"Joan D. Vinge - Fireship" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Joan D)

fluorescence of the Caves of Ice, that foam of glittering beads had
been all the colors of the rainbowтАФ
Last night sheтАЩd stood beside me while I played at the high-stakes
tablesтАж and all the while ETHANAC had been too damn lost in
high-rolling fever even to register her presence, that sodden fool
Yarrow had been falling in love. And that meantтАж
тАЬI love you, Lady Luck,тАЭ Yarrow blurted, before I could bite his
tongue. тАЬEverything I have is yours.тАЭ
She looked slightly taken aback, for which I couldnтАЩt blame her.
тАЬAll fifty thousand seeyas of it?тАЭ she said.
I straightened up, wishing fervently that I could give myself a
partial lobotomy. YarrowтАЩs part. тАЬMaybe IтАЩd better go out and come
in again.тАЭ
тАЬConsider it done.тАЭ She smiled, this time. тАЬGood afternoon,
Ethan. Sit down. May I buy you a drink?тАЭ
I sat down across the small table from her, wanting to sit down
beside her. тАЬNo drink, thanks. I think I hit the saturation point last
night.тАЭ
тАЬAt least you havenтАЩt forgotten meтАжтАЭ She leaned on a slender
fist, and the smile turned rueful. тАЬI was beginning to think youтАЩd
stood me up.тАЭ
тАЬForget youтАФ?тАЭ At least she was the one whoтАЩd called; at least
sheтАЩd wanted to see me again. I swore silently at the total blank
where she should have been in ETHANACтАЩs record of last night.
тАЬIтАЩm just trying to figure out how I ever let you slip away.тАЭ
тАЬYou drank a little too much of the Milk of Paradise тАФI tucked
you in myself.тАЭ The smile turned more rueful yet; my backbone
turned to jelly.
And I remembered the empty bed IтАЩd come to in this afternoon;
my hand closed dangerously over the case hooked onto my belt. тАЬIтАЩll
make it up to you tonight.тАЭ
тАЬYou already have.тАЭ
тАЬI have,тАЭ I said, half afraid sheтАЩd tell me how.
тАЬBy winning fifty thousand seeyas. By winning at every game
you played last nightтАжтАЭ
My face stiffened; it hadnтАЩt occurred to me that she was after my
money. My ego shriveled. But infatuation is a blind beggar: If she
wanted money, I could give it to herтАж тАЬI can do it every night, with
you beside me, Lady Luck.тАЭ
She raised her eyebrows. тАЬYou really mean that, donтАЩt you?тАЭ
тАЬMore than IтАЩve ever meant anything in my life.тАЭ
Surprise, and an expression that might have been sorrow worried
her face. тАЬNo, I mean, you literally mean that luck had nothing to
do with itтАФthat you could do it every night. DonтАЩt you, Michael
Yarrow?тАЭ
My face went entirely blank, this time. I could feel all the
expression drain away: Somebody had pulled the plug on me at last.
Had I done it to myself? Had I really been so drunk and so careless
that IтАЩd told her my name was Michael Yarrow? But sheтАЩd called
me Ethan. тАж I continued to look at her blankly. тАЬRun that one by