"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 01 - The Winds of Gath" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

"Is an accepted political instrument. It is feared that the
Matriarch is no longer at her prime. There are those who are
concerned about the succession. That," he added, "is why I chose
the place of execution."

"I know," she said impatiently. "Before the residence of the
Lady Moira." Her eyes widened. "Whose house is next to the
Halatian Embassy!"

Dyne made no answer, his face bland, his eyes enigmatic, but
Seena was no fool. She had lived too long in the hothouse
atmosphere of court intrigue not to be able to see the obvious.
Kund was wealthy, Halat was not. Many thought that the Lady
Moira had a better claim to the throne than the Matriarch.
Gloria was old.

But to assassinate her?

"You misunderstand, My Lady," said Dyne in his soft
modulation. "The assassination was not aimed at the Matriarch.
It was aimed at yourself."
***

A bell chimed from an inner room of the complex of inflated
plastic which was their temporary home. A curtain swept aside
and Gloria, the Matriarch of Kund, stood in the opening. She
was very old but as a tree is old, grown tough with age and
battle, hard and determined and drawing strength from that
determination. Two of her guards attended her, hard-faced,
mannish women, dedicated and fantastically loyal. She waved
them aside as she moved toward a chair.

"I can manage. I'm not so old that you have to carry me
about!"

Her voice, she knew, was too thin, too querulous but it was
something that couldn't be helped. Not even the cosmosurgeons
could revitalize delicate tissues which had aged too much. But it
was a fault which, normally, she managed to control.

"All right," she snapped at the guards as she sat down. "Wait
outsideтАФout of earshot." She waited until the curtain had fallen
behind them. They would not go far, perhaps not far enough, but
she could trust their discretion. She looked at Dyne. "Well, did
you tell her?"

"Yes, My Lady."

"And she was scared?" She chuckled as the cyber made no
answer. "She was scared. So was I the first time I realized that