"Jonathan Stroud - Bartimaeus 3 - Ptolemy's Gate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stroud Jonathan)

"He doesn't say. I wonder if it'll beтАФ"

"It'll be the Staff and the Amulet and the other grade-one items." He hissed briefly through his
teeth. "That's not what he should be doing, Piper.We need them used''

"Yes, sir.There's also this from Mr. Devereaux." She brought out a slender packet.

The magician eyed it grimly. "Not another toga?"

"A mask, sir. For the party this evening."

With a cry, he indicated the envelope in the rack. "I've already got the invitation. It beggars
belief: the war's going badly, the Empire's teetering on the brink, and all our Prime Minister can
think about is plays and parties. All right. Keep it with the documents. I'll take it along. The
posters seem okay." He handed back the papers. "Maybe not snappy enough. . . ." He thought
for a moment, nodded. "Got a pen? Try 'Fight for Freedom and the British Way.' Doesn't mean
anything, but it sounds good."

Ms. Piper considered it. "I think it's rather profound, sir."

"Excellent. Then the commoners'll snap it up." He stood, dabbed his mouth with a napkin, and
tossed it down upon the tray. "Well, we'd better see how the demons have been getting on. No,
no, Piper, pleaseтАФafter you."

If Ms. Piper regarded her employer with more than a little wide-eyed admiration, she was by no
means alone among the women of the elite. John Mandrake was an attractive young man, and
the scent of power hung about him, sweet and intoxicating, like honeysuckle in the evening air.
He was of medium height, slender of body, and swift and confident in action. His pale, slim face
presented an intriguing paradox, combining extreme youthтАФhe was still only seventeen years old
тАФwith experience and authority. His eyes were dark and quick and serious, his forehead
prematurely lined.

His intellectual self-assurance, which had once perilously outstripped his other skills, had now
been bolstered by a certain social poise. To peers and inferiors alike he was courteous and
charming at all times, although also somewhat remote, as if distracted by an inner melancholy.
Alongside the crude appetites and eccentricities of his fellow ministers, this subdued detachment
attained an elegance that only added to his mystique.


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 Jonathan Stroud - Bartimaeus 3 - Ptolemy's Gate


Mandrake wore his dark hair close in a military cropтАФa conscious innovation to honor the men
and women still at war. It had been a successful gesture: spies noted that, among commoners,
he was the most popular magician. His haircut had thus been mimicked by many others, while
his dark suits had likewise inspired a brief vogue. He no longer bothered with a tie: the collar of
his shirt was casually unbuttoned.

Mr. Mandrake was considered by his rivals to be formidably, indeed dangerously, talented, andтАФ