"Stephen R. Lawhead - Avalon, The Return Of King Arthur (v4.0)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawhead Stephen)

Prologue
The low red car skidded to a halt on the dusty driveway outside the whitewashed
villa. The driver unfolded himself from behind the wheel, stepped out, and cast a
lingering, if bleary, glance down the lush hillside at the red tile rooftops and pale-blue
swimming pools of MadeiraтАЩs elite.
Above the quiet tick of the cooling engine and the warm sea breeze rustling the dry
palm fronds, Teddy imagined he could almost make out the clink of ice in crystal
glasses and the twittering voices of the buffed-and-polished hostesses below as the
eveningтАЩs social fandango began anew.
Reaching back into the car, he withdrew a nearly empty bottle of JamesonтАЩs,
unscrewed the cap, drained it, and flung the empty bottle into the overgrown garden
surrounding the sprawling house. He then turned and walked to the front door and
pushed it open. тАЬCozu!тАЭ he shouted as he stumbled into the cool marble-faced
foyer.
There came the quick slap of tennis shoes on the stone, and a small, sallow-faced
Portuguese man in an oversized white jacket appeared in the arched doorway leading
into the rambling interior of the house.
тАЬGood hтАЩevening, sir,тАЭ replied the manservant in heavily accented English. тАЬI trust
sir has had a pleasant day.тАЭ
тАЬTolerable, Cozu. Tolerable.тАЭ Teddy took a lurching step towards the stairway. The
servant quickly closed the door behind him. тАЬThe sea was a bit rough beyond the
point, so we stayed this side of the headland. Anything come for us today?тАЭ
тАЬThe package you were hтАЩexpecting arrived this morning, sir. I have placed it on the
desk in your study.тАЭ
тАЬBrilliant.тАЭ He shucked off his pale yellow windbreaker and pushed it at his servant.
He looked up at the wrought-iron sconces on the stuccoed walls and the scrollwork
balustrade along the upper gallery. Overpriced tack, he thought, not that heтАЩd ever
noticed before. Then again, he was seeing a lot of things heтАЩd never really seen
before. тАЬAny calls?тАЭ
тАЬTwo phone calls, sir. As requested, I have allowed the machine to answer. Miss
Vierta rang to say that she is staying in the town tonight. You are welcome to join her
for a late dinner at her apartment.тАЭ
тАЬAnd the other?тАЭ
тАЬIt was the gentleman from the Foreign Office again тАФ most insistent. I left both
messages on the answering machine.тАЭ
Teddy nodded. тАЬIтАЩm going to take a shower.тАЭ He belched and took hold of the
banister as if to haul himself up the stairs hand over hand.
тАЬWill sir be dining out this hтАЩevening?тАЭ
тАЬNo, sir will not be dining out. Sir is bloody knackered. Have cook send up a tray.
Bring me a bottle of champers тАФ something decent for a change.тАЭ He started
plodding up the stairs. тАЬOh, and bring the package to my room.тАЭ
тАЬCertainly, sir.тАЭ
Teddy dragged himself up the curving stairway and paused at the door of his room,
listening. How empty the place seemed when Theresa was out. He shrugged and
ambled into the spacious, high-ceilinged room, threw off his clothes, and stalked
naked into the bathroom where he took a long, hot shower, emerging twenty minutes
later in his favorite old white terry cloth bathrobe.
Relaxed and much revived, he drifted back into his bedroom to see that Cozu had
already been and gone. His dirty clothes had been removed, and a clean white shirt