"Andrew J. Offutt - Cormac 02 - The Tower of Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Offutt Andrew J)

from Philip the Syrian, a swarthy man and pockmarked. He blinked heavy eyelids. тАЬThe noble Commander
Athanagild must cope with Breton corsairs, Saxons and Jutes out of BritainтАФKing Hengist notable among
themтАФaye, and their cousins settled in the Charente, upon his very doorstep as it wereтАФтАЭ
тАЬAnd the Frisians,тАЭ Count Guntram snarled, тАЬand the Heruls, the DanesтАФthat whole damned boiling sea of
North Sea robbers! Not to speak of the Scoti who sometimes take the notion that our coasts are the very
place for a happy little junket, and Vandals up from the south to try their luck! Hooves of the Devil! I live here
too, merchant! Their numbers are greater than rats!тАЭ The countтАЩs big hand, which bore heavy gold rings and
dirty nails in almost equal numbers, lifted to stroke his pepper-and-salt beard. His face softened to an almost
ludicrous contrast; his little bright blue eyes glittered.
тАЬNay,тАЭ he said almost softly, тАЬwith pirates on the water in such numbers, I know not why you are not ruined.
IтАЩd like to know how you manage.тАЭ
PhilipтАЩs eyes, dark as garnets, flickered and went suddenly as hard. His brocaded tunic and soft Cordoban
shoes, no less than the shining gems scintillant on his person, did indeed suggest that he was managing
very well indeed. The other merchant, Desiderius Crispus, in a simple dress-tunic long out of date and a
wholly false air of patrician hauteur, looked more austere. And the count was too well informed to credit that
sham.
Philip said, тАЬIf I may speak for us both, my colleague? I believe, my lord Comes, that it is because the bulk of
our trade goes by land or river. For myself, what goods I ship are brought from the east to Narbo Martius, and
then hither. I should not dream of trusting my wealth on the western seas at matters ar now.тАЭ
тАЬYou slimy, lying serpent!тАЭ
Guntram gripped the underside of his much-abused table and heaved it over. Ink, reports, quills and fine
blotting sand were scattered like trash. The secretary, who had been seated at one end, rolled backward and
betook himself out of the way. A corner of the table had banged Proculus on the knees; the phrases he
hissed between his teeth as he rubbed were hardly in keeping with the dignity of his position. He stared
silently at the count as if wishing the big soldier were small enough to stamp.
The Count of Burdigala was amove; he seized Philip by the throat and choked him until his bulging eyes saw
the stark face of Death. Then Guntram flung him down among the papers and ink to get his breath.
тАЬDтАЩyou think IтАЩm a fool?тАЭ Guntram roared. тАЬOr that my spies waste their time? From Narbo is it, with tolls and
levies each mile of the way? Pah! And you,тАЭ he snarled, rounding on Desiderius. тАЬTraitor! IтАЩll not bore ye with
all I know. It was full eighty swords of Spanish forging, the best there is this side of Damascus, that found
their way into HengistтАЩs grasping handsтАФnot so? Not so? And paid for in gold from a looted church! Ahhh!
And you, Philip of Syria. Captain Ticilo may not be your man for speaking publicly of, but I know what he did
in Massilia last year, and what Vandal galley gave him escort the length of the Spanish coast. And raided
Lusitania on its way home, to such profit that it must have had advance information to guide him. What last I
heard, Lusitania is part of our Gothic realms as much as this cityтАФwhich means, Syrian, that these dealings
were no common sharp practice or thieving. They rank as treason!тАЭ He looked at Proculus. тАЬBe that not so,
sir?тАЭ
тАЬBeyond doubt, if there is proof,тАЭ the municipal prefect said, with stiffness. тАЬIt would merit the severest death
the law can award.тАЭ
Philip had not risen from his knees; Desiderius now joined him there.
Both merchants wailed for mercy. They had been moved, they avowed nigh fearfully, to do what they did out
of desperation for the losses these same pirates had inflicted upon them. If the menace could be abated, the
seas cleared or rendered so that a merchantman had so much as even odds, would be their dearest wish
come true. Let the Count of Burdigala but state his desires. And so forth.
Guntram was not listening. Proculus had his ear at the moment, and Proculus was waxing condemnatory. He
straightened, lean in his robes through with a growing pot. His thin-lipped mouth was twisted. Pain from his
smitten knee and disgust at the exhibition heтАЩd been forced to watch were in equal measure the cause of it.
тАЬMy lord Count,тАЭ he snapped, тАЬthis disgraces me! Here is neither a court of law nor a wharfside
grog-shopтАФthough just now, one might well take the one for the latter. Let these men be arraigned for their
crimes in due form, and let the civic questioner be the one to lay hands on them. I give you good day.тАЭ