"Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - The Spider Glass" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yarbro Chelsea Quinn)

last as if the Huguenot influence explained matters.

тАЬAh, yes, Great-aunt Serena was quite a handful.тАЭ The host laughed quietly. тАЬThe last time I saw herтАФit
was years ago, of courseтАФshe was careering about the Cotswolds on both sides of her horse. The
whole countryside was scandalized. They barred her from the Hunt, naturally, which amused her a great
deal. She could outride most of them, anyway, and said that the sport was becoming tame.тАЭ

тАЬWhittenfieldтАжтАЭ the rotund man said warningly.

тАЬOh, yes, about the glass.тАЭ He sipped his port thoughtfully. тАЬThe glass comes from SerenaтАЩs family, the
English side. ItтАЩs an heirloom, of course. They say that the Huguenot who married into the family took the
woman because no one else would have her. Scandal again.тАЭ He paused to take wine, and drained his
glass before continuing. тАЬThe mirror is said to be Venetian, about three hundred and forty or fifty years
old. The frame was added later, and when Marsden appraised it he said he believed it to be Austrian
work.тАЭ

тАЬHungarian, actually,тАЭ murmured the sixth guest, though no one heard him speak.

тАЬYesтАж well.тАЭ Whittenfield judiciously filled his glass once more. тАЬReally wonderful,тАЭ he breathed as he
savored the port.

тАЬCharles, you should have been an actorтАФyouтАЩre wasted on the peerage,тАЭ Dominick said as he took a
seat near the fire.

тАЬOh, very well, IтАЩll get on with it,тАЭ Whittenfield said, capitulating. тАЬIтАЩve told you the glass is Venetian and
something over three hundred years old. The latest date Marsden ventured was

1570, but that, as I say, is problematical. In any case, you may be certain that it was around in 1610,
which is the critical year so far as the story is concerned. Yes, 1610.тАЬ He sank back in his chair, braced
his heels once more on the Tudor settle, and began, at last, in earnest.

тАЬDoubtless youтАЩre aware that Europe was a great deal more chaotic then than it is nowтАФтАЭ

тАЬThatтАЩs not saying much,тАЭ the rotund man interjected.

тАЬTwilford, for GodтАЩs sake, donтАЩt give him an excuse to digress again,тАЭ Dominick whispered furiously.

тАЬAs I was saying,тАЭ Charles went on, тАЬEurope was doing very badly in 1610. That was the year Henri the
Fourth of France was assassinated and his nine-year-old son succeeded him, and you know how Louis
the Thirteenth turned out! James was making an ass of himself by prolonging Parliament and by locking
up Arabella Stuart for marrying William Seymour. One of the tsars was deposed, but I can never keep
them straight, and I believe a Prussian prince was offered the jobтАФтАЭ

тАЬPolish,тАЭ the sixth guest corrected him politely. тАЬVasili Shuisky was deposed in favor of Vladislav,
Sigismund IllтАЩs son.тАЭ

тАЬVery likely,тАЭ Whittenfield agreed. тАЬSpain and Holland were having a not-very-successful go at a truce.
The German Protestant states were being harried by their neighborsтАж That will give you some idea.
Well, it happened that my Great-aunt SerenaтАЩs nine times great-grandmother was livingтАФтАЭ