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.I’m going to get a good look at that sword, she promised herself silently; if it isn’t an anachronism, then it revolutionizes one whole branch of history.She stole a glance at his face, doubtful that just asking would do the trick, but admitting to herself that she would never know unless she tried.It seemed she would have to wait, however, as the eyes at the heart of his scratched and weathered face were drooped in a half-doze.She shrugged to herself, and allowed herself one last glance at the sword on his back.‘I dislike crushing your hopes, my Lady, but the horse is tired and needs to be walked without a rider for a time,’ he said clearly, with no trace of sleepiness.Benny stepped away, startled.Smart move, Summerfield, she told herself.Vampires, chronovores and fossilized amoebas the size of planets don’t bother you, but a man turning out not to be half-asleep while upright and walking.Still, she thought, it was his fault for pretending in the first place.‘If I needed a ride that badly, I would just have climbed up.Isn’t a mercenary like you a bit out of place with these people?’The mercenary opened one clear eye to look directly at her.‘Would you rather I had been with those others?’ He jerked his head back towards the spot where they had been ambushed.‘No, I’m just surprised that you weren’t.’‘Good.I don’t like doing what’s expected.Besides,’ he added, half to himself, ‘show me a place where I fit in, and I’ll give you as much gold as you can carry.’Finding a place where he fitted would be a neat trick, she thought ironically.‘Have you got it on you?’‘No, but I am sure I could find a Church encampment which does.’That’s more normal, Benny thought sourly.‘I thought you might.You could steal from them and give to me – Robin of Loxley, I presume?’‘Guy de Carnac.’73She mulled the name over, and it did seem to have a certain ring that fitted him; perhaps it was just that ‘Carnac’ sounded sufficiently like carnage.‘Maybe I should just stick to Conan.Is that why you came along here? So that you could get the chance for a quick scrap?’Guy snorted derisively.‘If I liked fighting for its own sake, I would have been with those others.’‘Then you must have had one hell of a reason to come this way.’‘I had the best reason in the world.’‘Don’t keep me in suspense.’‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’‘That’s it?’‘That is the only reason anyone does anything, if that is what you mean.’‘Shouldn’t you be seeking fortune and glory?’‘Fortune and glory?’ He smiled mirthlessly.‘I wouldn’t know what to do with a fortune.Build a stronghold? The army would besiege it.It would attract thieves, tax collectors, not to mention vassals who are too much responsibility.As for glory.’ He smiled lopsidedly.‘That is but the perfect empty purse.You cannot eat or spend a reputation.’ His expression darkened.‘It can eat you, though.Eat you and spit you out like a gnawed bone.’‘Well now, you won’t earn much with an attitude like that.’‘And you haven’t been on the road for long.You wear.’ he paused as if seeking a suitably inoffensive word.It must be a tricky problem for a medieval swordsman, she thought.‘.Strange garments, but they are clearly of fine craftsmanship, and are not damaged or torn.You claim to be no lady of high birth, yet you speak to me with sharpness.’‘Well, I’m not exactly local.’‘A nameless traveller?’‘I’m Professor Bernice Summerfield.But yes, I’m temporarily shipwrecked in this area.’Guy nodded to himself.‘Hence your presence on this trail.The Church and nobility believe you were trading with the Moors, I imagine.’‘The Mongol horde east of the Danube, more likely.Is that what you believe as well?’Guy shrugged.‘I do not care what brings you, or any of these people, here [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]