"P. J. Plauger - Child of All Ages" - читать интересную книгу автора (Plauger P J)

The child sat at the dinner table with her hands folded neatly on her lap. The three adults toyed with their
aperitifs and made small talk. Melissa responded to each effort to bring her into the conversation with a
few polite words, just the right number of just the right words for a well-behaved child to speak when she
is a first-time dinner guest among people who hardly know her. But she never volunteered any small talk
of her own.

George Foster, Jr., sensed that the seemingly innocent child sitting across from him was waiting them out,
but he couldnтАЩt be sure. One thing he was sure of was that if this child were indeed older than
Christendom he didnтАЩt have much chance against her in intellectual games. That much decided, he was
perfectly willing to play out the evening in a straightforward manner. But in his own good time.

тАЬWould you start the salad around, Dad?тАЭ he prompted. тАШI hope you like endive, Melissa. Or is that also
a taste acquired in adulthood, like alcohol?тАЬ The girl had refused a dry sherry, politely but firmly.

Tm sure IтАЩll enjoy the salad, thank you. The dressing smells delicious. ItтАЩs a personal recipe, isnтАЩt it?тАЬ

тАЬYes, as a matter of fact it is,тАЭ George said in mild surprise. He suddenly realized that he habitually
classified all thin people as picky, indifferent eaters. A gastronome didnтАЩt have to be overweight.
тАЬBeing a history professor gives me more freedom to schedule my time than May has,тАЭ he found himself
explaining. тАШIt is an easy step from cooking because you must, to cooking because you enjoy it. That
mustard dressing is one of my earliest inventions. Would you like the recipe?тАЬ

тАЬYes, thank you. I donтАЩt cook often, but when I do I like to produce something better than average.тАЭ She
delivered the pretty compliment with a seeming lack of guile. She also avoided, George noted,
responding to the veiled probe about her age. He was becoming more and more impressed. They broke
bread and munched greens. How do I handle this? By the way, May tells me youтАЩre twenty-four
hundred years old. He met his fatherтАЩs eye, caught the faintest of shrugs. Thanks for the help.

тАЬBy the way, May tells me you were in England for a while.тАЭ Now why in hell did he say that?

тАЬI didnтАЩt actually say so, but yes, I was. Actually, we discussed the Industrial Revolution, briefly.тАЭ Were
you there?

I'm a medievalist, actually, but IтАЩm also a bit of an Anglophile.тАЬ George caught himself before he could
lapse into the clipped, pseudo-British accent that phrase always triggered in him. He felt particularly
vulnerable to making an ass of himself under that innocent gaze.

тАЬDo you know much about English royalty?тАЭ He was about as subtle as a tonsillectomy.

тАЬWe studied it in school some.тАЭ

тАЬI always wanted to be another Admiral Nelson. Damned shame the way he died. What was it the king
said after his funeral, it was Edward, I think-тАФтАШтАЩ

Melissa put her fork down.

тАЬIt was King George, and you know it Look, before I came here I lived in Berkeley for a while.тАЭ She
caught MayтАЩs look. тАЬI know what my records say. After all, I wrote themтАж as I was saying, I was in
Berkeley a few years back. It was right in the middle of the worst of the student unrest and we lived not
three blocks from campus. Every day I walked those streets and every night weтАЩd watch the riots and the