"Stephen Lawhead - Celtic Crusades 02 - The Black Rood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawhead Stephen)

trickery.'
'His plan seemed simple enough to me,' I told him. 'There was little
enough trickery in it that I can see. Where did he go wrong?'
'He sent it to Jaffa with only a handful of knights as escort, and the Seljuqs
ambushed them. If he'd waited a few days, he could have sent the relic
with a proper army - most of the troops were leaving the Holy Land soon -
and the Turks would never have taken it.'
'The Turks took it?' I asked.
'Is that not what I'm saying?' he grumbled. 'Of course they took it, the
thieving devils.'
'I thought you said Godfrey gave it to the emperor.'
'He meant to give it to the emperor,' growled Torf-Einar irritably. 'If you
would keep your mouth closed - instead of blathering on endlessly, you
might learn something, boy.'
Torf called me boy, even though I had a wife and child of my own. I
suppose I seemed very young to him; or, perhaps, very far beneath his
regard. I told him I'd try to keep quiet so he could get on with his tale.
'It would be a mercy,' he grumbled testily. 'I said the Seljuqs took the Holy
Lance, and if it was up to them, they'd have it to this day.
But Bohemond suspected Godfrey would try some idiot trick, and secretly
arranged to follow the relic. When Godfrey's knights left Jerusalem, the
Count of Antioch got word of it and gave chase.'
Prince Bohemond of Taranto knew about the lance, too, of course. It was
Bohemond who had taken King Magnus into his service to provide
warriors for the prince's depleted army. Owing to this friendship, King
Magnus had prospered greatly. It was from Magnus that we had our lands
in Caithness.
Torf was not unaware of this. He said, 'Godfrey and Baldwin had no love
for Bohemond, nor for his vassal Magnus. Still,' he looked around at the
well-ordered, expansive hall, 'I can see the king has been good to you. A
man must make what friends he can, hey?'
'I suppose.'
'You suppose? He laughed at me. 'I speak the truth, and you know it. In
this world, a man must get whatever he can from the chances he's given.
You make your bargains and hope for the best. If I had been in Murdo's
place, I might have done the same. I bear your father no ill in the matter.'
'I am certain he will leap with joy to hear it,' I muttered.
That was the wrong thing to say, for he swore an oath and told me he was
sick of looking at me. I left him in a foul temper, and went to bed that
night wondering whether I would ever hear what he knew about the Iron
Lance.
 TWO



Torf-Einar had indeed come home to die. It soon became apparent that
whatever health was left to him, he had spent it on the journey. Despite
our care of him, he did not improve. Each day saw a diminution of his
swiftly eroding strength.
I fed him the next night in silence. Owing to my discourtesy of the