Birds of Prey - Smith Wilbur (полная версия книги .TXT) 📗
His father's sign was slashed from one end to the other by a scimitar of flame. A fiery red feather, red as blood.
"A shooting star," he whispered.
"A comet," his father corrected him. "God sends me a warning. My time here draws to its close. Even the Greeks and the Romans knew that the heavenly fire is the portent of disaster, of war and famine and plague, and the death of kings."
"When?" Hal asked, his voice heavy with dread.
"Soon," replied Sir Francis. "It must be soon. Most certainly before the comet has completed its transit of my sign. This may be the last time that you and I will be alone like this."
"Is there nothing that we can do to avert this misfortune? Can we not fly from it?"
"We do not know whence it comes," Sir Francis said gravely. "We cannot escape what has been decreed. If we run, then we will certainly run straight into its jaws."
"We will stay to meet and fight it, then," said Hal, with determination.
"Yes, we will fight," his father agreed, "even if the outcome has been ordained. But that was not why I brought you here. I want to hand over to you, this night, your inheritance, those legacies both corporal and spiritual which belong to you as my only son." He took Hal's face between his hands and turned it to him so that he looked into his eyes.
"After my death, the rank and style of baronet, accorded to your great-grandfather, Charles Courtney, by good Queen Bess after the destruction of the Spanish Armada, falls upon you. You will become Sir Henry Courtney. You understand that?"
"Yes, Father."
"Your pedigree has been registered at the College of Arms in England." He paused as a savage cry echoed down the valley, the sawing of a leopard hunting along the cliffs in the moonlight. As the dreadful rasping roars died away Sir Francis went on quietly, "It is my wish that you progress through the Order until you attain the rank of Nautonnier Knight."
"I will strive towards that goal, Father."
Sir Francis raised his right hand. The band of gold upon his second finger glinted in the lantern light. He twisted it off, and held it to catch the moonlight. "This ring is part of the regalia of the office of Nautonnier." He took Hal's right hand, and tried the ring on his second finger. It was too large, so he placed it on his son's forefinger. Then he opened the high collar of his cloak, and exposed the great seal of his office that lay against his breast. The tiny rubies in the eyes of the lion rampant of England, and the diamond stars above it, sparkled softly in the uncertain light. He lifted -the chain of the seal from around his own neck, held it high over Hal's head and then lowered it onto his shoulders. "This seal is the other part of the regalia. It is your key to the Temple."
"I am honoured but humbled by the trust you place in me "There is one other part to the spiritual legacy I leave for you," Sir Francis said, as he reached into the folds of his cloak. "It is the memory of your mother." He opened his hand and in his palm lay a locket bearing a miniature of Edwina Courtney.
The light was not strong enough for Hal to make out the detail of the portrait, but her face was graven in his mind and in his heart. Wordlessly he placed it in the breast pocket of his doublet.
"We should pray together for the peace of her soul," said Sir Francis quietly, and both bowed their heads. After many minutes Sir Francis again raised his head. "Now, it remains only to discuss the earthly inheritance that I leave to you. There is firstly High Weald, our family manor in Devon. You know that your uncle Thomas administers the house and lands in my absence. The deeds of title are with my lawyer in Plymouth..." Sir Francis went on speaking for a long while, listing and detailing his possessions and estates in England. "I have written all this in my journal for you, but that book may be lost or plundered before you can study it. Remember all that I have told you."
"I will not forget any of it, "Hal assured him.
"Then there are the prizes we have taken on this cruise. You were with me when we cached the spoils from both the Heerlycke Nacht and from the Standvastigheid. When you return with that booty to England, be sure to pay over to each man of the crew the share he has earned."
"I will do so without fail."
"Pay also every penny of the Crown's share to the King's customs officers. Only a rogue would seek to cheat his sovereign."
"I will not fail to render to my king."
"I should never rest easy if I were to know that all the riches that I have won for you and my king were to be lost. I require you to make an oath on your honour as a Knight of the Order," Sir Francis said. "You must swear that you will never reveal the whereabouts of the spoils to any other person. In the difficult days that lie ahead of us, while the red comet rules my sign and dictates our affairs, there may be enemies who will try to force you to break this oath. You must bear always in the forefront of your mind the motto of our family.
Durabo! I shall endure."
"On my honour, and in God's name, I shall endure," Hal promised. "The words slipped lightly over his tongue. He could not know then that when they returned to him their weight would be grievous and heavy enough to crush his heart. or his entire military career Colonel Cornelius Schreuder had campaigned with native troops rather than with men of his own race and country. He much preferred them, for they were inured to hardship and less likely to be affected by heat and sun, or by cold and wet. They were hardened against the fevers and plagues that struck down the white men who ventured into these tropical climes, and they survived on less food. They were able to live and fight on what frugal fare this savage and terrible land provided, whereas European troops would sicken and die if forced to undergo similar privations.
