paid both boys and watched them
scamper off, then stepped into the crowded room. A few people gave him odd
looks, but he was served with good food and better wine than he'd expected.
The man he sought was in a far corner, all smiles and triumph, talking to a
plain-looking slave girl who smiled at him the way a well-bedded woman smiles