"Esther M. Friesner - A Beltaine And Suspenders" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friesner Esther M)

Esther M.Friesner



ABeltaine And Suspenders




I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU say, Olivia; it's no natural place." John Herrick, Vicar

ofStaddle -upon-Truss, dashed the papers onto the pew beside him and lifted his

well-chiseled chin in a manner straight out of the more popular female romances.

To the casual observer, Father Herrick did not seem a typical servant of the

Lord, unless it were Lord Byron.



"You dropped one," saidTelemachus Battle-Purfitt, frantically wiggling long,
pale fingers at the errant sheet.



The vicar retrieved the page and gave it a superficial glance. "Oh, that's

merely a copy of an especially intriguing passage from theStilby -Nash. You may

have it for your records, if you like. I've the original." He offered it to

Telemachus.



"No, no thanks,nonono , not to bother."Telemachus fairly gasped out the words,

backpedaling swiftly until his shoulders were nearly pressed flat against the

bizarre mural on the parish church wall which he had been at such pains to

uncover and restore for these past seven months. Flakes of plaster clung to his

jacket and blobs of freshly applied tempera stained his cuffs, but it did not

seem to matter to him so much as his successful escape from accepting the

vicar's paper.