"Charles Stross - Merchant princes 02 - The Hidden Family" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

his startling lack of skin and hair pigmentation: He kept his eyes downcast as
he regurgitated a seemingly endless stream of reports from the various heads of
police, correspondents of intelligence, and freelance informers who kept his
office abreast of news.

"I beg your pardon." A valet flourished a clean linen handkerchief before the
royal nose. John Frederick blinked, his expression pained. "Ah-choo!" Although
not yet in middle age, the king's florid complexion and burgeoning waistline

were already giving rise to worries among his physiopaths and apothecaries.

Sir Roderick paused, awaiting the royal nod. The air in the room was heavy with
the smell of beeswax furniture polish, and a faint oily overlay from the quietly
fizzing gas lamps. "Sire?"

"A moment." John Frederick, by grace of God king-emperor of New Britain and
ruler of the territories and dependencies thereof, took a fresh handkerchief and
waved off his equerry while anxious faces watched him from all sides. He
breathed deeply, clearly battling to control the itching in his sinuses. "Ah.
Where were we? Sir Roderick, you have held the floor long enoughтАФtake a seat, we
will return to you shortly. Lord Douglass, this matter of indiscipline among the
masses troubles me. If the effects of the poor grain harvest last year are not
mitigated in the summer, as your honorable colleague forecasts"тАФa nod at Lord
Scotia, minister for rural affairsтАФ"then there will be fertile soil for the
ranters and ravers to till next autumn. Is there any risk of a domestic upset?"

Lord Douglass ran a wrinkled hand across his thinning hair as he considered his
reply. "As your majesty is doubtless awareтАФ" He paused. "I had hoped to discuss
this matter after hearing from Sir Roderick. If I may beg your indulgence?" At
the royal nod, he leaned sideways. "Sir Roderick, may I ask you to rapidly
summarize the domestic situation?"

"By your leave. Your majesty?" Sir Roderick cleared his throat, then addressed
the room. "Your majesty, my right honorable friends, the domestic condition is
currently under control, but there are an increasing number of reports of
nonconformist ranters in the provinces. In the past month alone the royal police
have apprehended no less than two cells of Levelers, and uncovered three illicit
printersтАФone in Massachusetts, one in your majesty's western New Provinces, and
one in New London itself." A whisper ran around the table: It was an open secret
that the ceUar press in the capital could print whatever they liked with only
loose

control, except for the most blatantly slanderous rumors and Leveler sedition.
For there to be raids, the situation must be far worse than normal. "This
ignores the usual rumbling in the colonies and dominions. Finally, police
operations uncovered a plot to blow up the Western Summer Palace at MontereyтАФI
would prefer not to discuss this in open cabinet until we have resolved the
situation. Someone or something is stirring up Leveler activists, and there have
been rumors of French livres greasing the wheels of treason. Certainly it takes
money to run subversive presses or buy explosives, and it must be coming from