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Sharpes Gold :: Корнуэлл Бернард
Страница: 145 из 179And my daughter?
'She'll come back to you. Very soon.
'And that makes you sad?
Sharpe nodded and Moreno gave Sharpe a shrewd look that reminded the Rifleman that once this man had been powerful. Could be again.
Moreno's voice was gentle. 'Perhaps one day?
'But you hope not.
Teresa's father nodded and smiled. 'I hope not, but she is headstrong. I watched her, from the day I betrothed her to El Catolico, and knew one day she would spit in my face, and his. She waited her moment, like you.
'And now he waits his?
'Yes. Go carefully. He went to the door, waved a hand. 'We will meet again.
Sharpe sat down, poured a glass of wine, and shook his head. He was tired, to the bone, and his shoulder ached and he wondered if his left arm would ever move free again, and the shadows lengthened on the carpet till he slept, not hearing the evening gun, or the door opening.
'Sharpe!
God Almighty! He jerked upright. 'Sir?
Cox strode over the floor, trailing staff officers and paper. 'What the devil's happening, Sharpe?
'Happening, sir?
'Your men won't release the gold!
Kearsey came through the door and with him, magnificently uniformed, a Spanish Colonel. It took Sharpe a few seconds, seconds of focusing on the gold lace, the looping silver, to realize it was El Catolico. The face had not changed. The powerful eyes, the slight glint of humour, the face of an enemy.
He turned back to Cox. 'I'm sorry, sir?
'Are you deaf, Sharpe? The gold! Where is it?
'Don't know, sir. Waited here, sir. As ordered, sir.
Cox grunted, picked up a piece of paper, looked at it, and let it drop. 'I've made a decision.
'Yes, sir. A decision, sir. Sharpe had adopted his erstwhile sergeant's manner, always useful when faced by senior officers, and especially useful when he wanted to think of other things than the immediate conversation. Cox glanced up suspiciously.
'I'm sorry, Sharpe. I only have your word for it, and Lossow's. The gold is Spanish, obviously Spanish, and Colonel Jovellanos is an accredited representative of the government of Spain. He gestured at El Catolico, who smiled and bowed. Sharpe looked at the Partisan leader in his immaculate finery.
'Yes, sir. Accredited representative, sir!
The bastard must be handy with a pen, he thought, and it suddenly occurred to him that one of the fat coins would make a superb seal, pressed into the red wax with the ornate coat of arms downwards.
'She'll come back to you. Very soon.
'And that makes you sad?
Sharpe nodded and Moreno gave Sharpe a shrewd look that reminded the Rifleman that once this man had been powerful. Could be again.
Moreno's voice was gentle. 'Perhaps one day?
'But you hope not.
Teresa's father nodded and smiled. 'I hope not, but she is headstrong. I watched her, from the day I betrothed her to El Catolico, and knew one day she would spit in my face, and his. She waited her moment, like you.
'And now he waits his?
'Yes. Go carefully. He went to the door, waved a hand. 'We will meet again.
Sharpe sat down, poured a glass of wine, and shook his head. He was tired, to the bone, and his shoulder ached and he wondered if his left arm would ever move free again, and the shadows lengthened on the carpet till he slept, not hearing the evening gun, or the door opening.
'Sharpe!
God Almighty! He jerked upright. 'Sir?
Cox strode over the floor, trailing staff officers and paper. 'What the devil's happening, Sharpe?
'Happening, sir?
'Your men won't release the gold!
Kearsey came through the door and with him, magnificently uniformed, a Spanish Colonel. It took Sharpe a few seconds, seconds of focusing on the gold lace, the looping silver, to realize it was El Catolico. The face had not changed. The powerful eyes, the slight glint of humour, the face of an enemy.
He turned back to Cox. 'I'm sorry, sir?
'Are you deaf, Sharpe? The gold! Where is it?
'Don't know, sir. Waited here, sir. As ordered, sir.
Cox grunted, picked up a piece of paper, looked at it, and let it drop. 'I've made a decision.
'Yes, sir. A decision, sir. Sharpe had adopted his erstwhile sergeant's manner, always useful when faced by senior officers, and especially useful when he wanted to think of other things than the immediate conversation. Cox glanced up suspiciously.
'I'm sorry, Sharpe. I only have your word for it, and Lossow's. The gold is Spanish, obviously Spanish, and Colonel Jovellanos is an accredited representative of the government of Spain. He gestured at El Catolico, who smiled and bowed. Sharpe looked at the Partisan leader in his immaculate finery.
'Yes, sir. Accredited representative, sir!
The bastard must be handy with a pen, he thought, and it suddenly occurred to him that one of the fat coins would make a superb seal, pressed into the red wax with the ornate coat of arms downwards.