"C. J. Ryan - Gloria VanDeen 3 - The Fifth Quadrant" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ryan C.J)

Chapter 30
Preview of Burdens of Empire
About the Author
Also by C.J. Ryan
Copyright Page




^┬╗
THE LIGHT OF THE TWO SUNS BEAT DOWN ON the baking streets of Cartago like a curse.
One of them was small, blue, and hot; the other was fat, red, and less hot. They were separated
in the sky by about the width of a fist held at armтАЩs length, and Cartago whirled endlessly
about a point somewhere between the two blazing orbs. In the streets they cast twin shadows,
which angled away from one another slightly, as if reluctant to admit they knew each other.

Gloria VanDeen followed her host and his entourage through the swarming streets,
enjoying the color and bustle and the singsong entreaties of the bazaar merchants. Exotic,
fantailed phoenixbirds could be hers for only ten crowns, or perhaps even seven. Silken scarves
and golden bangles and cotton caftans of the highest quality would only enhance her
astonishing beauty, and at a price so low she would feel guilty for taking such advantage of the
poor but honest merchants of Cartago; but the honor of being permitted to offer garments and
jewelry to grace the famous form of Gloria VanDeen would more than offset the financial loss.
The most beautiful woman in all the Empire surely deserved no less than the finest
craftsmanship and artistry in the entire SectorтАФnay, the entire Quadrant!

тАЬI would buy you something as a souvenir,тАЭ Praetor Ulmani said to her, тАЬbut that would
surely cause a riot. The merchant whose wares you wore would become insufferable, and his
competition, unable to bear their shame, would doubtless kill him.тАЭ

тАЬThen I suppose itтАЩs best that I wear nothing,тАЭ Gloria said with a smile. тАЬI wouldnтАЩt want to
be responsible for a tragedy.тАЭ
 тАЬSpirit forbid it!тАЭ Ulmani grinned at her. Since nothingтАФor very nearly nothingтАФwas
precisely what Gloria was wearing, the comment seemed apt. Her soft, flowing, nearly
transparent garment rested lightly on her shoulders and descended in narrow vees of sheer
white fabric, front and rear, shielding her from the suns but not from the hungry eyes that
surrounded her.

Honestly, there were times when being Gloria VanDeen was just so damn much fun that it
should have been illegal. Gloria smiled and waved happily to the throng in the streets, then let
Ulmani take her elbow and usher her along.

The people of Cartago, like their Praetor, had many reasons to be grateful to Gloria
VanDeen, and Gloria was aware that her beauty and sexual presence were prominent among
them. Without those attributes, it was doubtful that she would have been able to fulfill the
mission that had brought her here.

On this, the thirteenth day of January in the year 3218, Standard CalendarтАФjust three days
after her twenty-fifth birthdayтАФGloria VanDeen was the most famous, popular, and (quite
possibly) important woman in an empire that spanned a sphere of space two thousand