"Elizabeth Moon - Serrano 3 - Winning Colors" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

its refitting. Her office aboard looked nothing like his; on the wall behind her were only a military-grade
chronometer and the framed certificates of her rating. She had a new uniform, not the loud purple Lady
Cecelia had once used, but the same competent expression, the same intelligent dark eyes. She paused a
moment, but he said nothing. "She outgrew herself in a hurry, on the island."
"I know. And she seems to have inherited ancestral temptations to adventure. You know how she got to
Rockhouse Major from Rotterdam ?" Heris nodded. "Even the unpleasantness she got into didn't dissuade
her. And now she wants to use some of her inheritance to finance a small expeditionтАФa small ship, rather,
on which she intends to wander around looking for excitement. Responsibly, she assures me. Nothing wild of
the sort she did in her youth." Lord Thornbuckle snorted. "Youth. The girl's barely old enough to consider a
Seat in Council, and you'd think she was fifty."
"She did come through safely, sir," Heris ventured. He could tell she was being tactful, wondering if he would
understand how important that was. Some people, following every rule of prudence, could hardly travel to the
corner and back without breaking an ankle. Brun's luck had to be more than luck, perhaps that unconscious
intuitive grasp of situation and character which was more valuable than all the education in the world. But not
only the military recognized and used that quality.
"Yes, I know, and I know it means she's inheritedтАФno doubt from the same ancestorsтАФthe ability to survive
adventure. But I'm not sure I can survive her acquisition of the necessary experience. Not without knowing
there's someone with more expertise and more . . . er . . . maturity to help her out of the tight spots she's so
determined to get into. Even Thornbuckles have limits to their luck; get Cece to tell you about my great-uncle
Virgil."
Heris focussed on the comment that might refer to her. "You were thinking that I might know someone with
the right skills to accompany her?"
"I thought you might be that person. Not that aloneтАФ" He waved off the protest she opened her mouth to
make. "I know, you'll be traveling with Cece. But she said she wanted to do more than make the various
horse events, and I wondered if you'd let Brun come along. As an employee, or passenger, or whatever you
like. I would of course pay her passage. . . ."
"No, sir," Heris said quickly. "Don't pay her passage; if she's set on adventuring, she might as well earn her
own way. She's already proved she could. I assume she has an allowance; let her use that, if she wants."
"Right. Fine. Then you'll take her?"
"I . . . don't know." She had liked Brun well enough, he knew, but clearly she was thinking about the
difficulties inherent in mixing a girl like Brun into a crew already facing difficult adjustments. She wouldn't
want trouble; she had had enough already. "I'm not sure I'm the right person," she said finally.
Lord Thornbuckle leaned over and touched his desk; he gestured to the row of red lights that came on, and
waited for her look of recognition. "Heris, let me tell you something that must remain a secret. A young
woman Brun knowsтАФknewтАФa schoolmate, went off on an adventure, joined a workers' organization over on
Patchcock, and got herself killed when she was discovered. Brun doesn't know; we've managed to suppress
it. But the girl's family is furious with me. They want me to send the R.S.S. to Patchcock againтАФ"
Heris stared. "That'sтАФnot wise, sir." She could easily imagine the carnage; it had been bad enough the first
time.
"No, I understand that. I've seen the classified briefings now. The thing is, Brun's the ideal hostage to use
against me. Either side might try it. She's too old to send homeтАФshe wouldn't stay, and I can't tell her about
Ottala. . . . I know she won't be safe, really safe, anywhere, but you might be able to keep her safer than
anyone else."
Heris nodded. "All right. I'm willing to have her aboard, if she's willing to come. I'm not about to shanghai
her."
"Oh, she's willing. Apparently she made some friends in your crew, didn't she?"
Heris looked puzzled, then her face cleared. "Sirkin, I suppose. At least they went around together for a
while, but that was our plan, a way that Brun could pass information about Lady Cecelia to me indirectly. I
wouldn't have called it a friendshipтАФSirkin's lover had just diedтАФbut it's something. All right . . . I suppose
Brun could have considered it friendship," she said. "I'll list her as unskilled crew, and let them teach her