"Esther M. Friesner - At These Prices" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friesner Esther M)

тАЬI suppose itтАЩs no use offering you coffee?тАЭ BellaтАЩs smug, too-sweet question
was a taunt, not a proposal of hospitality.
Selina the pixie made a gesture as rude as it was nigh imperceptible, but Berry
simply said, тАЬTea will be fine, maтАЩam. Herbal, please. Very good of you to go to the
trouble.тАЭ
тАЬOh, itтАЩs no trouble for me.тАЭ Bella barked orders into the kitchen where the
captive brownie languished. While Bixby brewed and served some prime chamomile
(hand-picked in Massachusetts, hand-swiped from the Sheraton in Boston), Bella
told her callers, тАЬNow, listen up, you refugees from Better Gnomes and Gardens,
once that teaтАЩs ready, youтАЩve got ten minutes to drink up and get out. If youтАЩve got
anything to say to me, say it now.тАЭ
тАЬMaтАЩam, as you know, weтАЩve come for our comrade,тАЭ Berry said calmly.
тАЬAnd as you know, fat chance,тАЭ Bella returned. тАЬThis is the best freebie I ever
brought home from a hotel stay, and thatтАЩs a fact.тАЭ
тАЬYтАЩknow, maтАЩam,тАЭ Tom the troll said in his gritty voice. тАЬIf you cтАЩn see fit tтАЩ
let Bixby go, outer thтАЩ kindness oтАЩ yer heart, weтАЩd be moreтАЩn willinтАЩ tтАЩ pervide thтАЩ
selfsame services fer you as heтАЩs incumbently doinтАЩ тАШround this place. WeтАЩd come
by twice weekly, regтАЩlar as thтАЩ Holy Hour, and tidy yer home up a treat. I might not
look it, but IтАЩve a good paw fer wipinтАЩ winders.тАЭ
тАЬWiping out windows, you mean,тАЭ Selina said. Melusine shushed her.
Bella curled her lip. тАЬTwice weekly cleaning? Instead of household chores
done twenty-four seven by someone at my beck and call? I donтАЩt think so.тАЭ
тАЬPlease, maтАЩam, have pity,тАЭ Mel implored. тАЬIf BixbyтАЩs kept apart from his
Seelie kinfolk for too long, heтАЩll waste away.тАЭ
тАЬHeтАЩs related to seals?тАЭ
тАЬNot seals, but the Seelie,тАЭ Mel said, and ran right back into BellaтАЩs amassed
lifetime ignorance, head first. But the plucky ondine was nothing if not a tryer. тАЬThe
Fair Folk. The Little People. The Fey, the Good Neighbors, the Hidden Helpers, the
Underhill Posse, the Goblin Marketeers, theтАФтАЭ
тАЬHey, think SantaтАЩs frigginтАЩ elves, okay?тАЭ Selina broke in before poor Mel
burst a water vessel in frustration.
Bella was enlightened but unmoved. тАЬWhatтАЩs that to me?тАЭ
тАЬNothing, apparently,тАЭ Berry said dryly. тАЬMaтАЩam, in all my life as a dwarf and
an engineer, IтАЩve run into some tough problems, but you make building the Hoover
Dam look easy as letting two beavers loose at a Christmas tree farm.тАЭ
тАЬSpare me your beavers,тАЭ Bella said. тАЬIтАЩm willing to bet you your weight in
pure Kona coffee that youтАЩve got some completely self-serving reason for coming to
BixbyтАЩs rescue. Nobody does good deeds for nothing, not in this world. I wasnтАЩt
born yesterday.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll say you werenтАЩt,тАЭ Selina declared cheerfully.
тАЬMaтАЩam, if thatтАЩs what you believe, I pity you,тАЭ Berry said. тАЬNo wonder you
cram your sorry little life with hotel freebies. ItтАЩs empty otherwise.тАЭ
Bella laughed so hard she spritzed Tom with tea. While the troll dabbed at his
dripping face with a tissue (from a box Bella had wrested out of the wall dispenser at
a Hilton in Baltimore), she subjected Berry to a double helping of scorn. тАЬOh, thatтАЩs
rich! IтАЩll tell you what, you sanctimonious twerp, how about a little wager?тАЭ
She fetched a bag of whole-bean Jamaica Blue Mountain from the kitchen and
slapped it down, appropriately enough, on the coffee table. тАЬSee this? I didnтАЩt take it
from any hotel, motel, or bed-and-breakfast in existence. ItтАЩs mine. I bought it with
my own hard-earned money, and at the price that money-grubbing grocery store