"Esther M. Friesner - Giants in the Earth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friesner Esther M)

royal jism jackpot. All of which was why she swallowed her pride along with a mouthful of chewed-up
dates, smiled ever-so-sweetly, and replied:
"Yes, O my beloved king. How silly of me. Your life is much more important than mine, of course. Me

file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Esther%20M.%20Friesner%20-%20Giants%20in%20the%20Earth.htm (2 of 10)26-1-2007 22:53:34
 - Chapter 11

daring to suggest anything to you? Tsk. What was I thinking? Can you ever forgive your po' li'l
featherheaded Tirzy-wirzy who wuvs 'oo so vewy, vewy much that she just can't wait to get you alone
and perform the Babylonian Basket Trick for your intense, unbelievable pleasure?"
"Wuzzah?" Despite Tirzah's almost-never-fail employment of that tempting combination, fulsome baby
talk and promised perversity, the king wasn't buying. He'd chided his concubine and gone straight back
to wrestling with the uncooperative psalm.
Tirzah frowned and double-checked her breasts. Yes, still firm, still golden as a pair of melons, still
exuding rare floral essences imported from Egypt at great expense. When it came down to cases, she had
no doubts about her physical attractions; but when the match was Concubine vs. Blank Parchment, best
two falls out of three, she was stymied. What was it about the composition of a psalm that managed to
gobble up the king's full attention?
"Yes, dear," she muttered under her breath. "You just go back to composing that psalm all about how
you slew Goliath, big whoop. I'll be right here when you finally want me. Where else do I have to be?"
"Gath . . . wrath . . . bath . . . Sheba . . . huh?" said the king, blinking as he looked up at her from his
labors.
"Nothing," said Tirzah wearily. "I was just thinking about how much I love you. Wildly. Madly. Passion
without bounds." Her voice was only a little flatter than her taut young belly, but the king wasn't really
paying any attention and she was past caring. "Yea, verily, I would do anything to prove my love for
you, yep, sure, you name it, justтАФ"
"Of course you would; it's in your job description. Why the blazes do you have to gabble about it,
woman?" King David demanded. He might have said more, but at that moment the calm of a summer's
afternoon in the royal court was broken by the abrupt entrance of the king's majordomo. He was an
overly excitable Moabite whom the king had hired as lip service to valuing diversity somewhere in the
palace besides the royal harem.
"Majesty! Majesty!" he cried, scuttling into the throne room, wringing his hands. "Oh, the unspeakable
horror! Oh, the devastation! Oh, that ever this should come to pass!" He threw himself facedown at the
king's feet, gurgling prophecies of generic doom.
"What is it?" the king demanded, toeing the Moabite firmly. "And it had better be good. The last
unspeakable horror you reported was a wild donkey that got loose in the marketplace and ate three
cabbages. When it ate a fourth you escalated the event to a full-fledged devastation. I hope you're not
wasting my time with another four-cabbage disaster, because tomorrow is the anniversary of my battle
with the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, and if I don't finish this psalm about how I slew him,
I'llтАФ"
"But you didn't slay him, Majesty!" The trembling Moabite raised his eyes to the king's dire
countenance. "He's back. Goliath of Gath is back, he's waiting outside the gates of Jerusalem, and he
says he's not leaving until he's got your head on the end of his spear!"
***
A table had been fetched and King David's council had been summoned into the throne room with such
haste that no one had thought to dismiss the concubine. Thus Tirzah found herself wandering around the
periphery of the strategic huddle, nibbling a fistful of almonds, and peering over the shoulders of David's
most trusted advisors as they discussed the situation in hushed, intense tones.
"But it can't be Goliath!" King David protested. "I killed him! I killed him good. First I whapped him