JК
Sharpes Eagle :: Корнуэлл Бернард
Страница: 37 из 203In a prison cell in Seringapatam the aristocrat had taught the Sergeant to read andwrite; the exercise had stopped them both going mad in the dank hell of the Sultan Tippoo’s dungeons. Sharpe shook his head. “I haven’t seen you for… „
“It’s been months. Far too long. How are you?”
Sharpe grinned. “As you see me.”
“Untidy?” Lawford smiled. He was the same age as Sharpe but there the resemblance stopped. Lawford was a dandy, dressed always in the finest cloth and lace, and Sharpe had seen him pay a Regimental Tailor seven guineas to achieve a tighter fit on an already immaculately tailored jacket. He spread his hands expansively.
“You can stop worrying, Richard, Lawford is here. The French will probably surrender when they hear. God! It’s taken me months to get this job! I was stuck in Dublin Castle, changing the bloody guard, and I’ve pulled a hundred strings to get onto Wellesley’s staff. And here I am! Arrived two weeks ago!” The words tumbled out. Sharpe was delighted to see him. Lawford, like Gibbons, summed up all that he hated most about the army: how money and influence could buy promotion while others, like Sharpe, rotted in penury. Yet Sharpe liked Lawford, could feel no resentment, and he supposed that it was because the aristocrat, for all the assurance of his birth, responded to Sharpe in the same way. And Lawford, for all his finery and assumed languor, was a fighting soldier. Sharpe held up a hand to stop the flow of news.
“What’s happening, sir? Where are the Spanish?”
Lawford shook his head. “Still in bed. At least they were, but the bugles have sounded, the warriors have pulled on their trousers, and we’re told they’re coming.” He leaned closer to Sharpe and dropped his voice. “How do you get on with Simmerson?”
“I don’t have to get on with him. I work to Hogan.”
Lawford appeared not to hear the answer. “He’s an extraordinary man. Did you know he paid to raise the Regiment?” Sharpe nodded. “Do you know what that cost him, Richard? Unimaginable!”
“So he’s a rich man. But it doesn’t make him a soldier.” Sharpe sounded sour.
Lawford shrugged. “He wants to be. He wants to be the best. I sailed out on the same boat, and all he did, every day, was sit there reading the Rules and Regulations for His Majesty’s Forces!“ He shook his head. ”Perhaps he’ll learn. I don’t envy you, though.“ He turned to look at Wellesley. ”Well. I can’t stay all day. Listen. You must dine with me when you get back from this job. Will you do that?“
“With pleasure.”
“Good!” Lawford swung up into the saddle.
“It’s been months. Far too long. How are you?”
Sharpe grinned. “As you see me.”
“Untidy?” Lawford smiled. He was the same age as Sharpe but there the resemblance stopped. Lawford was a dandy, dressed always in the finest cloth and lace, and Sharpe had seen him pay a Regimental Tailor seven guineas to achieve a tighter fit on an already immaculately tailored jacket. He spread his hands expansively.
“You can stop worrying, Richard, Lawford is here. The French will probably surrender when they hear. God! It’s taken me months to get this job! I was stuck in Dublin Castle, changing the bloody guard, and I’ve pulled a hundred strings to get onto Wellesley’s staff. And here I am! Arrived two weeks ago!” The words tumbled out. Sharpe was delighted to see him. Lawford, like Gibbons, summed up all that he hated most about the army: how money and influence could buy promotion while others, like Sharpe, rotted in penury. Yet Sharpe liked Lawford, could feel no resentment, and he supposed that it was because the aristocrat, for all the assurance of his birth, responded to Sharpe in the same way. And Lawford, for all his finery and assumed languor, was a fighting soldier. Sharpe held up a hand to stop the flow of news.
“What’s happening, sir? Where are the Spanish?”
Lawford shook his head. “Still in bed. At least they were, but the bugles have sounded, the warriors have pulled on their trousers, and we’re told they’re coming.” He leaned closer to Sharpe and dropped his voice. “How do you get on with Simmerson?”
“I don’t have to get on with him. I work to Hogan.”
Lawford appeared not to hear the answer. “He’s an extraordinary man. Did you know he paid to raise the Regiment?” Sharpe nodded. “Do you know what that cost him, Richard? Unimaginable!”
“So he’s a rich man. But it doesn’t make him a soldier.” Sharpe sounded sour.
Lawford shrugged. “He wants to be. He wants to be the best. I sailed out on the same boat, and all he did, every day, was sit there reading the Rules and Regulations for His Majesty’s Forces!“ He shook his head. ”Perhaps he’ll learn. I don’t envy you, though.“ He turned to look at Wellesley. ”Well. I can’t stay all day. Listen. You must dine with me when you get back from this job. Will you do that?“
“With pleasure.”
“Good!” Lawford swung up into the saddle.