[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Hoff snatched up a silver goblet from the tableand took a great slurp of wine.He was a great one for drinking, indeed he hadbeen drinking all afternoon.It had not improved his temper.'Who's the nextfool?' he demanded.'Er& ' Morrow squinted at a large document through his spectacles, tracingacross the crabby writing with an inky finger.'Goodman Heath is next, afarmer from ''A farmer? A farmer did you say? So we must sit in this ridiculous heat,listening to some damn commoner moan on about how the weather has affected hissheep?''Well, my Lord,' muttered Morrow, 'it does seem as though, er, Goodman Heathhas, er, a legitimate grievance against his, er, landlord, and ''Damn it all! I am sick to my stomach of other people's grievances!' The LordChamberlain took another swallow of wine.'Show the idiot in!'The doors were opened and Goodman Heath was allowed into their presence.Tounderline the balance of power within the room, the Lord Chamberlain's tablewas raised up on a high dais, so that even standing the poor man had to lookup at them.An honest face, but very gaunt.He held a battered hat before himin trembling hands.West shrugged his shoulders in discomfort as a drop ofsweat ran down his back.'You are Goodman Heath, correct?''Yes, my Lord,' mumbled the peasant in a broad accent, 'from 'Hoff cut him off with consummate rudeness.'And you come before us seeking anaudience with his August Majesty, the High King of the Union?'Goodman Heath licked his lips.West wondered how far he had come to be made afool of.A very long way, most likely.'My family have been put off our land.The landlord said we had not been paying the rent but 'The Lord Chamberlain waved a hand.'Plainly this is a matter for theCommission for Land and Agriculture.His August Majesty the King is concernedwith the welfare of all his subjects, no matter how mean,' West almost wincedat this slight, 'but he cannot be expected to give personal attention to everytrifling thing.His time is valuable, and so is mine.Good day.' And that wasit.Two of the soldiers pulled the double doors open for Goodman Heath toleave.The peasant's face had gone very pale, his knuckles wringing at the brim ofhis hat.'Good my Lord,' he stammered, 'I've already been to the Commission& 'Hoff looked up sharply, making the farmer stammer to a halt.'Good day, Isaid!'Page 52 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThe peasant's shoulders slumped.He took a last look around the room.Morrowwas examining something on the far wall with great interest and refused tomeet his eye.The Lord Chamberlain stared back at him angrily, infuriated bythis unforgivable waste of his time.West felt sick to be a part of it.Heathturned and shuffled away, head bowed.The doors swung shut.Hoff bashed his fist on the table.'Did you see that?' He stared roundfiercely at the sweating assembly.'The sheer gall of the man! Did you seethat, Major West?''Yes, my Lord Chamberlain, I saw it all,' said West stiffly.'It was adisgrace.'Fortunately, Hoff did not take his whole meaning.'A disgrace, Major West, youare quite right! Why the hell is it that all the promising young men go intothe army? I want to know who is responsible for letting these beggars inhere!' He glared at the Under-Secretary, who swallowed and stared at hisdocuments.'What's next?''Er,' mumbled Morrow, 'Coster dan Kault, Magister of the Guild of Mercers.''I know who he is, damn it!' snapped Hoff, wiping a fresh sheen of sweat fromhis face.'If it isn't the damn peasants it's the damn merchants!' he roaredat the soldiers by the door, his voice easily loud enough to be heard in thecorridor outside.'Show the grubbing old swindler in, then!'Magister Kault could hardly have presented a more different appearance fromthe previous supplicant.He was a big, plump man, with a face as soft as hiseyes were hard.His purple vesture of office was embroidered with yards ofgolden thread, so ostentatious that the Emperor of Gurkhul himself might havebeen embarrassed to wear it.He was accompanied by a pair of senior Mercers,their own attire scarcely less magnificent.West wondered if Goodman Heathcould earn enough in ten years to pay for one of those gowns.He decided not,even if he hadn't been thrown off his land.'My Lord Chamberlain,' intoned Kault with an elaborate bow.Hoff acknowledgedthe head of the Guild of Mercers as faintly as humanly possible, with a raisedeyebrow and an almost imperceptible twist of the lip.Kault waited for agreeting which he felt more befitting of his station, but none wasforthcoming.He noisily cleared his throat.'I have come to seek an audiencewith his August Majesty 'The Lord Chamberlain snorted.'The purpose of this session is to decide who isworthy of his Majesty's attention.If you aren't seeking an audience with himyou have blundered into the wrong room.' It was already clear that thisinterview would be every bit as unsuccessful as the last.There was a kind ofhorrible justice to it, West supposed.The great and the small were treatedexactly alike.Magister Kault's eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued.'The honourableGuild of Mercers, of whom I am the humble representative& ' Hoff slurped winenoisily and Kault was obliged to pause for a moment.'& have been the victimsof a most malicious and mischievous attack ''Fill this up, would you?' yelled the Lord Chamberlain, waving his emptygoblet at Morrow.The Under-Secretary slipped eagerly from his chair andseized the decanter [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl trzylatki.xlx.pl
.Hoff snatched up a silver goblet from the tableand took a great slurp of wine.He was a great one for drinking, indeed he hadbeen drinking all afternoon.It had not improved his temper.'Who's the nextfool?' he demanded.'Er& ' Morrow squinted at a large document through his spectacles, tracingacross the crabby writing with an inky finger.'Goodman Heath is next, afarmer from ''A farmer? A farmer did you say? So we must sit in this ridiculous heat,listening to some damn commoner moan on about how the weather has affected hissheep?''Well, my Lord,' muttered Morrow, 'it does seem as though, er, Goodman Heathhas, er, a legitimate grievance against his, er, landlord, and ''Damn it all! I am sick to my stomach of other people's grievances!' The LordChamberlain took another swallow of wine.'Show the idiot in!'The doors were opened and Goodman Heath was allowed into their presence.Tounderline the balance of power within the room, the Lord Chamberlain's tablewas raised up on a high dais, so that even standing the poor man had to lookup at them.An honest face, but very gaunt.He held a battered hat before himin trembling hands.West shrugged his shoulders in discomfort as a drop ofsweat ran down his back.'You are Goodman Heath, correct?''Yes, my Lord,' mumbled the peasant in a broad accent, 'from 'Hoff cut him off with consummate rudeness.'And you come before us seeking anaudience with his August Majesty, the High King of the Union?'Goodman Heath licked his lips.West wondered how far he had come to be made afool of.A very long way, most likely.'My family have been put off our land.The landlord said we had not been paying the rent but 'The Lord Chamberlain waved a hand.'Plainly this is a matter for theCommission for Land and Agriculture.His August Majesty the King is concernedwith the welfare of all his subjects, no matter how mean,' West almost wincedat this slight, 'but he cannot be expected to give personal attention to everytrifling thing.His time is valuable, and so is mine.Good day.' And that wasit.Two of the soldiers pulled the double doors open for Goodman Heath toleave.The peasant's face had gone very pale, his knuckles wringing at the brim ofhis hat.'Good my Lord,' he stammered, 'I've already been to the Commission& 'Hoff looked up sharply, making the farmer stammer to a halt.'Good day, Isaid!'Page 52 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThe peasant's shoulders slumped.He took a last look around the room.Morrowwas examining something on the far wall with great interest and refused tomeet his eye.The Lord Chamberlain stared back at him angrily, infuriated bythis unforgivable waste of his time.West felt sick to be a part of it.Heathturned and shuffled away, head bowed.The doors swung shut.Hoff bashed his fist on the table.'Did you see that?' He stared roundfiercely at the sweating assembly.'The sheer gall of the man! Did you seethat, Major West?''Yes, my Lord Chamberlain, I saw it all,' said West stiffly.'It was adisgrace.'Fortunately, Hoff did not take his whole meaning.'A disgrace, Major West, youare quite right! Why the hell is it that all the promising young men go intothe army? I want to know who is responsible for letting these beggars inhere!' He glared at the Under-Secretary, who swallowed and stared at hisdocuments.'What's next?''Er,' mumbled Morrow, 'Coster dan Kault, Magister of the Guild of Mercers.''I know who he is, damn it!' snapped Hoff, wiping a fresh sheen of sweat fromhis face.'If it isn't the damn peasants it's the damn merchants!' he roaredat the soldiers by the door, his voice easily loud enough to be heard in thecorridor outside.'Show the grubbing old swindler in, then!'Magister Kault could hardly have presented a more different appearance fromthe previous supplicant.He was a big, plump man, with a face as soft as hiseyes were hard.His purple vesture of office was embroidered with yards ofgolden thread, so ostentatious that the Emperor of Gurkhul himself might havebeen embarrassed to wear it.He was accompanied by a pair of senior Mercers,their own attire scarcely less magnificent.West wondered if Goodman Heathcould earn enough in ten years to pay for one of those gowns.He decided not,even if he hadn't been thrown off his land.'My Lord Chamberlain,' intoned Kault with an elaborate bow.Hoff acknowledgedthe head of the Guild of Mercers as faintly as humanly possible, with a raisedeyebrow and an almost imperceptible twist of the lip.Kault waited for agreeting which he felt more befitting of his station, but none wasforthcoming.He noisily cleared his throat.'I have come to seek an audiencewith his August Majesty 'The Lord Chamberlain snorted.'The purpose of this session is to decide who isworthy of his Majesty's attention.If you aren't seeking an audience with himyou have blundered into the wrong room.' It was already clear that thisinterview would be every bit as unsuccessful as the last.There was a kind ofhorrible justice to it, West supposed.The great and the small were treatedexactly alike.Magister Kault's eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued.'The honourableGuild of Mercers, of whom I am the humble representative& ' Hoff slurped winenoisily and Kault was obliged to pause for a moment.'& have been the victimsof a most malicious and mischievous attack ''Fill this up, would you?' yelled the Lord Chamberlain, waving his emptygoblet at Morrow.The Under-Secretary slipped eagerly from his chair andseized the decanter [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]