"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 5 -Appointment at Bloodstar" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

Jules's eyes lit up with delight. "I should say not!" "Good. I was able to send a
speedship out for her even before this trouble began; I wanted her on hand . just in
case. I'm told she'll be arriving at Canaveral in an hour or so. You should just have time
to make it before she gets there if you leave right now."

Jules was eager to get moving, but his formal training kept him rigidly in place. "If
there's nothing else you have for me, sir."



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"Just some good wishes and a little advice." The Head grew deadly serious for a
moment. "This assignment looks like a milk run compared to your other ones. I'm
praying it will be. But I'm assigning someone of your caliber to it because it has the
potential to explode in all our faces. Keep the lid on it, Jules." Then his smile returned.
"Stop in at Wardrobe on the sixtyfirst floor and pick up some appropriate livery for a
valet and a secretary. Then you'd better get going. Vonnie won't like it if you're late."

CHAPTER 3
Homecoming

The voyage from Earth to Newforest took eight days by cruiser. After being away for
nearly three years, Pias had very ambivalent feelings about his return. On the one hand
it would feel good to return to his old surroundings and to the bosom of his family once
more. On the other, he was very aware of how drastically people and relationships
could change during a three-year absence, and he was almost dreading the alterations
he would find.

Yvette tried gamely to ease him over the troubled moments by keeping his mind on
other things-most particularly herself. The two young lovers were in each other's
company almost constantly during the trip. They had known each other for such a
comparatively short while that they had two lifetimes of catching up to do. Yvette told
Pias about the Circus; he was to be a member of the family very soon in any case, and
he had been cleared by the Head, so she had no fears at all about letting the secret
out. She told him stories of traveling around the Galaxy, giving shows and seeing the
sights of hundreds of exotic worlds before she was even ten years old. She told him of
her father and her training, and the exciting missions she had performed for the
Service.

In return, Pias told her about his own upbringing on Newforest. His had been a quiet,
backward world, almost primitive in many respects. Newforest had been founded by a
dissident group of tinkers and Gypsies almost at the beginning of interstellar travel, and
had kept itself hidden from the Empire until fifty years ago. Many of the old customs and
traditions were still observed.

As the duke's oldest child, Pias had been brought up with the concept that one day he
would rule this planet. But though his people were settled now at last, some of the
Gypsy heritage remained in his blood. Though he never left the planet physically, he