"Frank Herbert - Dune 2 - Dune Messiah (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

It has occurred to her, Scytale thought, that she is on trial here, that a Judgment remains to
be made which could preserve her or destroy her. She sees the trap we set for her.
Momentarily, Scytale's gaze locked with that of the Reverend Mother and he experienced the odd
realization that they had shared this thought about Irulan. The Bene Gesserit, of course, had
briefed their Princess, primed her with the lie adroit. But the moment always came when a Bene
Gesserit must trust her own training and instincts.
"Princess, I know what it is you most desire from the Emperor," Edric said.
"Who does not know it?" Irulan asked.
"You wish to be the founding mother of the royal dynasty," Edric said, as though he had not
heard her. "Unless you join us, that will never happen. Take my oracular word on it. The Emperor
married you for political reasons, but you'll never share his bed."
"So the oracle is also a voyeur," Irulan sneered.
"The Emperor is more firmly wedded to his Fremen concubine than he is to you!" Edric snapped.
"And she gives him no heir," Irulan said.
"Reason is the first victim of strong emotion," Scytale murmured. He sensed the outpouring of
Irulan's anger, saw his admonition take effect.
"She gives him no heir," Irulan said, her voice measuring out controlled calmness, "because I
am secretly administering a contraceptive. Is that the sort of admission you wanted from me?"
"It'd not be a thing for the Emperor to discover," Edric said, smiling.
"I have lies ready for him," Irulan said. "He may have truthsense, but some lies are easier to
believe than the truth."
"You must make the choice, Princess," Scytale said, "but understand what it is protects you."
"Paul is fair with me," she said. "I sit in his Council."
"In the twelve years you've been his Princess Consort," Edric asked, "has he shown you the
slightest warmth?"
Irulan shook her head.
"He deposed your father with his infamous Fremen horde, married you to fix his claim to the
throne, yet he has never crowned you Empress," Edric said.


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"Edric tries to sway you with emotion, Princess," Scytale said. "Is that not interesting?"
She glanced at the Face Dancer, saw the bold smile on his features, answered it with raised
eyebrows. She was fully aware now, Scytale saw, that if she left this conference under Edric's
sway, part of their plot, these moments might be concealed from Paul's oracular vision. If she
withheld commitment, though . . .
"Does it seem to you, Princess," Scytale asked, "that Edric holds undue sway in our
conspiracy?"
"I've already agreed," Edric said, "that I'll defer to the best judgment offered in our
councils."
"And who chooses the best judgment?" Scytale asked.
"Do you wish the Princess to leave here without joining us?" Edric asked.
"He wishes her commitment to be a real one," the Reverend Mother growled. "There should be no
trickery between us."
Irulan, Scytale saw, had relaxed into a thinking posture, hands concealed in the sleeves of
her robe. She would be thinking now of the bait Edric had offered: to found a royal dynasty! She
would be wondering what scheme the conspirators had provided to protect themselves from her. She
would be weighing many things.