"T. H. White - The Once and Future King" - читать интересную книгу автора (White T.H)

thoughts, saying to himself that the latter was a drunken traitor to the family.
Agravaine saw this, and, already consoled by half the bottle, laughed in his face. He patted the good
shoulder, forcing the younger man to fill his glass.
"Drink," he said, chuckling. Mordred drank like a cat being dosed.
"Have you heard," asked Agravaine waggishly, "of a mighty saint called Lancelot?"
He winked one of the pouchy eyes, looking down his nose with benevolence.
"Go on."

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"I gather you have heard about our preux chevalier."
"I know Sir Lancelot, of course."
"I think I am not wrong in saying that this pure gentleman has given both of us a fall or two?"
"The first time Lancelot unhorsed me," said Mordred, "is so long ago that I can't remember. But it means
nothing. Because a man can push you off a horse with a stick, it doesn't mean that he is a better man than
you are."
It was a strange featureтАФnow that Lancelot was in the conversationтАФthat Mordred's vivid feeling was
exchanged for indifference. But Agravaine, who had been reluctant before this, became fluent.
"Precisely," he said. "And our noble knight has been the Queen of England's lover all the time."
"Everybody knows that Gwen has been Lancelot's mistress since before the deluge, but what good is
that? The King knows it himself. He has been told so three times, to my certain knowledge. I don't see
that we can do anything."
Agravaine put his finger by the side of his nose like a drunken piper, then shook it at his brother.
"He has been told so," he announced, "but in roundabout ways. People have sent him hints, such as
shields with cognizances on them that had double meanings, or horns which only faithful wives could
drink from. But nobody has told him about it in open court, face to face. Meliagrance only made a
general accusation, and even that was in the days of trial by battle. Think what would happen if we were
to denounce Sir Lancelot personally, under these new-fashioned Laws, so that the King was forced to
investigate."
Mordred's eyes dawned, as the owl's had done.
"Well?"
"I can't see that anything could happen, except a split. Arthur depends on Lancelot as his commander,
and the chief of his troops. That is where his power comes from, because everybody knows that nobody
can stand against brute force. But if we could make a little merry mischief between Arthur and Lancelot,
because of the Queen, their power would be split. Then would be the time for policy. Then would be the
tune for discontented people, Lollards and Communists and Nationalists and all the riff-raff. Then would
be the time to take your famous revenge."
"We could break them up, because they were broken among thelmselves"
"But it means more than that."
"It means that the Cornwalls would be even for grandfather and I for mother..."


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"... not by using force against force, but by using our brains."
"It means that I could revenge myself on the man who tried to drown me as a baby..."