[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Thompson, almost goggle-eyed with apoplexy, stared at the earnest young man on
his knee before his king.
Please, sir, Gilchrist said, his voice steady and low. If you accept me, I will do
anything you ask. I swear it.
Extending his hand to the young man, James laughed and said, Rise, Sir Knight. I
accept your pledge of fealty.
Thompson gave his former associate one last withering glance, turned on his heel,
and strode imperiously to the door, leaving Reuley to scuttle after him with the
parchment and briefcase. No one bothered to see them out.
Gilchrist shifted uncertainly from one foot to the other, looking both humble and
relieved; now that his act of defiance was over, he appeared less confident than
before. I m sorry if I embarrassed you, Your Majesty. I ll leave if you want me to.
You didn t embarrass me, James assured him. As it happens, I have room for
quick-thinking, able-bodied people like yourself. If you don t mind pitching in on
whatever job needs doing.
Anything, the young man replied. I don t care. I ll work for nothing. He drew
himself up, squared his shoulders, and declared, I heard your speech that night, and
it connected with me. You spoke of the Kingdom of Summer, and from that moment
all I wanted was to serve you, and to serve Britain. I was never meant to work for a
snake like Thompson. I m glad someone finally stood up to him. He s had it coming
for a long time.
It would take more than him and his fancy paper to put the wind up James kilt,
Cal remarked. Don t give it a second thought.
You saw all those signatures? the young fellow continued. Some of those people
were really very nice true nobles, through and through but he treated them like
scum. He didn t need to do that; it was pure meanness. Gratitude and admiration
mingled in his quick, infectious smile. I ve been waiting all my life for something
like this. And I have friends, sir men just like me who would give their right arm to
be part of something worthy of their time and energy.
I ll bear that in mind, replied James. For now though, why don t you go upstairs
to the press office and ask for Shona. Tell her I said to put you to work. We ll
arrange pay and such later.
Gilchrist is a Scottish name, Cal said. Where are you from originally?
My family is from Inverness, he explained, and there s a load of aunts and uncles
up there still. But my dad worked for the Foreign Office, and we moved around a
lot. I was born in France, but never felt it was home. He smiled, and the color rose
to his cheeks. Now I feel as if I have come home.
What s your first name? James asked.
Gavin, sir, he replied, a family name, apparently.
Welcome aboard, Gavin. James grasped the young man s hand, and a tingling
sensation traveled up his arm and down his neck. The fiosachd came upon him, and
he felt as if he were welcoming back a friend who had been absent for many years.
I m glad you re here, he added.
Eager to begin, Gavin went off to find Shona and secure his place in the new regime.
James and Cal went next door where Embries was waiting. He had his notebook
open on the desk before him, and was writing furiously.
Our boy was fantastic, crowed Cal. You would have enjoyed it.
Thompson looked a little too familiar, Embries answered. It is entirely possible
our paths have crossed in the past, and he might have remembered me. So far, my
presence has eluded detection. I would like to keep it that way a little longer. He
looked up from his notebook. That aside, you are to be congratulated.
Why?
The simple fact of their showing up means that the Government has accepted the
legitimacy of your claim. If they had any hope of discrediting or dismissing you
outright, they certainly wouldn t have bothered trying to get your signature.
I managed to squeeze a Your Majesty out of him in the end.
Plus, we got a new recruit out of it, put in Cal. You should have seen them,
Embries. I thought Thompson was going to bust a gusset.
What did they expect, coming here like that? said James. We can t even get
Downing Street to return our phone calls did they really think I would sign that
thing? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
Thompson, almost goggle-eyed with apoplexy, stared at the earnest young man on
his knee before his king.
Please, sir, Gilchrist said, his voice steady and low. If you accept me, I will do
anything you ask. I swear it.
Extending his hand to the young man, James laughed and said, Rise, Sir Knight. I
accept your pledge of fealty.
Thompson gave his former associate one last withering glance, turned on his heel,
and strode imperiously to the door, leaving Reuley to scuttle after him with the
parchment and briefcase. No one bothered to see them out.
Gilchrist shifted uncertainly from one foot to the other, looking both humble and
relieved; now that his act of defiance was over, he appeared less confident than
before. I m sorry if I embarrassed you, Your Majesty. I ll leave if you want me to.
You didn t embarrass me, James assured him. As it happens, I have room for
quick-thinking, able-bodied people like yourself. If you don t mind pitching in on
whatever job needs doing.
Anything, the young man replied. I don t care. I ll work for nothing. He drew
himself up, squared his shoulders, and declared, I heard your speech that night, and
it connected with me. You spoke of the Kingdom of Summer, and from that moment
all I wanted was to serve you, and to serve Britain. I was never meant to work for a
snake like Thompson. I m glad someone finally stood up to him. He s had it coming
for a long time.
It would take more than him and his fancy paper to put the wind up James kilt,
Cal remarked. Don t give it a second thought.
You saw all those signatures? the young fellow continued. Some of those people
were really very nice true nobles, through and through but he treated them like
scum. He didn t need to do that; it was pure meanness. Gratitude and admiration
mingled in his quick, infectious smile. I ve been waiting all my life for something
like this. And I have friends, sir men just like me who would give their right arm to
be part of something worthy of their time and energy.
I ll bear that in mind, replied James. For now though, why don t you go upstairs
to the press office and ask for Shona. Tell her I said to put you to work. We ll
arrange pay and such later.
Gilchrist is a Scottish name, Cal said. Where are you from originally?
My family is from Inverness, he explained, and there s a load of aunts and uncles
up there still. But my dad worked for the Foreign Office, and we moved around a
lot. I was born in France, but never felt it was home. He smiled, and the color rose
to his cheeks. Now I feel as if I have come home.
What s your first name? James asked.
Gavin, sir, he replied, a family name, apparently.
Welcome aboard, Gavin. James grasped the young man s hand, and a tingling
sensation traveled up his arm and down his neck. The fiosachd came upon him, and
he felt as if he were welcoming back a friend who had been absent for many years.
I m glad you re here, he added.
Eager to begin, Gavin went off to find Shona and secure his place in the new regime.
James and Cal went next door where Embries was waiting. He had his notebook
open on the desk before him, and was writing furiously.
Our boy was fantastic, crowed Cal. You would have enjoyed it.
Thompson looked a little too familiar, Embries answered. It is entirely possible
our paths have crossed in the past, and he might have remembered me. So far, my
presence has eluded detection. I would like to keep it that way a little longer. He
looked up from his notebook. That aside, you are to be congratulated.
Why?
The simple fact of their showing up means that the Government has accepted the
legitimacy of your claim. If they had any hope of discrediting or dismissing you
outright, they certainly wouldn t have bothered trying to get your signature.
I managed to squeeze a Your Majesty out of him in the end.
Plus, we got a new recruit out of it, put in Cal. You should have seen them,
Embries. I thought Thompson was going to bust a gusset.
What did they expect, coming here like that? said James. We can t even get
Downing Street to return our phone calls did they really think I would sign that
thing? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]