"Sean Russell - River Into Darkness 1 - Beneath the Vaunted Hills" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Sean)

тАЬErasmus?тАЭ the young man said. тАЬFarrelleтАЩs ghost, Erasmus!тАЭ

тАЬSamual?тАЭ

The young man put a finger to his lips. тАЬDonтАЩt say it so loudly.тАЭ He looked truly frightened, shrinking
down a little so as not to be noticed.

тАЬHiding from a fiancee, are you?тАЭ Erasmus smiled.

тАЬNo, nothing like that. Far worse, in fact.тАЭ Samual Hayes looked about him quickly. тАЬIтАЩm hiding from the
law, Erasmus.тАЭ

Erasmus almost laughed, thinking it a jokeтАФSamual Hayes in trouble with the law!тАФbut then he realized
that the young man was completely serious. тАЬMartyrтАЩs blood, man, what have you been up to?тАЭ

тАЬNothing,тАЭ Hayes said quickly, тАЬI swear. Yet 1 am being pursued all the same.тАЭ

тАЬMr. Flattery?тАЭ

Erasmus turned to find a naval officer approaching, smiling. The navy men were always extremely
amiable to him, not for anything Erasmus had done, but because a recent ancestor had been an admiral
and something of a war hero. Odd how the accomplishments of oneтАЩs family seemed to somehow rub off
on a man.

тАЬCaptain Adelard James. We met once at the dukeтАЩs country home. At a dinner, this two years pastтАжтАЭ

тАЬOf course. A pleasure to see you again, Captain. You were off to Farrow, wasnтАЩt it?тАЭ

The man looked pleased that Erasmus would remember. тАЬThatтАЩs it exactly. Yes, we talked much about
the island. Have you been back since we last spoke?тАЭ

Erasmus shook his head. тАЬNo, IтАЩm afraid not.тАЭ He turned to introduce Hayes, but the young man had
disappeared. They talked for a moment about nothing much in particular, and then parted. Erasmus stood
wondering what in the world Hayes had been on about.

Barton reappeared suddenly. тАЬFinished with that little bit already?тАЭ he asked, speaking too loudly. тАЬWell,
never mind, thereтАЩs always more here, Ras. Do you know, IтАЩve just been told that the Countess of
Chilton is in attendance? Can you believe it? IтАЩm dying for a glimpse.тАЭ He raised a bushy eyebrow
comically. тАЬCome along, old man, and weтАЩll see if the rumors are true. See if a dart of pure desire strikes
right to our very hearts.тАЭ

I hey had taken an astonishing length of time to make their way to this room, searching as they went.
Hoping for a glimpse of the



woman said to be the most beautiful in the known world. Barton touched ErasmusтАЩ arm suddenly, and he
turned to look in the direction his friend was staring. There was someone there, no doubt, in the middle of
the press of both men and womenтАФlike a queen bee surrounded by her attendants. And the similarity